North Carolina A&T State University seeks to procure a modern, reliable, and fully integrated ticketing software solution to support athletics, performing arts, and university-wide events. The current ticketing system has presented operational and technical challenges that directly affect the fan experience, administrative efficiency, and overall revenue generation. The university currently utilizes Ellucian Banner as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and Bluefin as its payment processing gateway. The new ticketing solution must integrate seamlessly with both platforms to ensure efficient financial reconciliation, donor record management, and secure payment processing in compliance with university and industry standards. The objective of this RFP is to identify a scalable, user-friendly, and secure platform that enhances fan engagement, streamlines administrative processes, and aligns with institutional goals for digital transformation and data-driven decision-making. The new solution must also support integrated donor management and advancement functions to provide a unified platform for ticket sales, donations, and reporting. The purpose of this RFP is to select a vendor capable of delivering a comprehensive ticketing system that: Supports high-volume sales during major events without outages or performance issues. Provides a modern, mobile-first experience for fans, students, and donors. Strengthens the connection between ticketing, parking, donor engagement, and university branding. Offers robust reporting, analytics, and integration capabilities to support informed decision-making and long-term growth. Seamlessly integrates with Banner for financial reporting and Bluefin for secure payment transactions.
Background
North Carolina A&T State University is seeking to procure a modern, reliable, and fully integrated ticketing software solution to support athletics, performing arts, and university-wide events. The current ticketing system has presented operational and technical challenges that directly affect the fan experience, administrative efficiency, and overall revenue generation.
The university utilizes Ellucian Banner as its ERP system and Bluefin as its payment processing gateway. The new ticketing solution must integrate seamlessly with both platforms to ensure efficient financial reconciliation, donor record management, and secure payment processing in compliance with university and industry standards. The objective of this RFP is to identify a scalable, user-friendly, and secure platform that enhances fan engagement, streamlines administrative processes, and aligns with institutional goals for digital transformation and data-driven decision-making.
Work Details
The selected vendor will deliver a comprehensive ticketing system that supports high-volume sales during major events without outages or performance issues. The system must provide a modern, mobile-first experience for fans, students, and donors; strengthen the connection between ticketing, parking, donor engagement, and university branding; offer robust reporting, analytics, and integration capabilities; seamlessly integrate with Banner for financial reporting; and integrate with Bluefin for secure payment transactions.
Specific functionalities include:
- Season and single-event ticket sales
- Student tickets with priority point integration
- Centralized donor database with complete profiles
- Self-service donor portal
- Real-time synchronization between ticketing and donations
- Compliance with PCI-DSS standards for credit card transactions.
The vendor must also provide comprehensive training for university personnel covering system setup and maintenance.
Period of Performance
The contract shall have an initial term of five (5) years beginning on the date of final contract execution. The State has the option to renew the contract for up to three (3) additional one-year terms.
Place of Performance
The services will be performed at North Carolina A&T State University.
Bidder Requirements
Vendors must have a minimum of five (5) years of verifiable experience providing ticketing systems for higher education institutions or similar venues. They must demonstrate capacity to support annual transaction volumes exceeding 343,000 online transactions without performance degradation. Vendors are required to provide at least three (3) client references from comparable universities or Division I athletics programs. Additionally, vendors must maintain independent PCI Level 1 Service Provider certification.
