Athletic Directors are being asked to do more with less every year. Budgets are tightening, costs continue to rise, and expectations from schools, families, and communities aren’t slowing down. At the same time, the role of the Athletic Director has expanded far beyond scheduling games and supporting coaches. Today’s ADs are managing technology, communications, operations, and community engagement.
This guide is designed to help Athletic Directors step back and look at the biggest sources of budget strain across their programs. From overlapping systems to time-consuming manual work, we’ll break down where resources are being stretched and what practical changes can make the biggest impact. You’ll find common challenges ADs are facing right now, questions to help evaluate your current approach, and examples of how schools are using PlayOnto reduce strain without sacrificing the experience for athletes, coaches, and fans.
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Consolidation: The Fastest Path to Relief
One of the fastest ways budgets get stretched is through the gradual buildup of disconnected tools. Over time, athletic departments add separate systems for ticketing, streaming, film, stats, and communication. Each solves a problem, but together they create added cost, complexity, and time demands.
The result isn’t just multiple invoices. It’s:
For Athletic Directors already operating with limited support, a “vendor stack” often becomes one of the biggest drains on budget.
When each function lives in a separate platform, the expense also shows up in operations:
Exercise: Quick Vendor Audit: Where overlap may exist
Use the questions below to evaluate whether your current setup is working against your budget.
If the answer to several of these questions is "yes," consolidation may be one of the highest impact changes available.
Many schools are shifting toward fewer, more integrated platforms that support multiple functions. Instead of managing separate tools for ticketing, streaming, and highlights, they look for solutions that work together and reduce duplication. When connected through PlayOn, the goal isn’t simply adding new tools; it's reducing the number of disconnected ones.
Athletic departments have consolidated using:
Schools that consolidate vendors typically see improvement in three areas:
Instead of managing technology, ADs can focus on supporting coaches, athletes, and their programs. Many ADs start here because it’s one of the few changes that can reduce costs, save time, and simplify operations at the same time.
For most Athletic Directors, the biggest constraint isn’t just money; it’s time. Every week is filled with tasks that are necessary to keep programs running but pull attention away from the work that matters most: supporting athletes, coaches, and the community. Budgeting time has become just as important as budgeting dollars. And unlike funding, time can’t be replenished, only redirected.
The most common strain isn’t one major responsibility. It’s the accumulation of manual and repetitive work. Each task on its own feels manageable. Together, they create a constant workload that follows ADs home at night.
One of the biggest mistakes ADs make is trying to fix everything at once. Prioritize the things that only the AD can solve. The most expensive time is leadership, decision making, and relationship-building that no system can replace. Every hour spent on manual work is an hour pulled away from those responsibilities. This is where streamlining workflows can be a high impact solution.
Exercise: A simple time audit
Before making changes, map out a typical in-season week
Step 1: List recurring tasks Step 2: Mark what is manual Step 3: Identify where you spend the most time that doesn’t directly impact athlete development, coach support or community engagement
Ask:
Many ADs operate in roles that combine administrator, coach, event manager, and communications lead. Over time, the expectation becomes: if something needs to be done, the AD will handle it. Long-term sustainability comes from shifting away from being the person who does it all and toward being the person who ensures the right systems and processes are in place. Consolidating tools and streamlining workflows with PlayOn reduces manual steps across ticketing, streaming and film.
Takeaway: Reduce the operational load so Athletic Directors can spend more time leading programs and less time managing logistics.
Athletic programs don’t just operate on budgets; they operate on visibility, connection, and community support. When people can’t see or experience what’s happening, engagement drops. When engagement drops, funding, attendance, and long-term program stability can follow. Many schools have struggled with the challenge: how do you keep families, alumni, and supporters connected when they can’t physically be there?
When access depends on physical attendance, entire groups of supporters are unintentionally excluded:
Over time, this disconnect impacts more than morale; it affects attendance, sponsorship interest, and the perceived value and health of athletic programs within the district.
Programs that maintain strong visibility are often better positioned when budget conversations happen. When administrators, school boards, and communities can see participation, impact, and support, athletics become easier to justify and defend. Reach helps demonstrate program value, increase community buy-in and school pride, strengthen fundraising efforts, and support participation and retention. Visibility can be one of the strongest arguments for maintaining or growing athletic investment.
Historically, expanding reach required purchasing and maintaining camera equipment, hiring staff to run broadcasts and managing uploads and distribution of film. For already-stretched athletic departments, this often felt out of reach financially and operationally.
Many athletic departments are now prioritizing scalable ways to connect their communities without adding operational strain. Automated streaming through the NFHS Network allows schools to capture games and provide access to families without requiring significant manual effort. The goal isn’t just to broadcast games; it’s to keep the community connected.
When integrated within PlayOn, streaming on the NFHS Network also provides:
When programs expand access, the impact tends to show up quickly:
Reach is about ensuring athletics remain a central part of the school community not just for those in the stands, but for everyone connected to the program. For Athletic Directors navigating tight budgets, maintaining that connection can be one of the most powerful ways to sustain long-term support for programs.
Under budget pressure, departments rely on patchwork systems and manual processes. This can lead to game-day confusion, inconsistent event experiences, and increased pressure on the AD to hold everything together. Over time, operational stress erodes confidence. Athletic Directors aren’t just managing dollars and schedules; they’re managing expectations from administrators, coaches, and fans. Confidence comes from knowing events will run smoothly, systems will work, and the experience for athletes and fans won’t suffer because of limited resources.
When things are working, confidence shows up in simple ways:
When these fundamentals are in place, ADs spend less time troubleshooting and more time leading.
When events run well and communication is clear, coaches feel supported; administrators see professionalism and communities stay engaged. In many districts, perception directly influences funding conversations, staffing decisions, and long-term program stability. The easiest way to build confidence is through systems and support.
Athletic departments that feel the most stable tend to prioritize three things:
Schools address this by consolidating and standardizing tools with PlayOn, reducing the number of moving parts staff must manage.
Exercise: A quick confidence check for your program
Ask yourself:
Confidence grows when operations become predictable. For Athletic Directors navigating tight budgets, predictability may be one of the most valuable resources of all.
Athletic Directors are being asked to manage rising costs, support growing programs, and deliver professional-level experiences for athletes and families all while budgets remain tight. The challenge isn’t just financial. It’soperational.
The departments that navigate this pressure best aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones with:
When time, technology, and workflows align, budgets stretch further, and programs become more sustainable. That’s where PlayOn can make the biggest difference. PlayOn is built to help athletic departments reduce vendor sprawl, simplify operations, and protect the resources they already have. The goal isn’t to add more tools. It’s to replace fragmented ones with systems that work together and remove pressure from ADs and their staff.
When operations are streamlined and budgets are protected, Athletic Directors can focus on what matters most: supporting athletes, empowering coaches, and creating moments their communities will remember long after the season ends.
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