How to Run an Email Campaign for Athletic Directors at Canadian Universities (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)

How to Run an Email Campaign for Athletic Directors at Canadian Universities (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)

Quick Answer: Origami isn’t just a list-building tool — it’s the full outreach platform with a built-in email sequencer. You find verified Athletic Directors at Canadian universities, segment them, craft a multi‑touch sequence, and send it all from one dashboard, without ever exporting a CSV. This guide walks through the exact refinement, the complete three‑touch email copy specific to this audience, and how to launch, track, and iterate — all inside Origami.

If you’ve already built your prospect list using the method in our how to build a list of Athletic Directors at Canadian Universities guide, you’re ready to turn those names into conversations. If not, do that first (it’s free to start with 1,000 credits — no credit card). The rest of this post assumes your list lives inside Origami.

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Step 1: Build the List in Origami (If You Haven’t Already)

The parent post covers the full prompt, but here’s the one‑liner: type exactly this into Origami:

Find Athletic Directors at all Canadian universities. Include name, email, phone, university, department, LinkedIn URL.

Origami’s AI agent searches the live web, chains data sources, enriches each contact in real time, and returns a prospect list with verified names, email addresses, direct‑dial phone numbers, titles, and full university profiles. You get all the context — U Sports membership, conference, department size indicators — without manual research.

The free plan gives you 1,000 enrichment credits, enough to build a targeted 50‑ to 100‑contact list and still have credits left for outreach. No credit card needed.

Step 2: Refine and Qualify the List Before You Send a Single Email

A raw list of “Athletic Directors in Canada” is noisy. You’ll have directors at tiny colleges that don’t even field varsity teams, interim directors, and administrative coordinators masquerading as decision‑makers. Spend 10 minutes cleaning and segmenting. Inside Origami you can filter right in the list view.

What to Remove or Segment

• Remove duplicate contacts — the same person might appear under slightly different titles (Director of Athletics vs. Athletic Director). Merge or keep the most recent.
• Split by university type — U Sports members (large universities with a full suite of varsity teams) vs. CCAA members (colleges and smaller universities). Your ideal customer profile will lean one way or the other. If you sell high‑end facility equipment, you want U Sports programs; if you sell SaaS that fits any size, keep both but segment for messaging.
• Filter by role clarity — keep only “Athletic Director,” “Director of Athletics & Recreation,” “Executive Director, Athletics.” Remove anyone with “Assistant,” “Interim,” or “Coordinator” unless that’s your target. The real budget power usually sits with the permanent Director.
• Layer geography — if your product requires onsite implementation or a province‑specific compliance angle, split by province. Athletic directors in Ontario deal with different funding models than those in Alberta or Quebec.

What “Qualified” Looks Like for This Audience

A qualified Athletic Director at a Canadian university is someone who:

• Holds a permanent Director‑level role (confirmed by title and LinkedIn longevity).
• Works at a university with varsity athletics — you can cross‑reference the U‑Sports membership list or Origami’s enrichment data that often includes conference tags.
• Has been in the role at least 6 months (so they’ve survived the first budget cycle).
• Has a publicly available email — Origami already verified the address, but you want to see it’s a first.last@university.ca pattern, not a generic info@ alias.

Take your final refined list and save it as a segment (e.g., “U Sports ADs – tier 1”). In Origami you can label contacts and create separate sequences for different segments.

Step 3: Create the Email Sequence (Actual Copy You Can Steal)

Now the core of the campaign. Origami gives you two paths:

1. Paste your own templates — write a three‑touch sequence yourself, set the delays (Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, or any cadence you prefer), paste them into Origami’s sequencer, and hit “Launch.”
2. Let the agent write it for you — ask Origami’s AI to generate a personalized three‑day email sequence for all your leads automatically. The agent uses each prospect’s profile data (title, university, department size, tools used) to draft genuinely custom messages, so every contact gets something that feels hand‑written.

Below is a full, ready‑to‑use three‑touch sequence built specifically for Athletic Directors at Canadian universities. These messages are short, direct, and reference real pain points — tight budgets, U Sports compliance, athlete wellness, and the ever‑present need to do more with less. You can copy these directly into Origami’s sequencer and customize the bracketed fields.

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Day 1: Initial Cold Email

Subject: [University] athletics — a small thought Preview text: You’re running the most under‑resourced department on campus.

Hi [First Name],

I’ve been following [University]’s athletic program — [recent achievement, new facility, U Sports ranking if relevant]. Impressive, especially given how much Athletic Directors are expected to deliver with a fraction of the resources other campus units get.

I help ADs reduce the administrative load around [specific pain: compliance tracking / facility scheduling / athlete recruitment / fundraising — pick one]. This isn’t another “add‑on” tool; it plugs into what your team already uses and typically saves 10+ hours a week.

Worth a 15‑minute call to see if it fits?

[Your Name]

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Day 3: Follow‑Up (Different Angle)

Subject: Re: [University] athletics — a quick example Preview text: What U of [Province] did in 6 weeks.

Hi [First Name],

Since my last note, I wanted to share one example. An AD at a U Sports program in [province] was spending every Friday afternoon manually reconciling athlete eligibility and compliance paperwork. We automated that workflow, and now the Associate AD handles it in 20 minutes.

That AD’s exact words: “I got Fridays back.”

I’m not saying we’ll get you a full day back in a week, but I am confident you’ll see a measurable time return. No cost to explore — just a brief chat.

Open to a call next week?

[Your Name]

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Day 7: Final Breakup Email

Subject: Re: [University] athletics — closing the loop Preview text: One last thought, then I’ll leave you alone.

Hi [First Name],

I won’t keep emailing you. If this isn’t the right time, I completely understand — as an AD you’re pulled in ten directions already.

If your department ever wants to cut down the manual busywork around [pain point] without adding headcount, my door is open. Even if you just want to benchmark what other Canadian ADs are doing, I’m happy to share anonymized insights.

Thanks for the work you do for [University] athletics.

[Your Name]

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Why this sequence works:

• Day 1 acknowledges their context (under‑resourced, high expectations) and offers a specific value prop.
• Day 3 provides social proof from a peer — the “I got Fridays back” quote is concrete.
• Day 7 is respectful, lowers the pressure, and leaves a genuine channel open.

Every message is under 100 words, highly specific to university athletics, and designed to get a reply — not a “this is a template” flag.

Step 4: Send the Sequence Directly from Origami

Here’s where Origami stands apart. You don’t export a CSV, upload it to a separate mail merge tool, and pray the sync works. You launch the entire sequence from the same dashboard where you built and refined your list.

Launching the Sequence

• Inside your Athletic Directors list, select the “Sequences” tab.
• Either paste the three messages (like the ones above) into the builder or use the AI to generate them.
• Set your delays: Day 1 (immediate), Day 3, Day 7. You can adjust based on your testing; some people prefer Day 1, Day 5, Day 10 for a slower cadence.
• Hit “Launch.” Origami’s built‑in email sequencer sends each touch automatically, using the verified email addresses you already enriched. No third‑party SMTP setup needed; the sending infrastructure is baked in.

Tracking & Context in One Place

After launch, you see open, click, and reply metrics right next to each contact’s enriched profile. While looking at a contact’s activity, you still see their title, university, tools used, and enrichment data, so you never forget why you reached out. This context is invaluable when a reply comes in — you can quickly recall “That’s the AD at UBC with the facility upgrade project.”

Automatic Un‑Enrollment

If a prospect replies, Origami automatically removes them from the sequence. You won’t accidentally send a breakup email to someone who already booked a call or asked a question. This protects your reputation and keeps the conversation human.

What You Pay For

The sequencer itself is included on all paid plans. You’re only paying for the credits you used to enrich the leads — not for the sends. The free plan includes 1,000 enrichment credits, but to run the full sequence for a larger list, you’ll want a paid plan starting at $29/month. That gives you enough credits to enrich and email hundreds of contacts without worrying about per‑email costs.

Response Rates and Iteration

For a well‑segmented list of Athletic Directors at Canadian universities, expect:

• Open rates between 50–65% (university emails are often deliverable, and relevant subject lines get attention).
• Reply rates of 4–8%, with replies often being direct questions or requests for a call.
• If you’re seeing under 3% reply, iterate on messaging first. Try a different pain point, a tighter subject line, or a case study that matches their conference. If opens are above 60% but replies remain low, the message isn’t resonating — tweak the copy.
• If open rates are below 35%, re‑examine the list. You may have too many generic addresses or contacts that aren’t true decision‑makers. Use Origami’s filters to tighten the role and university criteria.

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One Platform, Full Workflow

The real power of using Origami for this isn’t just the list or the sequencer; it’s that the whole campaign happens in one place. You find the right Athletic Directors, enrich their details, segment by conference or university size, write (or let AI write) a relevant three‑touch sequence, launch it, and monitor the results — all without ever leaving the tool. No CSV exports, no syncing accounts, no forgotten follow‑ups. The built‑in sequencer keeps the process simple enough that you can run a complete outreach campaign in an afternoon and still have time to coach your own team.