Gold & Blue Enterprises, WVU Athletics Launch Mountaineer Travel, a Fan-Driven Global Travel Platform to Support Student-Athletes
December 08, 2025 10:00 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Gold & Blue Enterprises and West Virginia University Athletics announced today the launch of Mountaineer.Travel, a custom travel platform that allows WVU fans and alumni to directly support WVU Athletics through discounted travel purchases around the world.
For every dollar spent on Mountaineer.Travel, a percentage goes directly to help fund WVU Athletics.
The initiative marks another innovative step by Gold & Blue Enterprises as universities nationwide adapt to a changing collegiate athletics landscape shaped by NIL and the House vs. NCAA settlement. By giving Mountaineer Nation the opportunity to book discounted travel while giving back, WVU aims to turn fan loyalty into recurring revenue.
"WVU Athletics is always looking for innovative ways to provide value to our most dedicated supporters while also elevating the student-athlete," said Don Robinson, CEO of Gold & Blue Enterprises. "Mountaineer Travel provides a fresh channel for our alumni and fans to directly contribute to the success of our programs. Whether you're heading to a game, planning a family vacation or taking a weekend getaway, now you can travel smart and travel with purpose."
Waypoint, a fan-powered global travel platform, supplies WVU with the technology, global booking capabilities and analytics needed to engage its large base of alumni and fans who travel frequently for work and leisure.
By encouraging the Mountaineer community to book even a small portion of their annual travel through Mountaineer.Travel, WVU empowers fans to support their team simply by doing what they already do — travel. If a few thousand fans book one or two discounted trips a year, the program could generate substantial recurring revenue to support student-athlete compensation, program sustainability and other departmental priorities. The model turns everyday travel into a shared expression of pride, allowing thousands of fans to help carry an investment previously shouldered largely by major donors.
"When you consider the hundreds of thousands of trips Mountaineer Nation takes each year, every booking through Mountaineer Travel adds up — whether it's lodging for an anniversary getaway, theme park tickets, a weekend in Myrtle Beach, a soccer tournament in Pittsburgh or a business trip to Atlanta," said Matt Sanders, co-founder and CEO of Waypoint. "By giving fans a fun and rewarding way to travel, and by tying that to athletics funding, this platform lets supporters become 'micro donors' by shifting their behavior to benefit the school they love."
Key features of the program include:
Gold & Blue Enterprises, established in 2025, is designed to revolutionize the student-athlete experience and enhance the Mountaineers' competitive edge in the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics. GBE supports strategic initiatives that fuel success in competition and in the name, image and likeness environment. By helping build a comprehensive, sustainable NIL and revenue-generating ecosystem, Gold & Blue Enterprises advances opportunities for student-athletes and positions WVU as a national leader in the future of college athletics.
About Waypoint
Waypoint is a leading provider of fan-driven "crowd commerce" solutions that help universities generate scalable, sustainable revenue through brand-aligned, white-label platforms that monetize fan loyalty. Learn more at www.waypointnetwork.ai.
For every dollar spent on Mountaineer.Travel, a percentage goes directly to help fund WVU Athletics.
The initiative marks another innovative step by Gold & Blue Enterprises as universities nationwide adapt to a changing collegiate athletics landscape shaped by NIL and the House vs. NCAA settlement. By giving Mountaineer Nation the opportunity to book discounted travel while giving back, WVU aims to turn fan loyalty into recurring revenue.
"WVU Athletics is always looking for innovative ways to provide value to our most dedicated supporters while also elevating the student-athlete," said Don Robinson, CEO of Gold & Blue Enterprises. "Mountaineer Travel provides a fresh channel for our alumni and fans to directly contribute to the success of our programs. Whether you're heading to a game, planning a family vacation or taking a weekend getaway, now you can travel smart and travel with purpose."
Waypoint, a fan-powered global travel platform, supplies WVU with the technology, global booking capabilities and analytics needed to engage its large base of alumni and fans who travel frequently for work and leisure.
By encouraging the Mountaineer community to book even a small portion of their annual travel through Mountaineer.Travel, WVU empowers fans to support their team simply by doing what they already do — travel. If a few thousand fans book one or two discounted trips a year, the program could generate substantial recurring revenue to support student-athlete compensation, program sustainability and other departmental priorities. The model turns everyday travel into a shared expression of pride, allowing thousands of fans to help carry an investment previously shouldered largely by major donors.
"When you consider the hundreds of thousands of trips Mountaineer Nation takes each year, every booking through Mountaineer Travel adds up — whether it's lodging for an anniversary getaway, theme park tickets, a weekend in Myrtle Beach, a soccer tournament in Pittsburgh or a business trip to Atlanta," said Matt Sanders, co-founder and CEO of Waypoint. "By giving fans a fun and rewarding way to travel, and by tying that to athletics funding, this platform lets supporters become 'micro donors' by shifting their behavior to benefit the school they love."
Key features of the program include:
- A custom travel website, mountaineer.travel, tailored to the WVU community and offering discounted rates on 850,000 hotels worldwide plus discounted activities and theme park tickets, with more options coming.
- A focus on engaging alumni and fans by converting routine travel behavior into sustained, broad-based support of student-athletes.
- Alignment with WVU's broader strategy to leverage its passionate fan base to support long-term competitive success.
Gold & Blue Enterprises, established in 2025, is designed to revolutionize the student-athlete experience and enhance the Mountaineers' competitive edge in the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics. GBE supports strategic initiatives that fuel success in competition and in the name, image and likeness environment. By helping build a comprehensive, sustainable NIL and revenue-generating ecosystem, Gold & Blue Enterprises advances opportunities for student-athletes and positions WVU as a national leader in the future of college athletics.
About Waypoint
Waypoint is a leading provider of fan-driven "crowd commerce" solutions that help universities generate scalable, sustainable revenue through brand-aligned, white-label platforms that monetize fan loyalty. Learn more at www.waypointnetwork.ai.
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