Brad Smith has been an idea maker in sports since 2003, when he had to sell tickets in the south with the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Now moving onto stints at Texas A&M, Middle Tennessee State, Alabama-Birmingham and Morehead State, Smith has used his revenue generation skills to drum up business and fan support for the athletic departments he has served in. Smith talks about how to navigate old traditions, starting some new ones, in the hopes of innovating while respecting the institution's past efforts. Twitter: @BradSmithMSU
Steven Ziff is no stranger to the podcast, having been a guest on Ep. 181 as VP of Brand Marketing for the Florida Panthers of the NHL. Now at the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, Ziff has unveiled a sweeping new premium hospitality program called "Jaguars Black" which may revolutionize how local businesses and sponsorships interact with professional luxury experiences. Ziff frames some of the challenges that he saw coming into the Jaguars, especially when the team had half of the NFL's norm for business involvement, as well as how to engage those community members to be a part of the team's overall scope of brand. Twitter: @SteveZiff
Steve Stroud feels that those looking to move up in the sports field should think twice before hitting the application button on any open position announcement, and presents his theory on the podcast. Stroud feels strongly in utilizing a few key principles of learning about the job's details, as well as seeing who within the current organization can help guide the interested party toward a potential hire. Stroud brings several years of experience in the athletic administration realm, and discusses his passion for sports revenue, marketing and communications above all else. Stroud shares his knowledge of how to continue to drive annual fund donations, even in uncertain times with the potential loss of the IRS deduction on university gifts, and how fans see bowl games and tournament berths, when it comes to the rise of an athletic program's prominence on the national stage. Twitter: @Steve_Stroud
Bill Hancock has achieved a unique trifecta in college athletics: he was the first director of the NCAA Final Four, first director of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and the first director of the College Football Playoff in an over 50-year-career. Hancock discusses his relationships in college basketball, the reasons behind playing in massive stadiums for ticket availability and how it fostered tournament expansion during an unprecedented growth of the game as well as television rights revenues. Hancock covers the reasons why he feels the BCS was ultimately successful in determining a national football champion, as well as the CFP, which he feels has improve the game as well as increased the chances of exciting football in January. Twitter: @BHancockCFP
Butler's athletic prowess over the last few years has made it a player on the national stage, even if its still a fan's "second favorite team" in Indiana. Associate AD Mike Freeman shares of the ways that Butler goes after its fanbase, especially when creating a unique, passionate environment at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Freeman provides insight on how getting on local television, as well as driving the importance of the game itself, has increased attendance overall amid those Final Four expectations after two back-to-back years in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship games. Twitter: @MichaelSFreeman
Kelly Higgins has served as athletic director of four NCAA institutions, driving revenue by making hard choices and trying to innovate despite not having a Division-I athletic department (save for D-I hockey at Alaska Fairbanks). Higgins discusses some of the feats he was able to pull off, such as the exempted "Top Of The World" Classic which drew in several D-I basketball teams to face D-I competition, on a regional cable network from a deal that Higgins crafted. Getting deeper into the details, Higgins talks about selling South Dakota on coaching staffs, renovating areas into fields and building a championship mentality at Fort Lewis College. Now at Alfred State, Higgins has a new challenge ahead of him, to define the identity of what Alfred State is and is not, within the perimeters of NCAA or NAIA. Twitter: @OldNumber83
Athletic tape has often been the invisible side of sports, in a typical white, bland fashion. Keith Moss aims to change that perception, introducing a branding tool with Signature Athletic Tape, that allows athletes and franchises to create a marketing concept surrounding something commonly taken for granted. Moss talks about how he came up with the idea to print logos and colors on the tape, and how it is now starting to generate buzz within the sports community, including a branding tool example made possible by a marathon sponsor, Airbrb. Moss discusses some of the challenges that lay ahead for his company, as well as how his tape has the ability to tear off easier, and reduce some of the stress on athletic trainers when an athlete wants to remove it. Twitter: @SigTape
Jason Bowers is in a unique spot at his alma mater; an assistant IT director for Cornerstone University, he's created a second job for himself as a volunteer running social media for the NAIA Division II men's basketball program. This has paid off 10-fold for the program, which has increased its engagement with its fans, especially after securing the 2015 NAIA Division II National Championship while Dancin' In Branson at the NAIA National Tournament. Bowers shares his thoughts on how he runs the social media accounts for Cornerstone men's basketball, as well as ways that he keeps his channels both fresh and relevant, and avoids subscribing to the idea of increasing followers at any and all costs. Bowers may be a volunteer for the program, but he has certainly increased awareness to a dramatic degree, while having a ton of fun in the process. Twitter: @JBBowers
The role of sports management courses, especially those dealing with the sociological and philosophical aspects in the world of sport, are under fire by critics who deem them unnecessary to finding a job in the industry. Trinity University's sports management director Jacob Tingle can empathize with the concern, but lays out his argument for why a wider breadth of knowledge surrounding the history, psychology and overall education of industry professionals is important to its survival and success. Tingle describes some of the tangible broad issues of the sports industry and how they impact the daily role of people in the community. Twitter: @TingleJK
Data scientist Michael Cavaretta disects the world of information gathering into a whole territory; selling cars. As Cavaretta explains, just getting the data is only one step in the process, and understanding what you are looking at takes a lot more than just a few mathematical formulas to figure out. Cavaretta discusses how Ford is starting to listen to customer-created conversations over social media to determine which features work, as well as how to educate their customers better. The conversation transforms into how sports business can learn a lot from the car business, in order to grow its analytical acumen in new, dynamic avenues. Twitter: @mjcavaretta