A key asset to any sports management program is having a professor who has worked in the field. James Madison's Alyssa Bosley not only has experience in minor league baseball as an intern, but also has worked at JMU as the Director of Marketing. Utilizing that experience, Bosley shares how she is able to go off-textbook with her advance level discussions when students are looking to get into the sports industry with the most up-to-date and credible knowledge possible. Bosley discusses her insights into how students are adapting to the online landscape, where a negative social media reputation may tank job prospects while a positive one may create an even brighter future beyond just a foot in the door. Bosley talks about her passion for education, and how she has managed to create a rich environment with her students when discussing advanced industry topics. Twitter: @AlyssaBosley
Volt Athletics is aiming to make elite strength and conditioning training available to even those high school and college teams on a tight budget. Dan Giuliani helped found the company, basing it on current technology which allows video, audio and text demonstrations of how to properly use equipment as well as develop various parts of the human body. Giuliani discusses some of the hot topics surrounding strength and conditioning; whether proper technique and education is being implemented across the board by the majority of coaching staffs or if female physiology training has caught up with that of their male counterparts as well as how that affects training regimes overall. Twitter: @VoltAthletics
Chad Collins has worked on both sides of the sports hiring industry; as a recruiter and as a ticket seller. That is a key component when attempting to diagnose what a franchise executive wants when filling positions. Collins shares his experience of selling in the NBA, MiLB and ECHL, as well as how he interacts with potential job candidates, developing the best possible recruiting tool for franchises. Collins has now struck out on his own, starting Legacy Sports Search in Boise, Idaho, and talks about some of the reasons why LSS was necessary for his growth, as well as the potential of sports hiring recruitment overall. Twitter: @ChadCollins20
Understanding the statistics and likelihood behind catching a foul ball at a baseball game launched a company called IdealSeat. Founded in Seattle, CEO Joel Carben shares his vision of increasing the fan experience through probability and statistics, especially when it comes to the amount of potential interaction between a customer and the game of play. Carben's company has invested thousands of hours on increasing the chances that customers who buy through their app will increase their ability to catch a foul ball, simply through past tracking in the stadium. Now on a tour of 30 Major League Baseballs parks in order to spread the word about IdealSeat to the general baseball fan, Carben is prepped to provide the ultimate fan interaction tool available on the market today. Twitter: @JoelCarben
Nels Popp is already pioneering his academic studies to improve sports business, especially after releasing a widely read industry report in NACDA about ticket sales, outbound sales and third party initiatives to produce revenue generation. Popp shares his criticisms of the sports administration field, where improvements can be had across the board, as well as what students can do to increase their chances of becoming better industry stewards down the road. Popp also chats about the founding of NAATSO, the first college ticketing association, and whether college athletics is finally accepting ticket sales as a front porch solution to revenue generation. Twitter: @NelsPopp
Understanding how to build an audience further is one of Scott Garrett's specialties, ever since starting at UIC and rising up to K-State athletics in Manhattan, Kansas. Garrett discusses how to ensure that the ticket product is not devalued, as well as the customer experience is increased by everyone who walks through the doors. And he plainly mentions how winning doesn't hurt, but it also can't be the only thing that an athletic department relies on when selling tickets. Garrett touches on the legacy of football coach Bill Snyder, some of the core principles that Snyder's brand places on top of K-State athletics, and how both mesh together. And Snyder's frequency of Taco Bell, which has transformed into a corporate sponsorship opportunity. Twitter: @ScottMGarrett
High level gifting as a sign of customer appreciation is far different than the mass giveaways that happen at the gates in exchange for a ticket. John Ruhlin specializes is crafting the best ways for a franchise or company to show their commitment back to the larger customers within their suite and premium levels. Ruhlin discusses why some of the things that franchises choose to aren't valued, and tend to be regifted, and how to ensure that every gift is quality and treasured by the customer forever. Ruhlin also talks about some of the ways to ensure that the entire process is both unique, as well as continual for each fan involved. Twitter: @Ruhlin
Eli Madden dusted off and rebooted a dormant sports sales academy at the Colorado Rapids, re-invigorating one of the best pipelines to working in sports. Madden discusses how those academy attendees have responded, when it has come to both new prospecting techniques as well as overall sales. Madden mentions that it has also had a positive affect at pushing the current Rapids sales staff, seeing the challenge underneath them with new candidates for positions knocking on the doors. Twitter: @real_eli_madden
In 10 years, Shawn Sullivan has certainly made his creative, driven enthusiasm known in the sports industry both as an administrator and educator. Sullivan discusses some of the ways that he approaches great marketing, sales and revenue generation techniques, as well as how he feels young people should be encouraged at viewing working in the industry. Sullivan also discusses his thoughts on his time at Northwestern, where he helped implement Purple Pricing as well as the goals he's set out for himself both personally and professionally now at Ball State Athletics. Twitter: @ShawnKSullivan
Harold Hughes has more than a compelling elevator pitch, he has a complex idea that may change the secondary ticket market. Hughes has founded Bandwagon, LLC, which specifically targets ways for fans to resell their tickets to other fans of the same team, eliminating the fears that the rivals may pick up seats in the best areas of the stadium. Hughes explains how he came up with the Bandwagon process, as well as learned to code in order to create a short-hand with his programming staff. Hughes has conquered a lot of the learning curve required to sell tickets on the secondary market, and looks to capitalize on an under-utilized segmentation of the marketplace. Twitter: @TheBarcodeMan