Jim Sweeney is just getting started in a period when most people are looking at retirement. Sweeny serves as an international board member and the head of FIMBA USA (Federation of International Masters Basketball Association). The International Olympic Committee calls FIMBA the best senior sports federation in the world. Sweeney talks about how FIMBA hosted its 15th world championship in 2017 in Italy, with over 367 teams, and almost 6,000 players from around the world. Twitter: @FIMBA
The biggest dog in the fight is sometimes a little yapper. That's what El Paso Chihuahuas' general manager Brad Taylor discusses as he joins the podcast, covering exactly how the MiLB team has created one of the hottest merchandise brands across the country. Taylor talks about perception versus reality with the El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico marketplace, as well as how the El Paso Chihuahuas' mascot is the biggest ambassador of the team in the greater community. Taylor specifically mentions his advocacy against discounted or free tickets, pushing for group sales over even season tickets, as well as how the Bowling Green Hot Rods became a top group sales effort with a small county population. Twitter: @BTinEP
Nick Schmidt fully admits that sitting in class at Seattle University with Troy Kirby was an experience that he will never forget, and is the guest for Episode 800 of the podcast. Schmidt talks about various concepts at the small college level, concerning both the student athlete and the administrator engaging across campus and with each other. Schmidt discusses some of the ways he feels can help administrating deal with coaching and player issues, as well as the expectations that student athletes may have toward raising their profile overall. Schmidt examines some of the fundraising challenges that small colleges have and how to overcome them. Twitter: @Nick_Schmidt_10
John Collins' experience with the major professional sports goes back to his days working at NFL Films, extends to working as President of the Cleveland Browns and as COO of the NHL. Collins now oversees NFL On Location, which is a joint venture with the NFL and a private equity firm, trying to create a better resale experience for those consumers trying to access the Super Bowl. Collins discusses On Location, its principles as well as his time working for NFL Films at the 27th Annual Association of Luxury Suite Director's Conference in Miami. Twitter: @NFLOnLocation
Brad Wolverton covers college sports for the Chronicle of Higher Education, seeing it from the view of academia reporting, and analyzing several of the issues that affect a campus as a whole. Wolverton discusses the Missouri protests which removed both the university president and chancellor, started by Mizzo football player who went on a hunger strike and showed the true power that student-athletes have now with social media. Wolverton then talks about student fees, and the amount of income that pushes forward various departments, and whether students fully understand the fees that they are paying. The conversation results into a discussion of higher education as a whole, and athletics place within it. Twitter: @BradWolverton
Chris Thompson seems always available to provide instant and necessary prospective on the sports industry as a whole. Returning to the podcast for a second stint, Thompson discusses his life as a father and husband, as well as his ability to separate his work life from his home life. Thompson also shares his views on what allows his role at The Evergreen State College to be fulfilling along with his relationship with the student athletes, coaches and media. Twitter: @cpt1982
Scott Lane has been overseeing one of the more unique minor league baseball franchises in the West Michigan Whitecaps, but that didn’t prepare him for one of the ultimate national stories that involved his operation in January 2013 when the White Cap’s stadium press box burned to the ground. Lane talks about the rebuilding effort of the club, including various ways that they not only rebuild, but grew their ticket base during the off-season when the team’s future was never in doubt. Lane discusses the White Caps’ incursion into the auto racing world, along with lessons learned in promotion and audience acceptance, and expands on what happens when the team’s 4,100-calorie Fifth-Third Burger drew the attention of Man Versus Food’s Adam Richman. Twitter: @WMWhitecaps
European football doesn’t have everything figured out when it comes to the fan, says Mark Bradley, who has used his own family as a working lab to ensure that the fan experience at matches is second-to-none. Bradley discusses his thought-processes over the years, trying to pull away that notion that club wins solves everything when it comes to attendance. Bradley talks about ways that he has helped draw families out to local matches and utilizes long-held trust mechanisms to ensure that each team representative is doing their part to promote the organization’s hallmarks during each match. Twitter: @FanExperienceCo
From the first moment that Charlie Hildbold walked into the indoor football league franchise in Allen, Texas, he has been fighting to keep the franchise alive. Hildbold talks about the early days of the former IFL Allen Wranglers, where NFL Wide Receiver Terrell Owens played for half a summer and the corporate sponsors were trying to revolt. Hildbold talks about the Wranglers franchise folding and the birth of the IFL Texas Revolution, which has improved on several of the issues that the Wranglers could not seem to control. Twitter: @CharlieHildbold
Legacy brands, especially in the Southeastern Conference, can be a tough marketing venture for anyone seeking to relate new ideas into an older demographic. Daniel Nunes talks about the challenges and success of running one of the marketing departments a top level athletic program nationally, as well as trying to maintain both an environment for television and the in-game fan experience for 93,000 fans on a football gameday. Nunes discusses how the cultural language of Louisiana Creole French is mixed into the LSU marketing environment and creating an atmosphere around that language during Tiger events. Nunes details LSU’s efforts in drawing more student attendees to non-football events, such as basketball, in order to ensure that every program has the fan support it needs. Twitter: @DNunesLSU