On SBA nominees; and on campus at Clemson
THE SPORTS BUSINESS AWARDS have sold out the past two years, so make your plans early to attend the gala on May 22 in New York City. There are 90 nominees across 16 categories (see Page 10) and we will honor The McLendon Foundation with our Celebration of Service Award and Arthur M. Blank with our Lifetime Achievement Award. The event will again be co-hosted by Elle Duncan and Jay Williams.
Two points: These nominees were judged as having the BEST 12-month body of work — significant gains, accomplishments, business and brand development. Yes, there were others that had good years, but these are not legacy awards. Also, a few have asked about opportunities to be a judge. If you are interested, let me know, and please come prepared to put in some work with a non-biased, open and smart mind.
■ CLEMSON EXPERIENCE: I drove about 140 miles from Charlotte southwest to Clemson, S.C., to speak to Amanda Cooper Fine’s Sport Marketing Strategy classes earlier this month. Fine is a longtime subscriber of SBJ’s College Program and I was happy to support her efforts and speak to her students. It was my first visit to Clemson, and I arrived late in the afternoon on a beautiful day and took in the campus — what a classy, clean environment and what outstanding athletic facilities. At dinner that evening, the bartender proudly told me, “Our Athletics District is best in the country.” I have been to a number of campuses, and haven’t seen facilities this impressive or advanced, and athletics has been a centerpiece of President Jim Clements’ administration since he started in 2013.
Facilities supporting the 21 sports range from the new lacrosse, gymnastics and soccer venues (among others), to a training and recovery facility focused on sports science and sports medicine that opened earlier this month. A 55,000-square-foot facility under construction will focus on athlete wellness, and the well-known football complex, which opened in 2017, is one of the best in the country and tops most NFL facilities. It’s an incredibly well-thoughtout facility plan.
The next morning, I spoke to the two classes, the early birds starting at 8 a.m. and the second one at 9:30. These are undergrads who are largely focused on marketing. We covered a lot of ground, from challenges in college sports, media fragmentation, the growth of women’s sports, athletes as trendsetters and tastemakers, and upcoming global sports events. The students came prepared and had great questions: What’s the state of legalized sports betting almost six years in? What are the shifts in team ownership and impact of owning multiple teams? Are the leagues’ efforts around globalization working? Athlete IP and compensation? What is the future of Middle East investment in sports? What sports will Saudi Arabia will target next? They had a strong understanding of the issues.
They also asked where they should focus as they look for a career in sports. Sales is still a clean pathway to get involved in sports, but sales teams are smaller, and there are other areas needing talent. I stressed that they should think about content creation, production and storytelling, and creative ideation around social storytelling. Also, if they can understand, analyze and explain data and analytics and have a sharp sense of business intelligence on consumer behavior, they will find opportunities.
A couple of other suggestions I offered: Go into an interview armed with research, know your subjects and the company, and have a list of questions. When I sit with a young person and they don’t have any questions about SBJ or sports business, the conversation quickly ends and it’s a massively missed opportunity. I know some don’t like this phrase, but I still come back to “be interesting and be interested”: Share your story, bring some topics you want to discuss and be an active, engaged and curious questioner. Eye contact, smiles and a positive comportment go a long way. Also, never underestimate the power of the handwritten thank-you note after an interview. The quick email is appreciated, but a handwritten note is far more impactful.
■ CLEANING OUT THE NOTEBOOK: If you haven’t listened, check out Bill Simmons’ podcast conversation with LA28’s Casey Wasserman on The Ringer — they discussed critical issues in sports business. Whenever I speak to someone about Wasserman, the idea of his political aspirations are broached. With his command of details, facts and a point of view, he would be an effective communicator and candidate. … I caught up with my friend Mel Young, co-founder of the Homeless World Cup, whom I first met in Rome in 2016. His organization was honored by SBJ in 2017. The sweet, soulful Scot was at his home in Edinburgh and proudly told me how the organization is the subject of a new Netflix drama, “The Beautiful Game,” out March 29. Great to see the good people get their stories told, so put this on your watch list.