Navigating Sports Business

Gretchen Sheirr - President of Business Operations for the Houston Rockets - spent 20 seasons with the team before ascending to her current role in 2021. Over that stretch, she pioneered new ticketing practices, and became one of our industry's leading experts on digital ticketing. She join AJ Maestas to discuss the lessons she's learned over the course of her career, some best practices for ticketing and venue management, and how we as an industry can improve when it comes to DE&I practices. Details 1:30 - Gretchen's career path/staying with the same organization 7:27 - Ticketing 11:40 - Rockets Owner, Tilman Fertitta 14:00 - Lessons from the COVID-19 experience 20:05 - DE&I in sports 24:05 - Rapid Fire Questions For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Dr. Robert Cialdini is is the author of the best-selling book, Influence, and is an expert on psychology and human behavior. His research spans sports fandom, business, and beyond. He and AJ Maestas discuss the 7 principles of persuasion: Reciprocity Scarcity Authority Consistency Liking Social Proof Unity Bob shares how to use these principles to ethically inform and influence people in a business setting, including best practices for negotiation, price setting, and messaging. Details 2:55 - What the sports industry can learn from experts like Bob 10:50 - The 7 Principles of Persuasion 21:05 - Using Bob's work in Sports 28:05 - Bob's research on sports fandom Find Bob's books and his new course (coming Autumn 2022) here: https://www.influenceatwork.com/ Link to the research Bob mentioned: https://hbr.org/2021/12/need-a-favor-research-suggests-its-best-to-ask-in-person?ab=hero-subleft-3 Link to Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari: https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/ For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

George Kliavkoff - Commissioner of the Pac-12 - on the 3 main factors he's focusing on for the conference's upcoming media rights negotiations, with the current deal expiring in 2024. Revenue Broad Distribution Competitive Advantage The current media rights deal expires in 2024, so these negotiations will be taking place soon. Listen to the full interview from 2-2-22 here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=46682cf3db2b284481233d6d74e81438 For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Georgia Tech Director of Athletics - Todd Stansbury - joins AJ Maestas to discuss trending topics in college athletics, the challenges of running a modern athletic department, the future of the NCAA, and more. Details: 2:05 - Todd's career path 17:10 - Changes to collegiate athletics 23:35 - The NCAA's evolving role 32:20 - Fundraising at Georgia Tech 35:15 - Georgia Tech's MMR deal with Legends 38:55 - Rapid Fire Questions More info on Radiochain - the startup founded by 3 Georgia Tech swimmers. Link to GTAA Ventures - the VC Fund for Georgia Tech Athletics Jenny Moore - the former Georgia Tech athlete who became a fighter pilot. Shane Kimbrough -astronaut and honorary Georgia Tech letterwinner For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Chris Overholt - President and CEO of OverActive Media - shares what traditional sports properties can learn from the rise of esports, and how they should be preparing their investments in the broader gaming world. Conversely, he also gives his thoughts on what esports organizations can take from traditional properties as the industry continues to grow. Listen to the full interview from 1-29-22 here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=690212cb878c08c37334f692caac25e6 For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Mid-American Conference Commissioner, Jon Steinbrecher, gives us the G5 perspective on all of the hot topics we're seeing in college sports. Jon has been a conference Commissioner since 1994, making him the second longest-tenured Commissioner at the FBS level. He has been in the room when major decisions have been made regarding NIL, the-time transfer exception, CFP expansion, and more. He and AJ Maestas discuss all of the above, as well as talking about what makes the MAC such a fun and unique conference. Details 1:30 - The state of college athletics 9:15 - #MACtion & Fly the Flag 17:40 - NIL & the future of the NCAA 30:20 - Sports betting in college sports 36:15 - CFP Expansion 42:45 - Rapid Fire Questions Check out MAC's Fly The Flag campaign. For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

In honor of Super Bowl LVI and Tom Brady's retirement, we're featuring a highlight from our interview with Justin Toman, Head of Sports Marketing for PepsiCo. Justin highlights the brand's strategy around the Super Bowl and why they chose Pepsi as the sponsor of the halftime show rather than the other brands in their portfolio. He also shares the story of how he won the University of Michigan's Male Athlete of the Year award over Tom Brady in 1999. Listen to the full interview released on 4-28-21 with AJ Maestas here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=70fb32b2f9f7d365e52223245852545d For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

George Kliavkoff - Commissioner of the Pac-12 - joins AJ Maestas to discuss the major trends in college athletics like CFP expansion, NIL, and potential football rule changes. George talks about how his career outside of college athletics has prepared him for his new role, and what that transition has been like so far. He also explains why he's so optimistic about his conference's future. Details: 1:28 - The transition from fan to commissioner 8:45 - CFP expansion and football rule changes 12:05 - NIL & broader changes to the NCAA 32:10 - Future of the Pac-12 44:30 - The Alliance (Pac-12, ACC, and Big 10) 50:00 - Rapid Fire Questions For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Ariel Kelman - Oracle's EVP & Chief Marketing Officer - on how he selected Red Bull Racing as a partner, and how he uses that partnership to showcase Oracle's technology. Listen to the full interview released on 12-21-21 with Jeff Nelson here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=199f4dff26be0bba46c7db9b60685730 For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/

Chris Overholt - President and CEO of OverActive Media - on the rise of esports and gaming, and what it means for the future of sports fandom. Chris and AJ discuss how OAM's esports model reflects traditional sports properties that own and operate teams in multiple leagues. They also examine how brands can use esports to authentically reach younger generations. Details: 2:00 Chris Overholt's background 6:30 OAM: A media company for the 21st century 19:40 How traditional sports properties reach an esports audience 23:45 The future of esports fandom 34:45 Crypto, gambling, and emerging trends 39:35 Rapid Fire Questions For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page and learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/