Winner of Sports Podcast Awards' Best Sports Business Podcast of 2024: Silver Medal. In this podcast series, ADC Partners co-founder Dave Almy hosts conversations with sports business professionals who are shaping the future of the industry. With interviews featuring brand representatives, team presidents, sports marketers, and even mascots, the 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast has insights for everyone involved in the sports industry. ADC Partners is a San Francisco Bay Area ba ...
…
continue reading
A quick question for you. What does studying the effect of smoking bans on bars have in common with convincing basketball coaches that shooting more threes is the key to winning? Absolutely nothing, as it turns out. Well, nothing, unless your name is Ben Alamar. If you’re Ben Alamar, those 2 things are linked at the hip. That’s because when Ben was…
…
continue reading
Let’s begin this episode with a few questions. First off, do you work in sports? Number 2: would you like to work in sports? Alright, one more: do you know someone who’d like to work in sports? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this episode is absolutely for you. My guests on the show are Amy Gutierrez and Celeste Gehring, two l…
…
continue reading
At one point in his career, Lloyd Danzig, the founder of Sharp Alpha Advisors, was pretty confident that there was money to be made in what he calls the competitive entertainment industry. The Supreme Court had just opened up sports betting for states to adopt, he had a solid investing background, had recently earned a degree in data science, and h…
…
continue reading
My guest on this episode, Sivonnia DeBarros, is known as the "Protector of Athletes". A former athlete herself, DeBarros is applying her legal background to help athletes avoid missteps that lead to financial and contractual challenges. And with the rise of Name Image Likeness opportunities for college athletes, she’s never been busier. In our conv…
…
continue reading
On this show, we’ve talked a lot about the crazy state of college sports brought on by legalized name image likeness payments to athletes. We’ve interviewed athletes who are reaping the benefits, administrators who are pulling their hair out trying to stay on top of changes, lawyers specializing in related legislation, and entrepreneurs trying to g…
…
continue reading
This is a difficult intro to do for this episode. I want to tell you all about my guest Jason Romero to draw you in. But I also don’t want to provide any spoilers to our conversation. I just want you to learn about his unbelievable story on your own. Because his story is just that: unbelievable. I promise that when you listen you’ll have a few “oh …
…
continue reading
There’s been so much change so quickly in sports business that there’s a bunch of stuff that seems normal now that I wouldn’t have even believed possible just 10 years ago. Paying college athletes. Watching games on your phone. Pro teams in Vegas. And there’s online gaming, a market that is currently estimated at about $10B a year, and is projected…
…
continue reading
From the outside looking in, working in sports can seem a little glamourous, I suppose. You know what I mean. Multi-billion dollar media rights deals. Major events located in sparkling new stadiums in global capitals around the world. New companies focused on delivering sports in totally different ways mushrooming up all over the place. Yeah, seems…
…
continue reading
As we get started on this episode, I want you to take a second and think about the qualities that define you. What are the different things that make you… you? Do you love those qualities? Or are they something you feel like you need to battle? For my guest Ryan Neiswender, it took time for him to learn to love the quality he hated most about himse…
…
continue reading
If you’re in this industry, you know that Sports business is a really dynamic industry. Change is happening all the time. New trends emerge, different technologies are adopted, audience tastes change on what seems like a minute-by-minute basis… it can be a lot. And nowhere is this more true than in college sports, particularly in terms of name-imag…
…
continue reading
This episode’s guest is probably going to make you feel like a slacker. In fairness though? Bonnie-Jill Laflin can make just about everyone feel that way. Santa Claus on Christmas Eve looks like a lay-a-bout compared to Bonnie Jill. We’ll get into her many MANY roles during our chat, but I will say that the first (and still only ) female NBA scout …
…
continue reading
If you have kids who play sports, you know all too well the special kind of crazy that brings to the household. When my 3 kids were younger they tried just about everything: lacrosse, tennis, golf, baseball, ice hockey, basketball, irish dance, football, volleyball…. I think I got everything…. Anyway, suffice it to say it could get a little chaotic…
…
continue reading
Imagine, for a moment, what goes into launching a new business. Think about it. All the excitement, stress, time, details, ideas, and millions of other unknown hurdles that can’t be planned for or strategized about. And when you think about all that, who would you turn to for help? Does your sibling spring to mind? For Mather Wiswall and Ruby Georg…
…
continue reading
Back in the day, if you wanted to call yourself a sports team owner, one of 2 things had to happen. You either had to be born into a crazy rich family that already owned a team, or you had to make a fortune somewhere else and buy the team from one of those previously mentioned crazy rich families. But my guest in this episode, Christopher Zook, wan…
…
continue reading
Let’s get one thing out of the way, right off the bat: sports and “purpose” have always been intertwined. For all the moaning from the “shut up and dribble” crowd, athletes and sports have ALWAYS provided a platform to shine a light on the issues of the day. Think about it. Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics. Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers. Tom…
…
continue reading
Do me a favor: close your eyes and picture the most famous sports and entertainment venues that have been built over, say, the last 40 years. I bet some of the places that come to mind are stadiums like Camden Yards in Baltimore, Oracle Park in SF, Tottenham Hot Spur Stadium in London or even the Sphere in Las Vegas. One thing they all have in comm…
…
continue reading
I’ve had a lot of discussions lately about the meaning of the term “grit”. Like what it means, what its qualities are, and its relative level of importance. You know, things like that. Generally, most people seem to agree that grit is the thing that gives you the ability to respond when life throws you a curveball. The grittier you are, the quicker…
…
continue reading
Chip Kelly, the Head Coach of the UCLA Bruins football team, once remarked that he wouldn’t be surprised if this episode’s guest Chase Griffin wound up as President of the United States one day. And after getting to spend some time with Chase, I think Coach Kelly’s expectations might actually be a little on the low side. Chase is currently a UCLA Q…
…
continue reading
When Alisha Pope was playing AAU basketball, her teammates would often share dreams about playing in the NBA and WNBA. But not Alisha. She dreamed about being commissioner. And let me tell you, after my conversation with her, I’m thinking NBA Commissioner Adam Silver better watch himself. Alisha kind of represents a perfect storm of how to succeed …
…
continue reading
I know, I know, I know. This is supposed to be a sports business podcast. The focus has always been on talking to people in the industry who are doing cool and interesting things. My challenge, though, is that I meet a lot of people from outside the sports business world who are ALSO up to cool and interesting things. And then my curiosity gets the…
…
continue reading
At any given time, there are something like 120 categories of business engaged in sports partnerships. And of all those categories of business, I don’t think there’s any as competitive as sports apparel and footwear. It is NOT for the faint of heart. Books have been written and movies have been made about how intense it is. That’s why Tamzin Barrio…
…
continue reading
A couple of years ago, the NCAA did something CRAZY. After some legal defeats and legislative challenges, the NCAA finally threw up their hands and started allowing college athletes to make some money by using their name, image, or likeness in different marketing activity. What happened next was a veritable explosion of new companies, brands, broke…
…
continue reading
Let’s take a second and define the meaning of the word “bananas”. Yes, it’s a yellow fruit you need to take care not to slip on. But that’s not the definition I’m thinking of right now. I’m thinking of the bananas that means “crazy”. “wacky”. “Bonkers”. And so, with that definition in mind, you know what’s truly bananas? Pitching an extensive partn…
…
continue reading
You may think you’ll do anything to close a sports marketing partnership, but how about eating bullfrog soup? That’s what this episode’s guest Yao Williams did once. (Yes, just the once). Currently the VP of Global Partnerships for eSports juggernaut ESL FACEIT Group, Yao’s path through the sports business world has been a remarkable one. He starte…
…
continue reading
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Joe De Sena thinks you’re soft. And he wants you to suffer. In fairness, the founder and CEO of the obstacle competition empire Spartan Race thinks just about everyone is soft and can benefit from some suffering. Because he believes it’s in those moments, when you’re exhausted and at what you think are your limit…
…
continue reading
Lets start with a tortured analogy: using data and analytics is a little like going to the gym. You know it’s important and good for you, but MAN can it be hard to get started. No one knows this better than Dr Darin White, the Executive Director of the Center for Sports Analytics at Samford University in Birmingham AL. In his role, Dr White has cre…
…
continue reading
“I’m a capitalist, but I also have a conscience.”That was written by this episode’s guest, Adam Lippard, after he returned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and they really cut to the heart of the internal conflict he experienced during that event. Adam is the Chief Partnership Officer for GMR Marketing, one of the biggest and most consequential ex…
…
continue reading
Note: This episode contains some salty language.This is a sports business podcast. Says so right there in the logo. So you’re probably expecting something related to sports business. Well, sorry to disappoint. My guest in this episode has never worked in sports. Frankly he’s not really even that much of a fan. So why on earth should you continue to…
…
continue reading
When I ask you what the most dominant sports league in the US is, I suspect you’d probably say the NFL. And if I asked what sports agency more or less created sports marketing, you’d probably say IMG. How about the world’s biggest sportswear brand? Nike, right?And what do all these blue chip sports businesses have in common? They all hired this epi…
…
continue reading
The Drone Racing League’s current season wraps up on NBC with the Algorand World Championships Semi Finals on March 26th and the finals on April 8th, so it’s kind of a miracle I managed to get the League’s SVP of Partnerships Ari Mark to sit still long enough for an interview. These are heady days for the DRL, so Ari, who oversees the League’s part…
…
continue reading
Trying to stay on top of the Name-Image-Likeness market for college athletes is just brutal. That marketplace is more complex than reading Shakespeare in ancient Greek while juggling on 1 foot. I suppose it takes someone like Lyle Adams, the CEO of Spry, to not only make sense of it all, but to build a product that can help others make sense of it …
…
continue reading
Here's a little secret: high school football is a really big deal in Texas. OK, maybe that’s not that much of a secret, what with the whole Friday Night Lights thing. But still: it’s a really REALLY big deal. And no one knows that more that Rudy Klancnick, the VP of Sales for Sports in Action. In his role, Rudy creates partnerships for Dave Campbel…
…
continue reading
How do athletes feel when their time as a competitor seems over? When the last fan leaves the stadium and the lights go out for the what might be the final time?For British Olympian Margie Pedder, the period that followed competing in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney Australia was a bit uncertain. After training so hard for that singular goal, she …
…
continue reading
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. "That little pearl of Aristotelian wisdom is probably one of the most frequently used (or overused) phrases in the business world. But the meaning can be a little opaque at times. Well, unless you’re Jason Oberlander, the Chief Commercial Officer for ASM Global. He knows exactly what it means. You se…
…
continue reading
For 16 years, Dave Raymond was the Phillie Phanatic, one of the most famous mascots in all of sports. In his time inside the costume, he more or less invented the concept of the modern mascot and made characters an indispensable part of a sports team’s operation.In our conversation, we review the Phanatic’s origins, how Raymond developed the mascot…
…
continue reading
The theme of this episode is all about taking chances, something Jennifer Todd, the co-founder of The Basketball Tournament, knows all about. Consider some of her rolls of the dice:As a freshman in college, she joined in a lawsuit that would become a landmark case involving Title 9.After she landed a dream job in sports, she left it to travel the w…
…
continue reading
Suffice it to way that, at least from a marketing perspective, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is off to an interesting start. In this special World Cup edition Danish sports business professional and soccer expert Kenneth Corsten breaks down the MANY stories that have already emerged, including the Budweiser fiasco, Danish equipment maker Hummels stra…
…
continue reading
Is there a more iconic brand than Levi’s? Think about it: you only have to hear the numbers “501” and you know exactly what they mean. That’s both the opportunity and the challenge for Mark Foxton, Levi’s point person for Global Partnerships and Collaboration. Mark is charged with figuring out how sports can help Levi’s maintain its status as a uni…
…
continue reading
“Control what you can control.” That’s the mantra that Phoenix Suns SVP of Marketing Partnerships Tom Fletcher spoke to himself as his playing days in the NFL came to an end. It was his vow to never let his future be left to the capricious whims of some unknown team executive. With that, Tom began his sports business career by focusing on what he c…
…
continue reading
I guess you could call this episode’s guest Alan Ledford “a baseball guy.” He’s been working in the game for over 30 years, beginning as an intern for the Oakland A’s in 1983 and rising top the the club’s VP of Operations. Since then, Ledford has helped launch multiple minor league baseball teams, most notably the Sacramento River Cats and the El P…
…
continue reading
Have your ever had an idea for a business that just took up residency inside your head? Something that you’d think about and go ‘that might just work’? Jason Smith, the Founder and CEO of SponsorCX sure did. For years Jason thought about using technology to bring order to the chaos that can sometimes be sponsor and property relationships. And for y…
…
continue reading
When Andy Dolich shoots you a note and says, “Hey, lets do a podcast episode together.” the only possible response is “When do we record, and how long do you have?”It’s fair to say that Dolich is a legend in the sports business world. He’s sat in the big chair for teams in 3 of the 4 major pro sports leagues. He’s overseen both championship seasons…
…
continue reading
It’s safe to say that we’ve arrived at something of an inflection point for women’s sports. NWSL games are selling out. The WNBA just turned 25. US women’s soccer recently secured pay equity with the men. The KC Current are building the first women’s soccer-specific venue. And on and on. Women’s sports are generating more attention (and more revenu…
…
continue reading
In this episode we’re talking cryptocurrencies. But I guess who isn’t talking about crypto these days, right? Crypto is the future! Crypto is over! What the heck even is crypto...?!?While we might debate what’s in store for crypto currencies, one thing that’s undeniable is the impact that they’ve had on sports marketing. Crypto firms have been ever…
…
continue reading
This episode is momentous for a couple of reasons. First, it features an in depth conversation with Jason Pearl, the Chief Business Development Officer of the San Francisco Giants. Jason has been involved with developing partnerships for the team for 30 years. Suffice it say he’s forgotten more about creating successful partnerships than most peopl…
…
continue reading
It’s been just a little over a week since Rich Strike shocked the world by winning the Kentucky Derby as an 80 to 1 long shot. In this episode, we talk with Churchill Downs General Manager Mike Ziegler about that stunning upset and what it means to both the track and horse racing in general. We’ll also talk about the impact of legalized sports bett…
…
continue reading
Ashley Chalk has been developing corporate partnerships for all kinds of organizations over her 20 year career. You name it, she’s sold it: Minor League Baseball, Legoland, Disney on Ice, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, and now 14 time champion Chip Ganassi Racing. We talk about Ashley’s development as a sales professional, what she see…
…
continue reading
Megan Eisenhard began her sports business career working at the bottom of football stadium stairwell. From those humble beginnings, Megan's rise through the college sports ranks has been remarkable. Now a Senior Vice President at LEAFIELD, the largest media and technology company serving college sports, Megan now oversees an ever expanding portfoli…
…
continue reading
Phil Grieco, Senior Director of Brand Strategy for Monster Beverage, has a uniquely valuable perspective in sports marketing, because he’s seen the industry play out from all possible angles. He’s worked for properties like the NBA, agencies like Wasserman, and for brands like M/M Mars, GoPro, and (now) Monster Beverage.As you can imagine, with a b…
…
continue reading
If you’re not familiar with GameDay Vodka, that might be because you haven’t attended a football game this year. GameDay has been EVERYWHERE this football season, building their fast growing brand by connecting with fans at the grass roots level through partnerships and smart use of intellectual property. We’ll talk about what goes into launching a…
…
continue reading