They Shoot... They Score!: Lessons in Leadership, Innovation and Strategy from the Business of Sports

By Dr. Patrick Rishe

Featuring fifty interviews with fifty sports executives ranging from team owners, team/company executives, facility designers, and analytics experts, They Shoot...They Score offers a comprehensive guide to applied lessons in leadership, innovation and strategy from the sports industry. Topics covered include Strategic Marketing, Brand Management, Business Analytics and Sport Science, Corporate Culture, Corporate Partnerships, Entrepreneurship, Facility Logistics, Sales, and much more! Conducted between January and May 2018, these interviews span additional topics such as brand building for pro sports startups, the evolution of sponsorship analytics, applications of experiential marketing, key aspects of stadium design, and college athletic administration. These interviews cover every major professional sports league in North America (basketball, football, hockey, soccer, baseball), numerous consulting firms (Wasserman, Block Six Analytics, GumGum, Populous), and entities from collegiate athletics and the sports commission world (NCAA, University of Oklahoma, America East Conference, St. Louis and Kansas City Sports Commissions). Published as an e-book, this format allows readers to click on a variety of links to dive deeper into topics of interest to them.  This interactive feature adds to the educational and entertainment value of the project. The target audiences for this book are: (1) Sports enthusiasts who want to learn more about the Business of Sports. (2) Those who enjoy reading about business and leadership, for there are numerous applied lessons in each throughout the book. (3) College professors who wish to supplement their Sports Business or Sport Management courses with a compilation of real-world sports industry applications.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543942057

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title and Credits

Overview

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Preface

Organizations Represented

Business-Management Topics Covered

Introduction

The Leaders

The Learned

The Youngsters

The Insightful

The Entrepreneurs

The Collegians

Summary

Appendix A

They Shoot...They Score!

Lessions in Leadership, Innovation and Strategy

from the Business of Sports

by Dr. Patrick Rishe

Copyright © 2018

This book may not be reproduced or resold in whole or in part through print, electronic or any other medium. All rights reserved.

Photos on cover page (clockwise from top left): Joe Lacob (Owner and CEO, Golden State Warriors), Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Director, Football Research and Development, San Francisco 49ers), Zaileen Janmohamed (Senior Vice President of Client Consulting + Services, GMR Marketing), Amy Huchthausen (Commissioner, America East Conference).

Overview

Featuring fifty interviews with fifty sports executives ranging from team owners, team/company executives, facility designers, and analytics experts, They Shoot...They Score offers a comprehensive guide to applied lessons in leadership, innovation and strategy from the sports industry. Topics covered include Strategic Marketing, Brand Management, Business Analytics and Sport Science, Corporate Culture, Corporate Partnerships, Entrepreneurship, Facility Logistics, Sales, and much more!

Conducted between January and May 2018, these interviews span additional topics such as brand building for pro sports startups, the evolution of sponsorship analytics, applications of experiential marketing, key aspects of stadium design, and college athletic administration.

These interviews cover every major professional sports league in North America (basketball, football, hockey, soccer, baseball), numerous consulting firms (Wasserman, Block Six Analytics, GumGum, Populous), and entities from collegiate athletics and the sports commission world (NCAA, University of Oklahoma, America East Conference, St. Louis and Kansas City Sports Commissions).

Included among the 50 persons interviewed are Joe Lacob (owner of the 3-time World Champion Golden State Warriors), Kerry Bubolz (President and COO of the Vegas Golden Knights), Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks), Dan Flynn (CEO and Secretary General of the U.S. Soccer Federation), Robyn Glaser (Vice President of The Kraft Group), Larry Miller (President, Jordan Brand), Tom Penn (President and Co-Owner of the Los Angeles Football Club), Chris Zimmerman (President and CEO of the St. Louis Blues), and Al Guido (President of the San Francisco 49ers and CEO of Elevate Sports Ventures).

The 4 core areas most frequently discussed by the experts are (1) lessons in leadership, (2) examples of innovation, (3) Strategic Marketing and Brand Development, and (4) Strategic Business Planning. Additionally, the interviews address a myriad of other topics, such as applications of business analytics both on and off the field of play, the growing role of social media as part of an organizations overall marketing strategy, the importance of both internal corporate culture and external community relations, and lessons in enhancing the success and efficiency of an organization’s sales efforts.

About the Author

Dr. Patrick Rishe is the Founding Director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as a Professor of Practice in Sports Business within WashU’s Olin Business School. He is also the Founder and CEO of the sports consulting firm Sportsimpacts, as well as a contributing Sports Business writer for Forbes.com. Regarding professional highlights from 2018 alone, Dr. Rishe received the annual Reid Teaching Award from the Olin Business School, served as the NCAA’s expert witness in their favorable outcome in the Todd McNair lawsuit, and conducted an Economic Impact Study for the 2018 SEC Men’s Basketball Championships.

As the Founding Director of the WashU sports business program which began in 2015, Dr. Rishe has produced (1) an annual Fall Sports Business Summit which has attracted over 75 sports industry speakers in its first 3 years, (2) experiential projects with organizations such as Populous, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Vegas Golden Knights, and (3) sports immersion trips where dozens of WashU students have traveled to New York City and Los Angeles to network with numerous sports organizations. Dr. Rishe teaches classes in Sports Analytics, Sport Marketing, and the Business of Sports. Prior to WashU, Dr. Rishe spent 16 years at Webster University as an Economics professor.

As the Founder and CEO of Sportsimpacts (started in 2000), Dr. Rishe’s firm has conducted over 85 Economic Impact Studies including 3 Super Bowls (2016, 2011, 2006), 3 Final Fours, and a Ryder Cup. He has also done impact studies for entire college athletic programs (Ohio State, Texas, New Mexico), and has conducted market research at over 20 NCAA Championship events.

Academically, Dr. Rishe has published numerous academic papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Sport Marketing Quarterly and the International Journal of Sport Finance. In the classroom, he has taught Sports Business courses at UCLA, Saint Louis University, and Pepperdine University, has been a guest speaker at Harvard’s Sports Law Symposium and NYU’s Tisch Graduate School of Sport Management, and has previously (2015-2017) moderated panel discussions at both the MIT Sports Analytics Conference and Stanford University’s Sports Innovation Conference (2015, 2018).

In media works, Dr. Rishe has been a contributing OpEd columnist for FORBES.com since 2010, where he has published over 800 pieces which have garnered over 4 million readers. His insights on topical sports business issues have appeared on various national media outlets such as NBC Nightly News, CBS News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, Fox Business, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, L.A. Times, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Marketplace Radio, and NPR.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, thank you to all the contributors herein. Whatever growth I’ve experienced as a sports business educator and analyst in recent years is largely a function of (1) conversations we’ve had directly, (2) reviewing presentations or interviews you have delivered, or (3) visiting your place of business for first-hand exposure to your work and culture.

Second, thank you to the Lacob family. While some of the contributors herein were part of my professional network prior to 2015, many were met through networks formed since I became the Director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis in June 2015. But the only reason we have a program is because of the Lacob’s generosity. To that end, I thank Joe Lacob, owner and CEO of the Golden State Warriors, and his sons Kirk and Kent (a 2015 WashU alum) for their time, resources, and guidance. For these things, I’m forever indebted.

Third, thank you to the executives at the Olin Business School (most notably, Todd Milbourn, Steve Malter, and Mahendra Gupta) for their faith in me to provide direction and guidance during the program’s infancy. Also, a thanks to the students (Andrew Pek, Ryan Vargas, Rohan Gupta, Katie Sissler) who provided editorial assistance in the months before the book’s release, and two Olin colleagues (John Horn and Mark Soczek) for making editorial suggestions.

Lastly, thank you to my family for instilling within me a passion for sports which still burns to this day. This includes:

- My father, Jim…a long-time high school athletics director, coach, and referee, who in March 2018 was inducted into the 2018 Hall of Fame class of New York State’s Athletic Administrators Association. - My older brothers, Mike and Dave…who not only were excellent athletes once upon a time and spent considerable time allowing their younger brother to tag along for touch football or 2-on-2 basketball games, but who continue to be cherished lifetime friends and role models for their families, colleagues, and students. - My dearly departed mother and sister, Marilyn and Beth Ann…who were both sports enthusiasts, always supportive, and tough-as-nails against the longest of life’s odds. How they confronted and endured in the face of insurmountable circumstances left an indelible imprint upon anyone whose lives they touched. Their spirit and light shines on.

Preface

I’ve been fortunate enough to build a highly developed network of contacts within the sports industry, borne from (1) attending numerous professional conferences, (2) roughly 20 years working with clients through my sports consulting practice, and (3) leveraging my media access. Not only have these factors created positive networking externalities for my students and university - gaining access to team, league, and company employees - but it has helped broaden my own knowledge about the sports industry, keeping me sharp on the latest trends.

Furthermore, since joining Washington University in St. Louis in 2015, that professional network has exponentially increased…with new industry ties seemingly forming weekly across all aspects of the industry. I haven’t tapped into the Alaskan Iditarod, Jamaican bobsled, or New Zealand rugby networks just yet, but give it time.

Reflecting upon this network, I began to appreciate the value, breadth, and scope of their far-reaching insights on current and future trends within the sports industry. Their collective experience empowers them to opine upon broader perspectives regarding leadership, innovation, and strategy, which have driven them to personal and corporate success. In short, I realized what a wonderful opportunity this network presented for compiling their expertise into one project. One place. One book.

Subsequently, this book shares insights from 50 professionals who collectively possess over 700 years of sports industry experience!!! They span every major sports league in North America, as well as major collegiate athletics, consulting firms, apparel companies, facility architects, esports, and local/regional sports commissions. They also span the organizational ladder, from team owners to team/company executives. From business strategists to analytics gurus to entrepreneurs…we cover it all. Well, almost all. We don’t cover motor sports, but judging from the ratings these days, no one else is either...so we’re good.

As a long-time business educator, I’m particularly excited because this book offers a comprehensive look at various facets of managerial decision-making and business operations across all levels of sport. The subject areas typically covered in business schools - marketing, management, sales, finance, communications, analytics, entrepreneurship, leadership - are all addressed in one way or another herein through a series of real-world examples shared by the contributors. Examples include:

- MANAGEMENT…The thought process executives undertake when making difficult roster or coaching changes (Golden State Warriors);

- ENTREPRENEURSHIP…Creating / operating a sports startup from scratch (Vegas Golden Knights, LAFC, Halo Neuroscience, STRIVR, asensei);

- FACILITY LOGISTICS…Understanding the various logistical considerations a sports architect must weigh when designing a new sports facility (Populous);

- SALES/MARKETING/MANAGEMENT…Adding new physical features and new pricing options at your venue to either (1) cater to millennials or younger, or (2) cater to event rights holders to attract future events to your building (St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues);

- ANALYTICS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP…Technological advancements which allow for (1) More accurately assessing sponsorship ROI (Wasserman, GumGum, Block Six Analytics), (2) More efficiently training athletes (STRIVR, Halo Neuroscience, asensei), and (3) More successfully identifying new customers and retaining existing customers (KORE, numerous pro sports teams);

- MARKETING…The importance of research when implementing experiential marketing to better understand the emotional factors which drive sports attendance and viewership (GMR Marketing);

- FINANCE…How valuations of European soccer clubs are complicated by relegation and promotion (Inner Circle Sports).

It’s comprehensive, and it’s interactive! Throughout the book, I’ve linked to a variety of related stories or videos to give interested readers the ability to dive deeper as they desire.

So, in the immortal words of Terrell Owens, get your popcorn ready (or perhaps a latte from Starbucks is more apt for the target group reading this book), and enjoy! ¹

Footnotes:

¹ 36 of the 50 interviews conducted were comprised of contributors emailing their written responses to the questions I sent them. The other 14 interviews were either conducted by phone

(Bubolz, Clark, Farrell, Glaser, Gumpert, Nelson, Penn) or in person (Abbamondi, Mehrotra, Schreiber, Segal, and all 3 members of the Lacob family.

Organizations Represented

Business-Management Topics Covered

In an effort to organize key insights by topical business/management subjects (e.g. leadership, innovation, strategic marketing, etc…), Appendix A provides a summary of insights which are organized by these various topical areas. So, after reading the introductory chapter, please jump to Appendix A if this is your preferred method of consuming the content. Thereafter, if you seek greater context, you can seamlessly transition back to the full interview of the person of interest within the body of the book.

I organized the business/management content areas as follows:

- The 4 largest themes covered throughout the book are:

◦ Leadership

◦ Innovation

◦ Strategic Marketing / Brand Development

◦ Strategic Business Planning

- 10 additional complementary themes covered throughout the book (in alphabetical order):

◦ Analytics and Sport Science

◦ Business Operations and Finance

◦ Communications (Corporate, Sports Media, Social Media)

◦ Community Relations

◦ Corporate Culture

◦ Corporate Partnerships

◦ Entrepreneurship

◦ Event / Project Operations

◦ Facility Construction / Renovation Logistics

◦ Sales

So if you wish to consume the content herein by subject or content area, jump to Appendix A.

Otherwise, let’s move to the next page, where I introduce the book, and discuss how my life has been intertwined with the sports industry in some way, shape, or form over the last 40 years.

Introduction

They say the Summer of Love took place in 1967, but I’m feeling much love this summer (2018) for my friends in the sports industry. Joe Lacob, Owner of the Golden State Warriors and principal benefactor of the Sports Business Program at my university, just won his 3rd NBA title in the last 4 years. The Vegas Golden Knights, who have employed 3 of my students as summer interns over the last 2 summers, recently completed their historic inaugural 2017-18 season by reaching the Stanley Cup Finals as an expansion franchise... exceeding all ticketing and merchandise expectations in the process. And the LAFC, who have been kind enough to give my students tours of their headquarters the last 2 years, have begun their maiden MLS campaign to resounding approvals...buoyed largely by an incredible new facility and a crowd atmosphere that would even impress a European soccer diehard.

More generally, and especially over the last 9 months, I realize how incredibly spoiled and lucky I am as a sports educator, sports consultant, and general sports enthusiast. Highlights include:

- Meeting Magic Johnson on my birthday at the Lakers practice facility in El Segundo ( second photo in the cycle ), which randomly happened on the last day of a March 2018 networking trip with my students to Los Angeles...where we visited companies like Fox Sports, Riot Games, Oak View Group, NFL Network, LAFC, L.A. Galaxy, and Wasserman over the span of 4 days;

- Attending the shoot-out at the Rose Bowl on New Years Day between Georgia and Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff National Semi-Finals (yet, in true Rishe-ian fashion, leaving midway through the 4th quarter to avoid post-game traffic, thereby missing Georgia’s thrilling last-minute tying touchdown and ultimate 54-48 victory in the second overtime period);

- An October 2017 trip to New York City with my students, where we visited the headquarters of the NBA, NHL, and MLS in a span of hours, followed by a tour of Madison Square Garden and an impromptu MLS match at Citi Field (as Yankee Stadium wasn’t available thanks to the Bronx Bombers unexpected post-season run);

- Attending opening day at Busch Stadium on April 5th,, which is essentially a local holiday in St. Louis. Hard to beat the passion and loyalty of the Cardinals fanbase;

- Attending the first home match in LAFC franchise history on April 29th, which was also the first match ever played at the brand-new Banc of California Stadium;

- Serving as the NCAA’s expert witness in the Todd McNair defamation case, which turned out to be an exceptional learning and networking opportunity on numerous levels.

While each of these happenings were special, the most enriching experience over the last several months unquestionably has been engaging in a collection of 50 conversations with individuals who work in diverse areas across the sports industry.

Before sharing these conversations with you, let me start by sharing 3 reflective moments I had during both the formative and final stages of this project.

A. Past and Current Reflections – A Life Intertwined with the Sports Industry

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

As I gaze out the lobby window of the W Hotel in Westwood Village less than a mile from UCLA, my mind wanders as I reflect upon how my life’s experiences have intersected with the sports industry and the business of sports:

- During what has become my annual 4-week winter escape to Los Angeles, I work-out in the mornings at the UCLA fitness center. There, I walk past John Wooden’s inspirational Pyramid of Success. And while I realize some have questioned the legitimacy of Wooden’s wizardry in light of behind-the-scenes (and alleged under-the-table) assistance from former booster Sam Gilbert, admiring Wooden’s Pyramid still provides a jolt of inspiration and wonderment.   - Given my ties to Charlotte (home of my college alma mater and prior employer), and with the NFL playoffs about to begin, I took particular interest in the fact that one of the participating teams would soon experience an ownership change in 2018, largely because the then-owner of the Carolina Panthers, Jerry Richardson, became yet another fallen leader during the #metoo era as the result of alleged personal misconduct and harassment of employees during his tenure. ²

◦ Secondarily, thinking about the Panthers makes me think about legendary sports marketing guru Max Muhleman. Muhleman is often credited as the creator of the personal seat license or PSLs. PSLs are extremely common in professional sports, and the Panthers home (now Bank of America Stadium ) was considered the pioneering project for the use of PSLs.

- With ties to two expansion sports teams, the Vegas Golden Knights (their staff has presented in my class, as well as hired my students for summer internships) and the Los Angeles Football Club or LAFC (their staff have also presented in my class, as well as given my students tours of their headquarters), I think about the genesis of a team. I think about the importance of brand-building, and the importance of demonstrating both vision and discipline when crafting and adhering to mission statements and primary business objectives. Based on early results, both teams have figured things out...and in a spectacular way. The Golden Knights became the first pro sports franchise in North America to reach the league championship round as an expansion team since the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues, the LAFC and their beautiful new Banc of California Stadium are the talk of Los Angeles, and both franchises have among the trendiest and robust merchandise sales in all of sports.   - On the cusp of teaching my Sports Analytics course during the Spring 2018 semester, and a mere 6 weeks away from the 2018 MIT Sports Analytics Conference, I’m reflecting on recent interactions with those in the analytics world. From conversations with GumGum, Block Six Analytics, and Wasserman, to what I learned from attending conferences in 2017 (including Geekwire’s Sports Analytics event in Seattle and Innovation Enterprises Sports Analytics conference in San Francisco), I’m overwhelmed with the pace at which sports tech has positively disrupted numerous facets of the industry, while questioning the commercial applicability of select advances…wondering how effectively the analytics gurus are communicating their advanced intel with the key decision-makers within their organizations. - With the 2018 Winter Olympic Games approaching, my thoughts turn to both past and present:

◦ My roots. I grew up in tiny Potsdam, NY, which is less than 110 miles from 2 of the most historic and iconic American accomplishments in Olympic history; • At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the athlete then-known as Bruce Jenner (the now Caitlyn Jenner) (1) won Olympic Gold in the decathlon, (2) was adorned on Wheaties boxes thereafter, and (3) arguably helped expedite the rate at which athletes in general translated their athletic successes into corporate endorsements. • Those games will also forever be remembered for the Big Owe, a sarcastic yet fitting name for Olympic Stadium …where I attended many Montreal Expos games as a little boy. Little did I realize then that the city of Montreal and province of Quebec would require more than three decades to pay down the debt owed to construct the facility …in what was one of the first examples of white elephant facilities which have plagued numerous Olympic host cities ever since, leading recently to the I.O.C.’s adoption of Agenda 2020 to help curtail egregious public financing of Olympic venues, while also building facilities with greater useful life and sustainability well after the Olympics have gone. • At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, a Miracle on Ice happened just weeks before my 10th birthday, when American amateurs beat Russia’s hockey pros in an event deemed one of the greatest upsets in American sports history. Ironically, NHL players started competing in the Olympics in 1998 to help generate higher television ratings to keep the value proposition high for Olympic sponsors, thereby making it impossible to ever recreate another American hockey miracle. • Until 2018, that is, when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman decided not to allow players to compete in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang. ◦ L.A. 2028 • While the work of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Casey Wasserman, and their entire bid team was monumental in influencing the I.O.C. to select Los Angeles as host city for the 2028 Summer Games, and while I’m personally excited as a part-time L.A. resident to see Los Angeles receive the hosting nod, the local excitement was somewhat muted because we are still 10 years away from those Games. • And for anyone who followed this bid cycle, it potentially gives rise to a new day in how the I.O.C conducts business, as they awarded 2 host cities (Paris in 2024, L.A. in 2028) in one cycle for the first time ever…both for financial and political reasons.

Sunday, February 25th, 2018

While relaxing at home in St. Louis after just returning from a weekend trip to Boston, I once again reflect upon recent events in the sports industry:

- The 2018 Winter Olympics ended today;

◦ At an estimated total cost of $13 billion, the operation of the PyeongChang Games is considered a bargain, relative to the $50 billion price tag associated with the 2014 Games in Sochi; • Is this cost-reduction evidence the I.O.C.’s Agenda 2020 is already having a positive impact on the mindset/culture and operational efficiency of Olympic Host communities?

- Sean Miller’s coaching career in collegiate athletics was shaken to its core

◦ News broke on Saturday, February 24th that Miller, the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Arizona, was allegedly overheard during an FBI wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to prized recruit Deandre Ayton, who is now a freshman standout at Arizona. • Miller did not coach Arizona’s Saturday night 2/24 game at Oregon ◦ This story came on the heels of a broader investigation – published by Yahoo! Sports on Friday, February 23rd – in which players from more than 20 Division I men's basketball programs were identified as possibly breaking NCAA rules through violations uncovered by the FBI's work. • All of which raises questions regarding whether the NCAA will pursue a new round of reforms to minimize the recurrence of these issues? ◦ While Miller returned to coaching after a one-game hiatus and went on to lead the Wildcats to the 2018 Pac 12 tournament title, their season came to a crashing halt with a 1st round upset loss in the NCAA tournament. • Interestingly, however, Coach Miller has not faced scrutiny since these media reports, so it appears his job is actually safe as of June 2018. Truly amazing, given the avalanche of negativity he fended off after the Yahoo Sports story went public.

- I returned home this morning from the 2018 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at MIT

◦ 3 central themes included:

• The diversity of analytics applications in various spheres of the sports industry, from on-field performance, business intelligence at the team and league levels, improving marriages between sponsors and their team/league partners, and creating greater efficiencies in how athletes train and recuperate. • The importance of utilizing existing data-collection tools and digitization to drive personalized marketing campaigns. • The criticality of transforming analytics insights into digestibly succinct communications for decision makers to act upon. • Failing to communicate key insights severely undermines any analytics gains or intel, so building communication skills is just as important as learning R or logistics regression.

- Yesterday, I visited Fenway Park for just the second time in my life…both times as part of a Fenway Park Tour (not an actual game).

◦ The oldest park in Major League Baseball (built in 1912), they showed upgrades in the right-field seats which allowed for more lounge and standing viewing areas from which to watch the game, which made me think of a similar project currently afoot at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

◦ The Cardinals will open their Budweiser Terrace section in the right field upper deck in April when the season begins. • This area will include lounge seating in the concourse in front of high-def TVs and near full-service bars, while allowing others to stand and watch from multiple tiers. ◦ Teams like the Cardinals, Red Sox, Nationals, and Braves have begun adopting these structural seating changes within their facilities in the ongoing effort to attract and cater to millennial fans (and younger) who want a more communal and social experience, rather than just sitting for 3+ hours to watch a game. • We at WashU are fortunate to have a great relationship with the Cardinals, evidenced by them working with our students in Spring 2018, as the students pitched marketing and promotional recommendations on how to attract millennials and younger fans to the Terrace.

- On the topic of millennials, and circling back to Day 1 of the MIT event from 2/23, Alissa Lieppman, Senior Director of Club Digital Strategy for the NFL, presented an interesting discussion on targeting millennials, with her key insights being:

◦ When targeting millennials, you must always create or evoke an emotional response with every social post.

◦ And you must engender a sense of community connection, showing how teams are involved and doing positive things within their cities.

- While the MIT trip was enjoyable, it occurs during a time at which the sports world has recently witnessed horrific lapses of administrative oversight and leadership:

◦ First, Larry Nassar. • I fear we’ve only begun to scratch the surface on the depths of ineptitude and dismissiveness which occurred for decades both at Michigan State, U.S. Gymnastics, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, which enabled serial pedophile Nassar to allegedly abuse hundreds of young girls and women. ◦ Second, the Dallas Mavericks. • With an alleged serial sexual harasser in a CEO post for well over a decade, and with another male employee arrested at work for domestic violence, it is difficult to believe that one of the most hands-on owners in all of professional sports had absolutely no idea of his employees’ behaviors, which created an unhealthy atmosphere within business operations wing of the Mavericks organization.

Monday, June 26th, 2018

It’s the wee hours of the morning, and I’m watching replays of England’s 6-1 thrashing of Panama in their second match at the 2018 World Cup…a result which is a painful reminder that Panama beat out the United States in CONCACAF qualifiers. Despite the lingering disappointment with that gargantuan setback, I’m buoyed with excitement stemming from FIFA recently awarding the 2026 World Cup to the United Bid authored jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where the U.S. will host 60 of 80 matches.

I’m watching these replays with my Sling membership on an iPad, which makes me feel young given that I’m exhibiting consumption tendencies akin to millennial and Gen Z fans…now that I’ve cut the cord while watching from a hand-held device. The topic of millennials and Gen Z consumers permeates all discussions across the sports industry these days, largely because the way in which they consume sports, engage with teams/brands, and experience their favorite sports facilities is considerably more digital and experiential than any generation before them.

Consequently, teams are making concerted efforts to cater to such fans. Sponsors are making concerted efforts to learn more about what makes this demographic tick in order to make their marketing efforts more likely to resonate. Facility designers have created more social gathering places for these groups to congregate. These examples just scratch the surface.

In sum, emphasis is being placed on (1) being original and authentic with content, (2) be experiential, (3) target consumer emotions, and (4) personalize the message whenever possible.

These younger fan demos were discussed frequently at two separate Sports Business Journal conferences I attended in June 2018. For example:

- At SBJ’s Brand Engagement and Content Summit in early June:

◦ Research was cited discussing how millennials are less trusting of advertisements than older fans. Subsequently, any efforts to reach this group must be authentic;

◦ Among the traditional sports, soccer was discussed as a sport with greater upside because it is popular among millennials and Gen Z…in part because many played as a kid, in part because the time commitment for a full-match is less than 2 hours, and in part because the environment at matches (think local supporter groups chanting songs all game long) makes the experience festive and participatory;

◦ Joao Chueiri (VP-Consumer Connections, Anheuser-Busch InBev) talked about ABI's revamped approach to sponsorships in light of the preferences exhibited by younger demos, with 3 key themes from his presentation being (1) Experiences build meaningful brands, and thus, attempts to activate sponsorships and enhance brand affinity should be constructed accordingly, (2) There should be a movement away from traditional signage and reach...and more focus on "engagement, and (3) There should be a major focus on being culturally relevant" in all messaging;

◦ More generally, in light of how millennials and Gen Z consumers place greater weight on having an experience when interacting with sports, it is crucial for brands and sponsors to create experiences which touch upon their emotions in some way (e.g. sense of belonging, sense of release), which will create strong brand recall and loyalty. Consumers remember experiences much more than splashing corporate signage on a screen or facility;

◦ Given the change in viewing habits alluded to above, utilize digital and social media as a significant (if not predominant) portion of your marketing strategies. The 30-second commercial may not be dead, but is decaying.

- At SBJ’s Facilities, Franchises, and Ticketing Symposium in mid-June in Detroit:

◦ Stadium tours of the brand new Little Caesars Arena and the recently renovated Ford Field showcase more social meeting and standing locations throughout the concourse and other places within the facility…which was done specifically to cater to the young demos who have expressed their preference for a more interactive and free-roaming game-day experience;

◦ Mobile ticketing is becoming increasingly prevalent for sports teams, which is largely a function of catering to millennials' and Gen Z’s digital preferences. Congruently, companies like VenueNext are providing app services to assist all aspects of the game-day experience through one’s mobile device in an effort to maximize consumer satisfaction and fan engagement.

On the millennial / Gen Z conversation, the collective takeaway from these SBJ conferences was to align one’s strategic business decisions (e.g. method of distributing tickets, facility design elements, marketing campaigns) in a manner which is either digital, authentic, experiential, or all-of-the-above.

Given that leadership is a central theme throughout the book, it was apropos that I had a chance to attend interviews with both Dan Gilbert (owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers) and Chris Illitch (owner of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings). Two great insights on leadership ensued:

- Regarding the importance of a company’s corporate culture, Gilbert said, If a company thinks they don’t have a culture, that means they do…they have a bad culture. - Regarding his keys to building a successful organization, Illitch listed 3 pillars: (1) Find and hire great leaders to run operations, (2) Ensure great planning is undertaken, and (3) Hold people accountable.

I love Gilbert’s comments on the importance of culture because they are consistent with insights on the importance of corporate culture offered by select contributors herein (Joe Lacob, Mike Bernstein, Kelly Cheeseman, Robyn Glaser, Tom Penn). And I love Ilitch’s comments because it reinforces comments made by select contributors herein (Dan Flynn, Scott Radecic, Keith Bruce, Meg McWilliam) regarding the importance of planning and accountability.

Separately, given that Strategic Business Operations are another theme in the book, yet another significant and timely takeaway from SBJ’s Detroit conference involved listening to Rich McKay (President and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons) present an overview of the first-year success of the Fan First Menu Pricing at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (home to both the NFL’s Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United). To refresh your memory, these prices include (1) $2 for a Coca-Cola in a refillable cup, (2) $2 for either a hot dog, pretzel, or popcorn, (3) $3 for either waffle fries, a pizza slice, or nachos with cheese, and (4) $5 for either a Bud Light or a Cheeseburger.

While the team saw direct monetary benefits from this innovative approach to food and beverages (in the form of a 16% increase in fan spending on F&B despite a 50% price reduction compared to their last season in the Georgia Dome), McKay identified 5 other tangential strategic benefits which were a by-product of the Fan First Pricing:

1. The Falcons ranked among the NFL’s Top 3 in overall game-day experience rankings (something they never achieved when playing at the Georgia Dome);

2. The Falcons ranked second among all NFL teams in providing family-friendly entertainment;

3. The Falcons ranked first in the NFL in security screening, and second in Arrival Experience (where they had more than 6,000 more fans per game entering the stadium an hour earlier than in prior years);

4. Because fans were in the building earlier to take advantage of cheaper food and beverage, they spent more on merchandise. Specifically, merchandise sales were 90% higher in 2017 than they were in 2016…which is saying something, since the Falcons reached the Super Bowl at the end of the 2016-17 season;

5. Post-game event surveys revealed a strong intent to return for a future game, especially among families.

I’m sure sports fans across the globe would have ZERO problems paying less for food and beer at sporting events, but I’m not so sure teams will take the same leap of faith Arthur Blank took in setting the Fan First pricing at Mercedes-Benz. Thus, one of the sports business stories to watch in the coming years is to what extent other teams may adopt the Falcons’ discounted pricing approach to F&B.

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Sports differ from any other business because of the raw emotion and engagement levels at play. Fans are passionately avid towards their favorite sport, their favorite teams, their favorite athletes, or their alma mater. This avidity, combined with a broader demand for dramatic live entertainment, is the driving force behind the entire sports business ecosystem. As we’ve seen above, however, the manner in which this fan avidity evolves and manifests itself is changing more rapidly today than ever before. This is due to technological advancements which have impacted how the coveted 18-35 year-old demos consume sports content, as well as changes in fan expectation levels of what they want from their game-day experience, their in-venue experience, and their preferences for what/when/how they consume content.

Because sports engender greater emotions and engagement levels than your average business, and as we consume sport differently due to technological advancements, all players within this ecosystem (sponsors, leagues, teams, universities, athletes, consulting agencies, media networks) are trying to tap into the hearts and minds of sports consumers (fans and corporations alike) to boost the lifetime value of the customer relationship, and do so in an authentically experiential way which leaves fans feeling like they just consumed a trusted personalized experience which enhances their desire for team or product engagement/activation.

Consequently, these dynamics shape:

- The design of facilities (in-house and surrounding structures);

- The strategy behind In-game sponsorship activations;

- Community relations strategies to attract young fans;

- The technology available to consumers at events;

- The ways companies use traditional and social media to influence consumer decisions;

- And so much more.

Simultaneously, the on-court / on-ice / on-field levels of competitiveness have never been higher. This fact places stress upon:

- Athlete wellness;

◦ Are we training our players efficiently?

◦ Are we managing their training load effectively?

- Managerial integrity and effective leadership;

◦ Too often, senior team executives in pro sports and college athletics administrators look the other way or claim ignorance if it means preserving a competitive edge or avoiding public scrutiny.

As I considered all these themes, buzz words such as leadership, innovation, and strategy emerged. For example:

- What are the necessary traits to become a successful leader, or to build/run a successful franchise/organization? How do you consistently outperform competitors? How do you gain and maintain market traction and relevance? How do you build loyalty both internally with colleagues/staff and externally with fans/clients? - In a world of rapidly-evolving technologies, how does one identify market-penetrating innovations which have a chance of being both profitable for the entrepreneur and enriching for the athlete and end-user? - What best practices exist across various facets of the sports industry (from ticket pricing to experiential marketing to fan engagement) to ensure one consistently implements strategies which are true to your organization’s brand/mission/objectives?

I certainly don’t have all the answers, but to paraphrase Liam Neeson’s patriarchal hero from the Taken series, what I do have is a particular set of friends who will collectively shed light upon these issues. And in the process, hopefully educate and entertain readers with a variety of colorful case examples and narratives germane to the business of sports.

Subsequently, this book offers a comprehensive insider’s look at various facets of managerial decision-making and business operations across all levels of sport, as seen through the eyes of 50 different individuals who work in the sports industry. Topical areas typically covered in business schools – leadership, innovation, strategic marketing, entrepreneurship, management, sales, communications, analytics, finance - are all addressed in one way or another through a series of real-world examples shared by the contributors.

Structurally within the main body of the book, the 50 interviews are divided into 6 subgroups:

(1) The Leaders (comprised of team or organization owners, presidents, and high-ranking executives);

(2) The Learned (experienced industry professionals, many of whom are also high-ranking team or company executives);

(3) The Youngsters (ascending sports business executives);

(4) The Insightful (individuals who specialize in analytics and insights);

(5) The Entrepreneurs (individuals who are involved with sports start-ups); and

(6) The Collegians (individuals with expertise regarding the inner workings of intercollegiate athletics).

Before each interview, an intro page is provided which details:

- (i) the contributor’s current title;

- (ii) how I know the person (which I’ve included to teach younger readers the importance of networking); and

- (iii) a summary of 2-3 key quotes/insights/takeaways from that interview.

Separately, for those who prefer to consume the content by business/management topic area, Appendix A offers a collection of selected excerpts from the interviews which pertain to these itemized subject areas. The 4 areas most commonly addressed throughout the book are:

(1) Leadership

(2) Innovation

(3) Strategic Marketing / Brand Development, and

(4) Strategic Business Planning.

The other 10 complementary themes addressed herein which play significant roles throughout the sports industry are:

- Analytics and Sport Science

- Business Operations and Finance

- Communications (including traditional and social media)

- Community Relations

- Corporate Culture

- Corporate Partnerships

- Entrepreneurships

- Event/Project Operations

- Facility Construction and Renovation Logistics, and

- Sales.

B. Most Commonly Cited Leadership Traits

Seeking greater insights into leadership is the most dominant theme throughout the book. As such, I wanted to offer this prelude into the most commonly cited leadership traits collectively mentioned by the contributors. Across 50 interviews, 58 comments were made pertaining to leadership. Of these, 13 traits stand out because they were each mentioned by more than one contributor.

1. Be honest and trustworthy

2. Have strong communication skills

3. Be a good listener with an inclusive decision-making process

4. Create a family atmosphere and collaborative culture within your organization

5. Leaders should acknowledge mistakes made, which can humanize them

6. Exhibit charisma and personality

7. Be client-focused, including collaborating with and servicing the client’s needs

8. Embrace pressure, and remain calm in a crisis

9. Show empathy towards your team / staff

10. Demonstrate expertise and a proven track record

11. Lead by example and hard work

12. Provide the resources necessary to support your staff

13. Be transparent

The full list of leadership traits identified by the contributors is below.

Flip the page to embark upon Chapter 2: The Leaders…15 interviews with 15 sports leaders.

Alternatively, for those who prefer an itemized discussion by subject matter, go to Appendix A.

Footnotes:

² In mid-May 2018, reports confirmed that Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner, David Tepper, would purchase the Panthers for an NFL-record $2.2 billion. Tepper, the founder of global hedge fund Appaloosa Management, has a net worth of $11 billion according to Forbes, and is committed to keeping the team in Charlotte.

The Leaders

1. Joe Lacob (Owner and CEO, Golden State Warriors)

2. John Abbamondi (EVP of Ticketing/Suites/Hospitality, The Madison Square Garden Company)

3. Kerry Bubolz (President and COO, Vegas Golden Knights)

4. Kelly Cheeseman (COO, AEG Sports and L.A. Kings)

5. Mark Cuban (Owner, Dallas Mavericks)

6. Dan Flynn (CEO and Secretary General, U.S. Soccer Federation)

7. Robyn Glaser (VP, The Kraft Group)

8. Al Guido (President, San Francisco 49ers and CEO, Elevate Sports Ventures)

9. Ben Gumpert (President and Chief Operating Officer, Sacramento Republic FC)

10. Larry Miller (President, Jordan Brand)

11. Kathy Nelson (President and CEO, The Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation)

12. Tom Penn (President and Co-Owner, LAFC)

13. Scott Radecic (Founder and Senior Principal, Populous)

14. Ari Segal (President and Chief Operating Officer, Immortals)

15. Chris Zimmerman (President and CEO of Business Operations, St. Louis Blues)

1. JOE LACOB

Bio Blast:

- Owner and CEO, Golden State Warriors

Genesis of Relationship:

- Became acquainted with Joe through his affiliation with the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis.

◦ His son, Kent, is a 2015 graduate of WashU’s Olin Business School.

◦ Joe has generously contributed to the genesis of and continued growth/success of the program and has been kind enough to spend some time with me in-person on a handful of occasions since 2015.

Key Takeaways:

- An integral part of the Warriors’ success on-the-court is a selfless team-oriented style of play, so recruiting players who embrace that philosophy is of tantamount importance. - On the importance of recruiting players who are quality people:

◦ …a lot of (our success) really does depend on character and culture, and how you're going to work together.

- On the value of transparency and debate within the organization’s corporate culture:

◦ …everybody is encouraged to have an opinion. We debate it, we discuss it. That's a great place to work. You want to be in a place where your opinion matters, where it's going to be heard, where you can have an impact. You feel more buy-in, and you work together better, and by the way, you make better decisions, and the whole esprit de corps of the organization is affected.

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I challenge any reader to cite another professional sports franchise in the history of American team sports which has experienced as monumental and rapid a reversal of fortune (on and off the field of play) as the Golden State Warriors…amassing fortunes in the process.

Yes, that includes you too, Cubs fans! And no, this is not the biased sentiment of an ardent St. Louis Cardinals supporter. ³

Consider these facts: ⁴

- Chris Cohan assumed ownership of the Warriors franchise in 1995

- During Cohan’s 15 years as owner, the Warriors:

◦ Won a little under 38% of their games

◦ Had 2 winning seasons, and

◦ One post-season appearance in 2006-07 (where they miraculously as an 8th seed upset the #1 seed 67-win Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semi-finals)

- And in the 18 years prior to Cohan’s ownership dating back to the 1977-78 season, the club only reached the playoffs 5 of 18 years, did not reach the conference finals, and had an average winning percentage of 0.447.

- Joe Lacob and partner Peter Guber purchased the Warriors from Cohan in July 2010 for $450 million

- From the 2010-11 season through the time of this draft, the Warriors have:

◦ Won 66% of their games, and 75% of games played since the beginning of the 3rd year of the Lacob/Guber ownership regime (i.e. the 2012-2013 season);

◦ Made 6 consecutive trips to the NBA Playoffs;

◦ Reached 4 consecutive NBA Finals, winning three times…including the 2018 NBA Finals with a 4-0 sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

- The Forbes 2018 NBA franchise valuations estimated the Warriors worth at $3.1 billion, third-highest among NBA teams…trailing only the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

◦ This value is roughly 6.9 times greater than the price Lacob/Guber paid in July 2010

Suffice to say, Lacob and Guber have made all the right moves. ⁵ Some of which took considerable guts because they were not extremely popular decisions. Most notably:

- The trading of Monta Ellis in March 2012, which led to the infamous Chris Mullin night on March 20th, 2012…where Joe Lacob was roundly booed for several minutes as he was trying to honor Warriors great Mullin during a pre-game jersey retirement ceremony. - The firing of coach Mark Jackson, whose win-loss record improved across his three years with the club, culminating in a 51-win season in 2013-14 after a 23-43 record in his first year with the club. ⁶

Fast forward to late September 2017:

- On Saturday morning September 23rd, hours before my scheduled in-person interview with Lacob at the Warriors practice facility in downtown Oakland on their first day of practice for the 2017-18 season, I biked from my hotel in downtown San Francisco to the site of the future home of the Warriors, the Chase Center, located in the ever-evolving Mission Bay district.

◦ The purpose of the video-recorded interview was to air the conversation for the audience in attendance at the 2017 Olin Sports Business Summit on Friday, September 29th in St. Louis at WashU.

- When I arrived back from my bike ride, I learned of President Trump’s tweet earlier that morning in which he dubiously withdrew his invitation for the Warriors to visit the White House…calling out Warriors star Steph Curry in the process. ⁷

The Warriors are an intellectual organization. They are communicators. They huddle. They debate. They air grievances. But they encourage discussion and the sharing of dissenting viewpoints. And this culture of openness and freedom to express one’s opinions comes from the top. It is a fundamental part of Joe Lacob’s philosophy of how all people within the organization must have an opinion and not be afraid to share it.

** Reader’s note: This interview was conducted in-person on Saturday, September 23rd 2017 in downtown Oakland at the Warriors practice facility on their first day of practice prior to the 2017-18 season. Watch the entire 17-minute interview here. **

PJR: We are roughly seven years from when you took over the club. And when I think back to ‘Chris Mullin night’, I have often asked myself ‘How would I have felt if I were Joe on that night?’

Now here we are. You are a two-time NBA champion. Tell us about that journey. Tell us how it feels to go from where you were that night to where you are now.

JL: Well it feels pretty good! (Both men laugh) Two championships will do that for you.

You're referring to what I refer to as ‘The Booing’. Chris Mullin's jersey retirement.

You wouldn't have wanted to be me on that night, I can assure you. It was no fun. Probably one of the hardest nights I've ever had to absorb and deal with. I had to go with my gut in terms of how to react to it.

But the truth is, we've had five years since then. It's been a great five years, we've stayed on our mission, we've stayed on our plan. Explained it as best we could to others at the time, and obviously it's worked out. Five straight playoff appearances, three Finals appearances, two championships.

And more importantly, the things I'm perhaps even more proud of, is the way