18th AnnualSport Management

ConferenceSeptember 29 – 30, 2016

We would like to thank our sponsors

The Department of Sport Management is proud to host our 18th Annual Sport Management Conference. We welcome all students, faculty, and professionals. The conference will provide you with an opportunity to hear highly regarded industry speakers from various sport organizations. There is also a chance to network with industry professionals regarding internship opportunities. We encourage you to get to know our speakers. Ask questions to assist you in experiencing success in the sport management industry.

Please let us know if we can be of any assistance to you. Once again, we would like to welcome you to the conference and we hope you enjoy yourselves!

Sincerely,Dr. Jason Pappas & Dr. Katie Flanagan Co-Directors

Welcome

Time Event/Topic Presenter Location5:00PM Registration

OpensRoom 218

5:30PM Conference Opening & Welcome

Room 203

5:35PM-6:30PM Keynote Speaker

Bill Guertin800 Pound Gorilla Professional Sales, CEO & Founder

Room 203

Conference Gathering at Madison Social Immediately Following Keynote

815 West Madison Street

Friday, Sept. 30th8:15AM

Registration Opens

Second FloorStudent Services Building

9:00AM-9:10AM Opening Remarks

Room 218

9:10AM-10:00AM Speaker Mia HallNBCNews.comAssistant Producer

Room 203

10:05AM-10:55AM Speaker Jaryd WilsonAtlanta Hawks, Digital Content Manager

Room 203

Conference ScheduleThursday, September 29th

Friday, September 30th

Time Event/Topic Presenter Location11:00AM-11:45AM Internship Fair*

(continues until 3PM)

Room 218

11:45AM-12:35PM Speaker Jay FeasterTampa Bay Lightning, Vice President, Community Hockey Development

Room 203

12:40PM-1:14PM Lunch & Internship Fair*(Fair continues until 3PM)

Room 208 and 218

1:40PM-2:30PM Speaker Stefanie Loncarich Minor League Baseball, Director of Digital Properties

Room 203

2:35PM-3:25PM Young Professionals Panel

Ethan EllzeyNike, Jordan Brand Marketing Operations SpecialistJulie GomezBridge View Center, Operations SupervisorNindiya TiwariSpurs Sports & Entertainment, Facility Analyst

Conference Schedule

*Internship Fair 11AM-3PM

Friday, September 30th (continued)

Bill Guertin800 Pound Gorilla, Professional Sales CEO & Founder

Bill Guertin is President and CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, Inc., a sales and marketing consultancy whose subsidiary, Stadium Gorilla, is one

of the premier sports ticket sales training specialists in North America. Stadium Gorilla Sales Training has partnered with over 75 professional teams from both the major and minor leagues to help their people break sales records and dramatically improve their sales abilities.

Through live on-site training, Webinars, and conference workshops, Bill helps sports sales organizations develop and coach sales talent, increase revenues, and improve the effectiveness of sales managers and leaders.

Bill started as a radio DJ at age 16 at 50,000-watt WBYG-FM in Kankakee, IL, which began a 25-year career in broadcasting, mainly broadcast advertising sales and sales management.

He is the author of two books, including The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market and Reality Sells. He is a member of the National Speakers Association, and has been a featured speaker at many conferences and trade shows, including the National Sports Forum, Association of Luxury Suite Directors, Ticket Summit, and at many league conferences throughout North America, including the NHL, ECHL, and CFL in Canada. He is currently working with a team of associates to bring sales and customer service professionalism to all 18 teams in LIGA MX, the premier professional soccer league in Mexico.

Bill lives in the southern Chicago suburb of Bourbonnais, IL, with his wife, Sherri, and has three sons, one granddaughter, and a very needy chocolate Lab named Burley.

Mia HallNBCNews.com, Assistant Producer

New York City native, Mia Hall, has traveled the world as a leader in the sports and entertainment industry over the course of the past ten years. From China to London, Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Hampton to Harvard and more, Mia Hall

has built a reputation for passion, drive, and excellence. With her community on her mind, Mia has broken down barriers for women in sports, media, and education and continues to innovate both domestically and internationally.

As a writer for outlets such as Black Enterprise, SLAM Magazine, NBC’s TheGrio, ESPNW and her personal blog, Mia’s Full Court Press. A producer and a public speaker, Mia takes every opportunity possible to share the wisdom she has acquired over the years with others. Her passion is to help women break out of their own comfort zones, empowering them to go after their dream careers.

Mia has worked with organizations such as The WNBA, New York Knicks, The High School for Sports Management, and more. She hosts her own invitation-only, quarterly Sports & Entertainment Social in NYC and has launched two digital shows. When New York City’s newest arena, Barclays Center, was being built in 2012, they sought out a team of brand specialists and community activists to represent the arena; Mia was among that group of taste-makers chosen. Before leaving in 2016, she served as a Community Manager where she held several events, started their first nonprofit and VIP Access Tour program. She is currently an Assistant Producer with NBCNews.com.

Mia credits her extra-curricular experiences in high school for giving her the drive to go after her dreams. As captain of the girls’ basketball team, president of the student council, and participant in NYC’s PowerPlay organization, Mia became exposed to the world of sports management and pursued her B.A. in that field from Hampton University, where she graduated in three years. Mia’s love of education led her to Harvard University where she received her master’s degree.

Mia uses every platform she receives to uplift others and offers her story to all. She empowers people to find their passion and to pursue it with all that they have. Mia currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Jay FeasterTampa Bay Lightning,Vice President of Community Hockey Development

Jay Feaster is the Vice President of Community Hockey Development for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He returned to Tampa in July 2014 after spending four years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, first as Assistant General Manager and

then as General Manager of the Calgary Flames Hockey Club. In his current position, Feaster is tasked with growing

participation in the game at all levels and increasing awareness for the game and the team in the community.

This is Feaster’s second stint with the Lightning, as he served as Assistant General Manager from 1998-2002 and as General Manager from 2002-2008. Feaster guided the Lightning to back-to-back Southeast Division titles (2002-03 and 2003-04) and was GM in 2004 when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. He was recognized as “The Sporting News Executive of the Year” by a vote of his peers that year.

Prior to joining the Lightning, Feaster served as Vice President of the Sports & Entertainment Group for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, and also as General Manager and then President of the Hershey Bears Hockey Club of the American Hockey League (AHL). Feaster led the Bears to the Calder Cup Championship in 1997 and was named the AHL’s Executive of the Year. He also was GM of Hersheypark Arena and Hersheypark Stadium, leading both venues to record revenue and attendance figures during his tenure.

A summa cum laude graduate of Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA, and a cum laude graduate of The Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., Feaster is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. He and his wife, Anne, have five children and reside in Brandon, FL.

Stefanie LoncarichMinor League Baseball, Director of Digital Properties

Loncarich oversees the digital efforts for Minor League Baseball, leading the strategic direction, implementation and management of MiLB digital products and e-Commerce operations. She acts asa primary staff liaison to the Baseball

Internet Rights Company (BIRCO) Board of Directors, member clubs and leagues, MLB Advanced Media, and other digital partners.

Loncarich has experience with several teams in Minor League Baseball, including the Jacksonville Suns, the Erie SeaWolves, State College Spikes and Quad Cities River Bandits, where she served as the General Manager from 2011-2013. Before joining Minor League Baseball in 2015, she spent one year as a Team Advisor at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

The Ohio native has a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida and serves on the Minor League Baseball Diversity Committee.

Jaryd WilsonAtlanta Hawks,Digital Content Manager

Jaryd joined the Atlanta Hawks in December of 2012 as the Club’s Social Media Coordinator, a newly-created position in the organization at the time. In this role, he was in charge of coordinating the Club’s social media accounts, responsible

for daily postings, updates and customer service. Over the past few years, he has evolved his role and is now the Club’s Digital Content Manager, responsible for the management of all content on the team’s digital platforms (web, mobile, social) in addition to maintaining the social media channels.

Jaryd graduated with dual degrees in Journalism and Communications from the University of Missouri in 2010. Prior to joining the Hawks, he spent two-and-a-half years working as the Website Editor for the FOX television affiliate in Colorado Springs, CO, where he was in charge of maintaining, editing, and updating the station’s website and social media channels.

Jaryd hails from the suburbs of Chicago and loves all things about the Windy City: deep dish pizza, the change in seasons, and White Sox baseball to name a few. He is the oldest of four boys.

Ethan EllzeyNike,Jordan Brand Marketing Operations Specialist

Ethan earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Sport Management at Florida State University. During Ethan’s time as a student, he worked as an equipment manager with FSU Women’s Softball

and Soccer as well as Track & Field and Cross Country. Ethan completed an internship with the Jordan Brand Global Marketing Operations department at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon during the summer of 2015. After completing the internship, he continued working in the same role as he does today as a Marketing Operations Specialist. A passion for both sport and product has led Ethan to where he is today and he intends to extend his career with the Jordan Brand.

Julie GomezBridge View Center,Operations Supervisor

Julie Gomez is a first generation college graduate from Florida State University with a B.S. in Sport Management and a minor in Psychology. During her time at Florida State, Julie worked with the Facilities and Event Management department

as an Athletics and Recreational Assistant. She was also involved with the FSU Sports Information department and Seminole Student Boosters. During her collegiate career, Julie had the opportunity to intern with the Miami Marlins in 2014 and the Florida Panthers in 2013 within their Operations departments.

After graduation, Julie was hired as the Operations Supervisor at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa, Iowa managed by VenuWorks. After 4 months, she was quickly promoted to Operations Manager. As head of the Operations department, her duties include coordination of annual, semi-annual, and monthly program facility care, equipment preventative maintenance, lighting schedules, sanitary supply stock, and waste management services. Ms. Gomez is responsible for hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating a team of two full-time and 12 part-time staff members who are involved in the housekeeping, conversion, maintenance, and load out of event related spaces.

Julie is currently a member of the International Association of Venue Managers where she is a part of the Young Professionals Committee and a recipient of the Region 3 Scholarship. She attended Year 1 of the weeklong program of Venue Management School in June 2016 and is set to complete her second year in 2017. Looking forward, Julie’s career goal is to become the Vice President of Operations within a sport-oriented facility. As she continues to shatter the glass ceiling, she looks forward to giving future leaders a successful woman to work alongside and look up to in the sport and entertainment industry.

Nindiya TiwariSpurs Sports & EntertainmentFacility Analyst

Nindiya Tiwari received her Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Raipur, India. After graduation, she worked as a Junior Executive: Planning & Management, SECTech, India. Then she decided to further her education and graduated with a Master of Science in Sport Management from

Florida State University. While completing her master’s degree, she worked as a Graduate Assistant at FSU and as an Athletic Department Intern at FAMU. Since then, she’s had many positions in many areas, including: engineering mathematics, sports marketing and administration, and facility management. She is currently the Facilities Analyst Coordinator for the Spurs Sports & Entertainment in San Antonio, Texas. In this role, she coordinates with VPs, forecasts and monitors budgets of over $4M for all facilities and teams, performs data analysis on the fiscal performance of arena events compared to historical trends and other industry standards, and develops data management tools to improve the accuracy of budget projections related to arena events.

Conference Gathering

Join us at Madison social!

Immediately following Thursday’s Keynote

Complementary light appetizers will be served

thanks!A special thank you to the numerous student volunteers

and the instrumental adjunct faculty for their professional commitment and hard work in making this a first class

experience for all of the attendees.

FSU Sport Management FacultyMr. James Du

Dr. Michael GiardinaDr. Jeffrey JamesDr. Amy Kim

Dr. Joshua NewmanDr. Ryan Rodenberg

Dr. Hanhan Xue

Department StaffDr. Jeffrey James (Department Chair)Dr. Joshua Newman (Associate Chair)

Ms. Erika Bettilyon (Department Manager)Dr. Tom McMorrow (Academic Program Specialist)

Ms. Lisa Hodges (Accounting Assistant)

Is Graduate School Your Next Step?

Check out our M.S. and Ph.D. programs!

Gain ExperienceExpand your NetworkLearn with the Best

#nolesknowsports

To apply and learn more, contact: Dr. Tom McMorrow

tmcmorrow@fsu.edu