I was recently invited back to my alma mater, SMU, to speak to a bright, young class of Sports Management students. Professor Michael Lysko was kind enough to ask me to speak to his students about hawkeye, my career and how to succeed in the business of sports.
As I prepared to visit the class, I reflected back… what did my mentors teach me? What have I done to get where I am today? What can I share with these students to help them become valuable contributors to a professional organization? How can I help them find a job they will love?
I started the lecture off by sharing my favorite memories from Super Bowl XLII, the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, and numerous NASCAR races, marathons, and various other sporting events I have been professionally involved with. Their eyes lit up as I talked about all these events, but those looks quickly changed when I mentioned a few of the 100-hour work weeks! Thankfully, they perked up again when I began to brag about how great hawkeye was… the cutting-edge brands, the exciting competitive events, the face-to-face interaction with consumers, and of course, the benefit of wearing jeans to work instead of a suit.
Most importantly, though, I focused on communicating my personal principles for success…
- always be networking,
- stay abreast of the current news and emerging trends in your industry,
- even if you weren’t a math major, learn to love the numbers that matter to the success of your business,
- and above all… always remain focused on engaging the fans.
Ultimately, I explained to them that working in sports can require a lot of long hours and heavy lifting (and sometimes for little pay), but there is no better reward than seeing your vision and effort come to life through a smile on a fan’s or consumer’s face.
At hawkeye, we often say that our advantage is our people. Going back to school for a day reminded me of how important the passion and effort of the upcoming generations will be to hawkeye’s future success. Many thanks to Professor Lysko for the opportunity to speak to his students, and hopefully I was able to help inspire them!
hawkeye sports & experiential SMU alums
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