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The Tao of Sports Podcast – The Definitive Sports, Marketing, Business Industry News Podcast

Sports Revenue Analytics veteran and sport management professor Troy Kirby interviews the team behind the teams in Front Offices and Athletics Departments throughout the world, revealing an industry of specialists and minds unseen by the local or national media. Examined in this podcast are current or long-standing industry topics; tickets, business, analytics, moneyball, revenue, finance, economy, sales and jobs of the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. Also included are topics surrounding third party vendors, sports business, revenue, marketing, mentoring interns, facilities, managing employees, as well as how to not only break into sports, but stay in the industry long-term. The often-invisible side of the industry is where the Tao of Sports Podcast attempts to pull back the elusive curtain, providing information both to industry insiders and those who want to work in sports. Troy Kirby is a sport management professor at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington.
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The Tao of Sports Podcast – The Definitive Sports, Marketing, Business Industry News Podcast
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Now displaying: March, 2017
Mar 30, 2017

Just a year after coming on the podcast (Ep. 624), author Dan Schlossberg is back with his latest book, The New Baseball Bible. Schlossberg covers everything known, and many things typically unknown, about the game of baseball, as well breaks down some of the mythos that have occurred around the sport. This includes whether the candy bar Baby Ruth was named after Babe Ruth (it wasn't), and the numerology around Hank Aaron's uniform number 44 and why Wade Boggs ate so much chicken and had to do batting practice at exactly 7:17 before each game. Schlossberg also gets into a heated discussion about the current state of the game, especially the Hall of Fame chances of the current steroid-era players. Twitter: @Braves1

Mar 27, 2017

Dave Shore comes on the podcast to discuss the state of sports radio and sports play by play. Shore has over twenty years of experience in the field of sports broadcasting, including serving as program director for the top sports radio station in Detroit. Part of Shore's presence in Detroit was increasing the amount of local programming hours, and he talks about what makes a great on-air drive the phone calls and ratings. Shore talks about his four years as the play by play announcer for Texas Tech, where he also ran a Sirius XM show with legendary coach Bobby Knight, and how he broached controversial topics through his interview questions. Twitter: @Dave_Shore

Mar 23, 2017

Joel Morrison discusses the rise of the KFC Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League, which has taken Australia by storm, reducing the time spent in an average cricket match from five days to three hours. Morrison explains why the KFC BBL and WBBL had to break those traditions of cricket in order to reach new, younger fan demographics, and have been embraced by the next generation of sports viewership. Morrison talks about the KFC BBL and WBBL decision to go to a city-team structure, and how the marketing effort was completely different from that of traditional cricket. Twitter: @Morrison_Joel

Mar 20, 2017

James "JB" Bryant explains his process in discovering new prospective hires through his sales academy, which uses various methodology and testing in order to find the right fit for the group. Bryant talks about his role at the Rapids, and how he works at getting each hire to engage beyond their technology, in order to provide real relationships on calls. Bryant discusses why the B2B sale is so much tougher, specifically when looking at providing presentations, and how he trains his staff to go further into the conversation toward the sale.

Mar 16, 2017

Alex Coulson comes on the podcast to discuss the role of sponsorship activation in the sports marketplace, and his assertion at avoiding vanity metrics which tend to take the focus off of digital revenue generation. Executive Director of Sport Industry Group, Coulson oversees SportIndustry.biz, a website dedicated to ensuring that the conversation of sports business education moves forward. Coulson discusses some of the pitfalls of sponsorship, as well as how athletes becoming brands may eliminate their motivation to be politically active publicly. Twitter: @Alex_Coulson

Mar 13, 2017

After 15 years selling minor league hockey, Craig Bommer has now stepped into a great sales challenge: radio. Bommer discusses the parallels between the medium of radio and the live entertainment sports landscape, and how to keep selling longer after people attempt to diminish the relevance of both. Bommer talks about how enhancing the live experience, removing the discounting, only went so far because of the pressures from ownership to fill the building with butts in seats. Bommer covers several of the issues facing today's sports sales person, including whether group leaders are becoming more savvy to how much teams rely on their support. Twitter: @craigbommer

Mar 9, 2017

Jason Bitsoff comes on the podcast during a heavy hearted time for Feld Entertainment, with the announcement that the Ringling Brothers Circus will end after 146 years of traveling shows. Bitsoff discusses the nature of the decision to end the shows, but also the way that Feld framed the conversation for its sponsors and fans. Bitsoff talks about how partnerships with Feld Entertainment's many show lines, including Disney On Ice, work toward ensuring that activation is measured through data, as the company looks to bolster relationships with its sponsors through experiences. Bitsoff also presents his background as an adjunct sports management professor at Georgetown, and what future students need educated on most.

Mar 6, 2017

Bob Peters will fully admit that he is an old school athletic director at Centralia College. Peters talks about his start, as well as how he has avoided the traps of worry about his own legacy and focused more on the student athletes who have come to the campus. Peters discusses finding his own path as basketball coach and athletic administrator, as well as who he still reaches out to for advice when he is still challenged at his job.

Mar 2, 2017

Brad Eckerson focuses on a new dynamic in group sales - tourism operation for the One World Observatory. Eckerson's new role oversees 10 group sales representatives, as well as interacting with several "old school" tour operators who may not have the latest social tools. Eckerson discusses how he tries to keep himself top of mind to anyone building a tour or group in order to get them to One World Observatory, as well as how he sold Disney Theatrical by knowing the brand and living it. Twitter: @BradleyEckerson

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