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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: Category: Pro Franchise Ownership
Jul 24, 2017

Jeff Longo is not only an associate professor of sports, events and entertainment at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, but also an owner of a Southern Professional Hockey League team, the Fayetteville Marksmen. Longo shares his decision to go into pro hockey team ownership, some of the pitfalls concerning budgeting and revenue generation that he has had to overcome, and how the Fayetteville team's rebrand from the FireAntz to the Marksmen transform the community awareness of the team in general. Longo talks also about ways that sports management programs can learn to enhance their relevance to students looking to get into front offices through networking and interviewing development. Twitter: @JefLongo

Dec 7, 2016

Donnie Marbut has transitioned from a rising star Division I head baseball coach to the world of leadership as Commissioner of the West Coast League. Marbut discusses how the West Coast League has developed a unique brand against the collegiate summer baseball league marketplace, and how it continues to strive for consistent, solid fan development with an eye on future expansion. Marbut talks about his time leading the Washington State Cougars baseball program, and what sports supervision means to him. @WCLBaseball

Oct 21, 2015

In 2012, Bill Yates was a guest on Episode 8 of the podcast. Things sure have changed in terms of the sports business landscape since then, especially when looking back at what was a buyers market for teams up for sale, now becomes a seller's advantage as the national economy has improved. Yates discusses some of the alterations that have taken place, as team evaluations have solidified with variable profit margins, as well as some of the things that still leave room for improvement when it comes to understanding a franchise's worth. Yates talks about some of the issues that leagues and franchises always have, with good as well as bad ownership groups, and some of the red flags that can come up when an audit situation happens. Twitter: @YatesieTweets

Jan 23, 2015

The National Pro Grid League has taken the nation's summertime viewing up a notch. In 2014, it was launched as a cable mainstay for NBC Sports, filling out some of the 8600 programming hours that the channel has to allot for. NPGL's Claire and Jim Kean, discuss how they created the game from scratch, designed various teams, took on ownership groups and launched within a 9-month time frame. As NPGL VP of Operations, Claire covers some of the issues that happened during the actual events themselves, and as NPGL CEO, Jim explains what the revenues, finances and pitfalls ended up looking like. The NPGL is set to launch its second season in 2015, and ready for the challenges that lie ahead in both league competition and revenue. Twitter: @TheGridLeague

Dec 5, 2014

Bill Stewart pulls no punches when discussing the state of minor league baseball and hockey ownership in today's sports marketplace. An executive who has served as team president of a minor league hockey team for 6 years, Stewart has always owned several minority shares of minor league teams across the country. Stewart shares his insight into what makes a great minor league owner, as well as some of the details of league involvement as well as arena leases that goes into the numbers that make up sports finances. Stewart makes it very clear that being an owner in today's world involves a lot of risk, as well as frequent hard work, in order to develop an entertaining product that fans come back to witness time and again.

May 5, 2014

One of the premiere journalists covering the world of sports business today is Mike Ozanian, who shares insight into everything from media rights to franchise valuations. Ozanian goes deeper when talking about the impact of fans actually in the building compared to those watching on televisions at home. This includes the largess of media rights deals such as the $8.3 Billion deal between Time Warner Cable and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ozanian also discusses the idea of whether the teams are competing against themselves in terms of attracting fans through the doors while also trying to get them to watch through other media. Ozanian speaks on the athlete as a brand driver of revenue both individually and within a franchise structure. Twitter: @SportsMoneyBlog

 

May 13, 2013

 

Jim Calpin comes on the podcast to talk about the role of franchise ownership, especially when it comes to junior hockey. Calpin discusses some of the problematic issues surrounding ownership, especially when dealing with rookies who don’t seem to understand what they are getting into. Calpin examines team evaluation, including marketing, capitalization and whether certain revenue streams have been watered down by previously bad ownership. Twitter: @JPCalpin

Apr 28, 2013

 

Starting a new baseball league is never easy, but Executive Director Chris Petersen believes he’s found the right mix in the Interstate Baseball League. After a couple of false starts, the league may be starting for an abbreviated inaugural season in August 2013. Petersen talks about the issues dealing with ownership, facility rental, revenue streams such as tickets, corporate sales, and concessions. With so many leagues that have made attempts in the 1990s/2000s which no longer exist, Petersen's goal is to learn from those mistakes in order to present a better, more focused baseball league able to stand the test of time.

Apr 12, 2013

 

Mike Savit has operated several minor league baseball franchises across the country, including the Michigan Battle Cats, Mobile Bay Bears, Modesto Nuts and Augusta Green Jackets, along a team in the Coastal Plain League of the Carolinas. But his heart remains with the NBADL’s Springfield Armor which he founded in New England in 2009. Savit talks about the league’s prospering future, marketing & ticketing concepts, and how to lead employees. Great conversation with Savit as Tao of Sports was his first podcast interview (he was initially pranked into thinking the entire conversation would last 5 hours!).

Apr 10, 2013

The Central Hockey League has provided the Midwest with entertainment on the ice since 1992. Helmed by Commissioner Duane Lewis, the league has a strategy of providing fun, exciting games which end in shoot-outs if the games are tied at the end of regulation. Lewis talks about "sticking to their guns" when discussing the shootout policy of settling overtimes, how some markets have been hurt by paper hanger ownership groups desperate for ideas on drawing a crowd, and working with cities to foster the best partnership between a team and arena. Twitter: @CHLProHockey

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