Center for Sports Studies Podcast

In the last episode of the 2025-2026 academic year, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Jake Kinsey, Athletic Director for Fremont High School in Fremont, IN. Jake’s experience in coaching and education has provided him with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in his role with Fremont High School, having served as an assistant coach for the Trine University Football...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Mike Avery, Head Coach of Fort Wayne Football Club. Mike’s career has centered around the advancement and development of soccer players through coaching at many different levels, from collegiate athletes to professional athletes. With over 25 years of coaching experience, Mike’s passion, grit and determination for...

In this special episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Nikki Maroney, Trine alumna of 2022 and Senior Account Executive of Membership Services at Ilitch Sports & Entertainment as part of the “Trine Trailblazers” series. Nikki’s passion for sports and entertainment has allowed her to grow and excel in her young career, which she credits her education at Tri...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Katie Stumpp, Associate Athletic Director of Administration at the University of Pittsburgh Athletics. Katie is an experienced collegiate athletics administrator with over a decade of leadership across sport administration, operations, compliance, and event management at Power Four institutions, such as Marietta C...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Dave Serowka, College Instructor of Sport Management at Northern Illinois University. Dave’s personality and experience in athletics and recreation and sport management have allowed him to excel in his career in numerous opportunities, from working in game day staff with the Schaumburg Boomers and the Chicago Bear...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Kyne Sheehy, Assistant Athletics Director for Ticket Sales, Premium Seating and Service at the University of Notre Dame Athletics. Kyne’s determination, work ethic and drive for growth and success in ticket sales and service have allowed him to excel in every stage of his career, including at San Diego State Unive...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Tim House, the Deputy Athletics Director for Development and Strategic Initiatives of Michigan State University Athletics. Tim’s career has centered on the principles of philanthropic giving and athletic development in college athletics, serving for universities and programs such as Vanderbilt University, Belmont...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Matt Bomberg, President of the Great Lakes Division of Northwoods League Baseball and President/Managing Partner of the newly formed Richmond Flying Mummies in Richmond, IN. Matt’s entire career has centered on business development and talent evaluation in baseball, having worked for organizations such as the St....

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Dr. Lacee’ Carmon-Johnson, Director of Basketball Advancement for the Toronto Raptors NBA team. Lacee’s career has centered around the education and advancement of athletes and students alike, having worked in numerous capacities with athletic programs and universities such as Stephen F. Austin State University, M...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Adam Darowski, Executive Director of Design for Sports Reference, LLC. Adam’s career has centered around web design and product development, but took a huge turn when he joined Sports Reference in 2020. Since then, he’s been involved in numerous projects and achievements with the organization, including the integr...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Jeff Parry, founder of JP Sports. Jeff’s career has provided him with a unique look at the collegiate athletic landscape in terms of compliance and name, image and likeness (NIL), having worked for different athletic programs such as the University of Notre Dame, Furman University and Old Dominion University. He c...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Dr. Josh Greer, founder of NILvana Sports. Dr. Greer’s career has granted him extensive experience in higher education and sports journalism, delivering the highest quality work in anything he does. He has taught at several universities in his career, and his writing has been featured in Sports Illustrated, The Ne...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Caela McBride, Director of Entertainment for the Winston-Salem Dash of Minor League Baseball. Caela’s passion for baseball, entertainment and customer satisfaction have provided her with an enviable career of making memories and creating new experiences for fans of all ages. Her career has shown she is not afraid...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Steve Lantz, Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for Angola High School in Angola, IN. Steve has served as Angola High’s athletic director for over six years and has over twenty years of educational and athletics experience at Angola Public Schools, providing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the school...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Josh Ayen, Sports Reporter and Weekend Sports Anchor for WANE 15 News of Fort Wayne, IN. Josh has specialized in sports journalism throughout his young career, and has established a name for himself with WANE 15 over the past few years with excellent coverage of all sports and events in the Northeast Indiana area....

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Ben Turner, the Associate Strategic Communications Director at Purdue University Athletics. Ben has served in a communications role at Purdue Athletics for almost fifteen years, providing excellent coverage of multiple programs and events, including his current positional focus on the Purdue baseball and swimming...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Ryan Kearney, Director of Operations and Video Analytics for the University of Minnesota Women’s Hockey Program in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ryan is a blossoming young professional in the sports industry who’s talent and passion for sports have served him well in numerous roles with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, Ont...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with Tanner Natzke, Account Executive of Premium Sales with the Phoenix Suns NBA team. Tanner, a recent graduate from the University of Iowa, has become an emergent leader in premium sales and service over the course of his young career, having worked for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL and workin...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with the Associate Athletic Director of Marketing & Fan Experience for Purdue University Athletics, Chris Peludat. Chris has served as an athletic director of the Boilermakers for over 13 years, but has worked in intercollegiate athletics in a ticketing and marketing capacity for over 25 years. Chris’ leadership an...

In this episode, new Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Zander Atwood, talks with the Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service at the Milwaukee Bucks, Paul Bee. Paul has served in a ticket sales and service role over the past 18 years for multiple organizations, including the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, the Detroit Red Wings NHL team and the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team. Paul discuss...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with former Chief Financial Officer of the Indianapolis Colts, Kurt Humphrey. Kurt was one of the first full-time hires for the Colts, after they moved in Indianapolis in 1984, and served as the CFO for 37 years. In this episode, he discusses the CFO’s role in professional football, how the NFL industry is unique a...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with Operations Manager at the Chicago Blackhawks, Morgan Petriko. After a career of working in college athletic administration, Morgan was able to apply these skills into the daily management of the Fifth Third Arena in Chicago. In this episode, Morgan reflects on her career journey, how being available to do anyt...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with the managers of the Chicago Fire Inside Sales Academy, Carlos Ames and Sam Bocken. Carlos and Sam both came to the Fire after beginning their careers in the New York Mets Sales Academy. In this episode, Carlos and Sam break down the inner workings of inside sales, discuss their career paths, and pass along adv...

This is a special episode of the Trine Center for Sports Studies Podcast as we air the talk from this year’s Featured Speaker, Garrett Martz. A 2004 Trine Marketing graduate, Garrett got his start in sports as an account representative for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Within five years, he had worked his way up to the Vice President of Sales before partnering with a colleague to form Potter Sports Gro...

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with Trine alumnus and Group Sales Account Executive for the Detroit Tigers, Jackson Billings. A 2021 Sport Management graduate, Jackson was able to take his experiences as a ticket sales intern for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and member of Trine’s first National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship team, into a...