Navigating Sports Business

Catie Griggs - President of Business Operations for the Seattle Mariners - joins the show for an insightful conversation about increasing the popularity of baseball among young fans. She and AJ discuss her time at Atlanta United, the exciting Mariners stars including Julio Rodriguez, and what the MLB All-Star game will mean for the city of Seattle in 2023.   Catie also shares how she went to T-Mob...

David Cutcliffe - Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations at the Southeastern Conference and college football veteran - shares his advice for aspiring athletic directors and the importance of the company you keep.   Listen to the full episode here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=026a19eb25ca6ea439a75e9009579b21   For more insights,...

Mike Leach - Head Football Coach at Mississippi State - caught up with AJ Maestas while on a bike ride around the Florida Keys. Coach Leach was previously at Texas Tech and Washington State and is known for his animated interviews and his pioneering of the air raid offense. He gives his take on the state of Division I athletics and breaks down his plan for a 64-team College Football Playoff.     H...

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren joins the show with AJ Maestas to discuss the rapidly evolving collegiate landscape. He also shares lessons he's learned over the course of a 30-year career across law, professional sports, and now college athletics. Details 3:45 - The state of college athletics 6:10 - The Big Life Series 11:10 - Changes to college athletics 20:00 - Kevin's reputation in the press...

Nina King - Vice President / Director of Athletics at Duke University - on the need for NIL regulation and what the future holds for college athletics.     Listen to the full episode here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=4361a573b41e714c7af1fc46ad073408   For more insights, visit our LinkedIn page or learn more about Navigate at https://nvgt.com/ .

Tim Leiweke - Chairman & CEO of Oak View Group - details some of his team's most exciting projects in the works. He and AJ discuss the new arena and entertainment district in Las Vegas, Moody Center in Austin, and plans for a dozen new arenas around the world.     Tim also shares the process that went into building Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, and the challenge of turning a historic landmark i...

Sarah Hirshland - CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee - breaks down how new sports and events are chosen by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission.   Driven by the ultimate goal of creating the best value for the games, the potential additions are evaluated on factors like popularity, participation rates, universality, and gender equality.   Listen to the full episode here: https...

David Cutcliffe - Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations at the SEC, and former Duke Head Football Coach - sat down with Jeff Nelson on this week's episode. He shares his experience under former Duke AD Kevin White, reminisces on the challenges he faced trying to lead the team to success, and shares his experience with Peyton, Eli, and the whole Manning family.     Details: 2...

In recognition of last night's MLB All-Star Game, we're showcasing this highlight from MLB Chief Strategy & Operations Officer, Chris Marinak, on how Gen Z is redefining sports fandom, particularly when it comes to baseball.     He mentions the league's Play Ball campaign, which brought the Capital One PLAY BALL PARK to LA for All-Star Week, and is aimed at increasing youth baseball participation...

Nina King - Vice President and Director of Athletics at Duke University - joins AJ Maestas to discuss finding a successor to the legendary Coach K in her first year as AD. She explains why Jon Scheyer was the best choice, and how Duke basketball is poised for continued success with him coaching the men's team, and Kara Lawson coaching the women's team. She also highlights the importance of Title I...

Christy Hedgpeth – President of Playfly Sports Properties – and Michael Schreiber – Founder & CEO of Playfly - discuss the opportunities they can create for partners, as the largest independent national sales organization in sports.     Michael highlights their deal with Take 5 that encompassed 11 unique sports markets across MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and college sports, all in a single transaction....

Sarah Hirshland - CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee -  joins AJ Maestas to discuss the three main priorities of the USOPC.   Supporting their elite athletes holistically. Improving and growing inclusive sports culture. Growing the Olympics with a new generation of fans.  Sarah also serves on the IOC Olympic Programme Commission helping decide which sports and events are held...

Abe Madkour - Publisher & Executive Editor at Sports Business Journal - shares 3 trends he's following in the sports industry. 1) The growth and excitement behind women's sports 2) The prominence of VC and private equity investment throughout the industry 3) Emerging sports such as Pickleball, Lacrosse, Volleyball, Softball, and others Paul Rabil & the PLL Athlete's Unlimited   Listen to the full...

  Christy Hedgpeth - President of Playfly Sports Properties - and Michael Schreiber - Founder & CEO of Playfly - are the guests for our first ever double interview.   They discuss Playfly's role in the marketplace, and its position among the competition. Michael explains how their goal is to provide a national sales network, as well as best-in-class technology and innovation, to teams and clubs at...

Our dear friend Roger Valdiserri passed away last week at the age of 95. Roger was a legend in our industry, serving as the Sports Information Director at Notre Dame for 3 decades. Throughout his career, he worked 22 men's basketball Final Fours, 2 Olympic Games, and even a World Cup. He was a part of 2 national championships in football under head coach Ara Parseghian.   We published a podcast wi...

Lorien Parry Luehrs - President & COO of HomeTown Ticketing - on the impact that digital ticketing can have on K-12 sports and events, beyond just the bottom line.     She talks about how Athletic Directors have so many objectives to tend to, and profit is rarely one of them. Therefore, making the transition to digital isn't about increasing revenue, but is about ease of access, improved data capa...

Abe Madkour - Publisher & Executive Editor at Sports Business Journal - joins the Navigating Sports Business podcast to discuss the state of the sports industry and his transition from journalist to editor.     He and AJ also highlight their favorite SBJ events throughout the year, and sports business trends they are keeping an eye on.     Details: 3:20 - Abe's background 9:55 - The transition fro...

Earl Santee - Senior Principal & Global Chair at Populous - on the evolution of sports venues from a seated experience to more of a personalized entertainment experience, and a community meeting place.     He and AJ also cover the importance of easy transit as a common friction point among fans, and as a key way that live sports needs to improve in order to compete with the ease of at-home enterta...

Lorien Parry Luehrs - President & COO of HomeTown Ticketing - joins the show to discuss how digital ticketing is changing the game for high school sports and other community events. With 865M tickets sold each year, K-12 events (including sports and other events) account for 60% of ticket sales in the U.S. - pro sports sell about 200M for comparison.   HomeTown Ticketing is the market leader in di...

With the WNBA tipping off this week, we're showcasing a highlight from our interview with current client Keia Clarke, CEO of the New York Liberty. She breaks down how her team is working to share the unique story of each of their players, not just the stars.     She also talks about the team's talent and how they'll be able to capitalize on basketball success when it comes to the business side.  ...

Earl Santee - Senior Principal & Global Chairman at Populous - is one of the most most well-known and respected stadium designers in the world. As a founder of Populous, he and his team pioneered practices that we take for granted today, like the "skybox" that led directly to the prevalence of luxury suites in modern stadiums.   He and AJ explore some of his favorite projects he's worked on, and d...

Gretchen Sheirr - President of Business Operations for the Houston Rockets - explains the evolution of digital ticketing best practices since she joined the organization two decades ago, and how her team was on the cutting edge.   Listen to the full episode here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&ppepisode=2ff005acc36817567fec4d871854d24d For more insights, visit o...

Keia Clarke - CEO of the New York Liberty - joins the show to discuss the bright future of the Liberty and the WNBA as a whole.   She shares with AJ Maestas her career path and how she made the transition from marketing to operations, and now to the role of CEO. They also touch on the Liberty's investment in custom market research and the work they're doing with Navigate.   Details: 2:15 - The $75...

Bob Cialdini, the best-selling author of Influence shares the importance of using his Seven Principles of Persuasion ethically and authentically.     He also gives tips for negotiations, and explores the authority principle as it applies to pricing, and why you should never round your prices.     Listen to the full interview here: https://nvgt.com/podcast?ppplayer=98f56b6dd6dca41729f186d12a4d1251&...

Former Oregon AD - Pat Kilkenny- is a close friend and advisor to many leaders in college sports, including Phil Knight, Bob Bowlsby, and Larry Scott. He shares the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur and how he applied them at Oregon.     He and AJ Maestas discuss his transition to the world of college sports, and why he ultimately left Oregon. They also discuss Pat's relationship to Phil Knigh...