Tao of Sports Podcast

Jack Lucas' podcast episode is bittersweet, as he is retiring after 30 years of operating one of the more successful ticket start-ups in United States history, TicketsWest. Lucas mentions how a 1987 phone call changed his life, while he was teaching music in the Spokane public schools system, and with it brought several facets of electronic ticketing to the Inland Northwest. Serving also as presid...

Ian Taylor presents the narrative on how data in ticket sales revenue generation is utilized in the United Kingdom and European marketplace. Taylor speaks expansively on the inclusion of trackable information on customer behaviors, along with using traditional terrestrial media methodology in order to create more ticket buyers. Taylor speaks about his work at bigdog, which helps Feld Entertainment...

Julian Jenkins comes on the podcast to examine whether sports clubs truly understand their fans' KPIs or only the ones that the organization thinks the fans desire. Jenkins shares his two decades worth of knowledge as CEO of European football clubs, as well as his understanding of the digital space. Many times, as Jenkins is mindful of, the top brass don't value digital for revenue generation as m...

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...

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...

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 vie...

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 muc...

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. Coulso...

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 be...

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 sho...

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 w...

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...

Bryan Mayhood will fully admit that he walked into a perfect situation at the Nashville Sounds, as they were finishing off year 2 in a fantastic new ballpark. Mayhood discusses how he helped develop a vision for year 3 and beyond, to ensure that the vitality of the ballpark, as well as fan interest, didn't wain. Mayhood talks about engaging his sales staff, including those he did not hire, in orde...

Michael Broughton views all sport acquisitions through the lens of driving revenue, and sees various issues with the way that English Premier Football handles its touring mechanisms, especially through the Asian marketplace. Broughton's outspoken views include the issue of short-term gains by certain football clubs in Asia, without the long-term thinking of actual fan affinity toward those same cl...

Amy Jo Martin will concede she was not the first verified person on Twitter. She was the second, due to her work with Shaquille O'Neal, who was the first. Martin talks about the wild west of sports social media, where bringing a humanizing voice to Twitter allowed her to found Digital Royalty, which worked with such brands as Hilton Worldwide, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Kansas City Royals, Chi...

Tod Caflisch has had an amazing year on the job in Minnesota, bringing U.S. Bank Stadium online, as well as ensuring that a variety of new events have gone off without a hitch while implementing a new DAS and WiFi system. Caflisch talks about his experience at getting everyone in the facility on board, including the marketing team, in order to think broader about what usage will be the top priorit...

Jamy Bechler focuses on personal improvement of leaders, ensuring that those staff and student-athletes they oversee receive the best vision possible for their athletic department. Bechler talks about motivational growth of the individual who is earning that position of leader within the department, as well as why it is important to be challenged by a strong strategic vision, as well as working wi...

While Jeff Ferguson may be often thought of as a sponsorship guy, his third visit to the podcast is as much about digital live streaming acceptance as it is sponsor activation. Ferguson presents a compelling case for how he has helped Georgia Southern Athletics beat other media to market, using Facebook Live to enhance the digital sponsorship inventory available to Learfield, driving revenue in ne...

Jack Vincent's book, A Sale Is A Love Affair, shows how top salespeople, in any industry, can be loved by their customers through deep, human connections. Vincent talks about the parallels between the sales process and finding love, as well as developing a trusting, romantic relationship. Vincent describes some of the challenges in creating trust, as well as presents examples of his own experience...

Lana Berry has become a juggernaut on sports social media, accumulating over 135,000 followers organically, including 93,000 on Twitter. Berry discusses her strategic initiative toward how she creates a relatable online personality, especially through her interactions with major sports social media accounts. Berry talks about how she weeds out the negative for the positive criticisms, as well as w...

Dr. Brett Burchette has become a fixture of Drexel's campus life; Burchette has served as a member of the sports management faculty, as an associate athletic director for development and now as executive director of the overall LeBow College of Business fundraising initiative. Burchette recounts the advice provided by a sitting athletic director, who brought him into athletic development, and then...

Group sales are a core focus on how Ryan Kindt sells to his Liberty University athletic customers, positioning various companies and organizations toward wider ticket buys. Kindt discusses his strategy, including being on the local chamber of commerce board, developing group leaders, and not providing free tickets just because someone asks for them. Kindt talks about his goals, especially in how t...

The Tacoma Rainiers have been revitalized by the enhancements off of the field, in Cheney Stadium, which used to be regarded as one of the worst facilities in the Pacific Coast League. Rainiers President Aaron Artman discusses the resurgence of the Rainers' brand, and how an eyesore stadium became a crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Artman talks about hiring practices at the Rainiers, as well...

Evan Levy has worked to secure athlete talents for media and publications for the last five years, and is one of hardest working people in show business during Super Bowl radio row. Levy explains why the Super Bowl radio row requires the complexity of logistics, as well as creates a line of demarcation between those athletes with great personalities who own a room, compared to those who are intere...

Overseeing 36 community college athletic departments in two states and one Canadian Province, Northwest Athletic Conference Executive Director Marco Azurdia explains why his work is cut out for him. Azurdia talks about some of the challenges of increasing the professional development of his athletic directors, of ensuring student athlete welfare, and building trust between communities. Azurdia als...