"Breaking into the Sports Industry" Panel Recap

On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the University of Maryland Sports Business Society held its “Breaking into the Sports Industry” guest speaker panel.

The panel featured Matt Winkler, professor and program director of Sports Analytics & Management at American University; Tim Kurkjian, analyst for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight; Doug Eldridge, founder of DLE Agency and Achilles PR; Nicole Hawkins, founder of PR and consulting firm Nicole Hawkins Communication and Admirable Athletes; and Jim Coller, VP of Finance for the Baltimore Ravens.

Matt Winkler served as moderator for the event. Winkler, who has a wide range of sports experience including the NCAA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, Olympics and World, stressed a 4-step process of success within the business world.

“Research, Activation, Execution, Evaluation,” Winkler emphasized. “You hear that in the business school here probably a lot. But that’s the wheel, guys. Know how to work that wheel … Know that wheel and you’re hired and throw in the other stuff.”

As a young journalist in Dallas, Kurkjian said he was thrown on the scene in his first week, having to interview the newly-hired coach of the New England Patriots. Kurkjian described his willingness to take risks and the valuable experience he earned from that. He had an important message about his rise in success, saying, “If I can leave you with one thing, you have to learn how to write. There isn’t one person, certainly in the writing business, or the TV business who doesn’t know how to write.”

The hard work and ageless methods that brought him to his success remain today. He has been cutting out the box scores and pitching stats of every baseball game from the newspaper since he was 4 years old!

Eldridge grabbed the attention of the audience with his inspiration and intensity. He spoke of his ability to make his own opportunity in the sports world and highlighted the mountains and valleys of the business.

He shared a lasting message from a Cadillac commercial, saying, “Opportunities are seldom perfect, but if you’re not ready, they may never come again.”

Eldridge reiterated the importance of opportunity and to take advantage of those moments in time. He provided a vivid story by letting his own client, Jon Halapio, starting center for the New York Giants, speak about his own experiences. He later remarked, “The only thing in this life, the only thing that you can control are two things: Attitude and Effort.” The message that Eldridge continued to portray was about seizing the opportunity, carpe diem, and how the cliché is the reality in being successful in the sports industry.

Nicole Hawkins offered a humanitarian and public relations perspective into the world of sports business. She was destined for sports broadcasting as a young girl, but after being exposed to many other career opportunities within the sports industry, Hawkins turned to PR.

She has been intrigued by the efforts of The Players’ Tribune and Lebron James’ The Shop. “From a branding perspective, I’m big into players realizing that they’re a brand and creating things surrounding their brand and to help grow their brand,” she said. Hawkins continues to focus on the role of the media and the outreach of sports to help promote positive change in the industry.

Coller offered a corporate perspective and relayed information about his time in finance and accounting from his early days at KPMG to his role with the Ravens. He referenced the opportunities within the Ravens organization, saying, “If you can get your foot in the door, there’s always opportunities to move. You may start out in marketing and that may lead into sales. We’ve had people that have moved across different departments within the organization and we kind of foster that and encourage that.”

Additionally, Coller provided insight into the drastic change in technology and analytics. He referenced the old days of FedEx trucks shipping game tape to opposing teams to the new-era of analytics that micromanages finances, players, and in-game decisions.

The marquee event allowed attendees to network with these great guests after the Q/A session. The perspectives from such different roads to success still had a common theme of hard work, taking advantage of opportunities, and a passion for their jobs.