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 and appreciation for sports marketing have helped to grow Purdue’s fan base exponentially, especially with a rise in their athletics programs over the past decade, and his knowledge and expertise in the field have helped to cultivate limitless talent in intercollegiate athletics. Under Chris’ leadership, the Purdue Athletics Marketing team was awarded the prestigious 2019 Marketing Team of the Year award by the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators. Chris discusses his role as an athletic director, the overall growth in marketing and social media presence of Purdue Athletics, the improvement of the fan experience at both Purdue Athletics and intercollegiate athletics in general, the growing impact of data on decision making, and his favorite memories of working in professional sports. 

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 discusses his role in the ticket sales process, his transition to leadership in a competitive environment, the importance of hiring from diverse backgrounds for professional roles in sports and entertainment, and his favorite memories of working in professional sports.

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 as compared to other businesses, and relays his favorite memories from working with the Colts. 

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 anything and everything in sports helped her along the way, and she talks about the trade-offs of working in sports.    

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 advice for students looking to break into sports sales.    

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 Group. Potter Sports Group is a sports agency focusing on professional basketball, with athletes in the NBA, G-League, and overseas. In his talk, Garrett explains how he got his start in sports, despite his hesitancy toward sales, the power of making connections, and finishes by taking questions from students in the audience. 

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 career with the Tigers.  

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with a scout from the Utah Jazz, Brian Pauga. Brian was a student manager for Michigan State University and turned his passion for basketball into a career as an NBA scout and G-League General Manager. In this episode, he discusses the day-to-day responsibilities of a scout, the skills needed to break into an NBA front office, and how the profession has changed due to analytics. 

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with veteran public address announcer and host of the Talkin’ Sports show on 1380am The Fan, Jim Shovlin. A Fort Wayne native, Jim has announced high school, college, and professional sports in the Summit City and hosted his own radio sports talk show for the past 15 years. In this episode, he discusses how making funny character sounds during a baseball game landed him his first radio gig, the amount of preparation that goes into sports PA announcing, and shares valuable advice on how to develop your announcing voice.    

In this episode, Trine Center for Sports Studies Director, Brandon Podgorski, talks with Associate Director of Compliance with Notre Dame Athletics, Jeff Parry. Jeff is one of seven compliance staff members at Notre Dame responsible for maintaining compliance with NCAA rules and regulations. In this episode, he explains his path to Notre Dame, how he works within the NCAA rules to assist student-athletes and gives advice for people wanting to break into sports.