Spotlight: SMA Conference

Last week, the annual conference for the Sports Marketing Association (SMA) was held here, in Orlando, FL, at the Wyndham Hotel. This year they teamed up with Teamwork Online to add a day for students to network with some of the many sports professionals present and each other. This past Saturday, October 27, 2012, I had the opportunity to attend this event. It began with introductions and then the professionals shared their stories. The people we heard from were Tom Veit, Alex Vergara, Bob Crowley, Ed Willett, Rick Burton, Jeff Angolini, Donna Rowe, Jeffrey Gray and Marcellus Cooper. Here are a few of their stories:

Tom Veit is the President at the Solutions Group in Tampa, FL. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Government and International Affairs, proving that you don’t have to major in sports to work in sports. He has had several jobs in the sports industry, working in everything from soccer to wrestling. His most notable career move and the one he feels was his greatest success was when he was the president of the Philadelphia Union. He helped to start this team from scratch, assisting in not only the creation of team but also the creation of brand. He is currently working in Tampa, FL at a sports marketing and advertising agency that he helped to form.

Bob Crowley is a former figure skater and current CEO at USA Water Ski. Following his figure skating career he did what most skaters do and began coaching. This led to his position as the associate executive director of US Figure Skating. From here he began working for the US Speed Skating team and finds this to be his greatest accomplishment. Nearing the time of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the team’s sponsor, the former DSB Bank, went bankrupt, forcing them to back out of their sponsorship. Stephen Colbert came to the rescue and helped raise the money needed to get this team to the Olympics. Mr. Crowley was in close contact with Colbert during this time and was one of the major players in this working. The team made it to Vancouver and won a plethora of gold medals, but following these games Crowley was drained and was ready to move on to the next big thing. Up for a new challenge, he took the position where he is now, the CEO at USA Water Ski. 

Ed Willett is the Vice President of business development at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). He began his career in sports doing ad sales for Sports Illustrated and later ESPN. With a wife and daughters, he found the desire to be an advocate for women in sports. This took him to the LPGA in January of 2011. In speaking with him you could hear and see the passion he has for his job. You could also tell that he believes in the women of the LPGA and wants to help other women in the sports industry.

Jeffrey Gray is the General Manager for the Bluefield Blue Jays, the minor league team of the Toronto Blue Jays. What is unique about Gray is that he is the youngest general manager in professional baseball at only 22 years old. He began his baseball career as a batboy when he was 11. He continued assisting teams for several years and earned his BA in Sports Business from Saint Leo University in Florida. He continued working in baseball after graduation as the associate general manager of the US Military All-Stars. This team is the Harlem Globe Trotters of baseball. From here he received the opportunity to interview for a general manager position and in October 2012 he became the general manager of the Bluefield Blue Jays.

Following their presentation, we had the opportunity to network with these professionals and the other students. It was amazing to be able to interact with people who are doing or have done what I want to do. This was a very educational experience and I hope to attend more of these events in the future.

* Information was obtained through personal communication on 10/27/12.