2012 YOUNG Alumnus of the Year
Sean Adams
“I define luck as working your tail off so when an opportunity comes by, you’re ready for it.” – SEan adaMS JACK MAXWELL
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ean adams (’93) loves sports. He also has a passion for leadership and some pretty valuable know-how when it comes to business. And he’s found a way to make a living doing all three. “I’ve really carved out a niche for myself,” Adams said. The former two-sport athlete for ACU works the job of his dreams as host of ESPN Austin’s The Big Show, a top-rated afternoon drive-time radio program that airs for four hours every day. As a business leader and motivational speaker, Adams travels the nation to reach audiences of athletes, parents, athletic programs, sales teams and corporate clients such as State Farm and Yahoo with a message of teamwork, potential and motivation. And as the first research fellow of the Program in Sports and Media at The University of Texas at Austin, he helps bring voice and experiences of sports and media professionals on campus for interaction and collaboration with faculty and students. A former chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Adams believes everything he does comes together in a seamless philosophy uniting athletics principles and leadership. “When you’re dealing with a business, you’re dealing with a team,” Adams said. “Preparation, determination and learning from failure – all the things that make you successful in sports also work in business.” Speaking to groups of young athletes is especially meaningful to Adams. He knows the empowerment that can come from someone investing faith in young people.
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Fall 2012
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AC U TO D AY
As a freshman at ACU in Fall 1989, Adams didn’t feel like he fit in. “I was a kid from the inner city of Oakland,” he said. “The other students at ACU were having completely different conversations than I was having. It seemed like they were all talking about going to Aspen for spring break. As a result, I don’t know that I had the best attitude about people when I first got there.” But Adams’ professors in the College of Business Administration noticed he had drive and talent – and not just on the track or football field. COBA dean Dr. Jack Griggs (’64) told Adams’ mother, “If Sean Adams is going to take a stand for something, he’s going to do it at 100 miles an hour.” Other mentors such as Dr. Rick Lytle and Dr. Terry Pope (’64) also took the time to invest in Adams. “I appreciated the professors who saw past my insecurities and my immaturity and found something in me that they could pour themselves into,” he said. “They believed I could turn out OK at the end.” Adams turned out more than OK. After having made his mark at ACU playing football and earning all-America status in track and field, he graduated in 1993 and moved to Washington, D.C., where he went to work for Janet Reno in the U.S. Department of Justice. “I thought I was going to work toward national security or CIA,” he said. “That was my plan.” But Adams also had plans to marry Karen Vann (’97), a track and field athlete he met at ACU. He soon discovered that a security career in Washington would not be
ideal for married life. Jack Rich (’77), then the executive vice president at ACU, offered Adams a position in the business office back on campus. He moved back to Abilene and finished his M.B.A. before he and Karen moved to Austin so he could start work as an analyst at Dell, Inc. Still, Adams’ passion for sports – especially football – never subsided. In his spare time, he became a student of the game, an expertise that would prove invaluable as Adams began getting opportunities to work as a sportswriter. He talked his way into working in radio when, through a mutual friend, Adams met someone who hosted a radio show. His co-host had a doctor’s appointment the next day and the spot needed filling, so Adams – sans any tangible radio experience – quickly volunteered to help. Adams subbed for radio hosts several more times until ESPN bought a sports radio station in Austin and hired him as its permanent host. Six years later, Adams is still doing what he loves. “I love radio,” he said. “I love that you can interact with the listeners. I think dialogue is so important. Even when people disagree, it’s important.” The author of two books, Adams embraces a career that unites everything he is passionate about. “I consider myself the luckiest dude in the world, but I define luck as working your tail off so when an opportunity comes by, you’re ready for it,” he said. – DEANA NALL