Teamwork
It was at West Point that Lawson met the high-profile athletic director for the Louisville Cardinals, Tom Jurich. Lawson was soon hired to run the Kentucky university’s athletic marketing and put together their sponsorship program. The timing was perfect. Basketball coach Rick Pitino had just been hired to coach the basketball squad. Louisville football was on the upswing nationally and was soon to become a top-10 program. Lawson helped modernize the way the university was selling sponsorships by packaging media elements like radio rights with signage and events and promotions. With Lawson’s help, the university quadrupled revenues from sponsorships. He established a solid reputation in his field.
At Nelligan, Lawson got a call from Jonathan Blue, an old friend and a booster from his days with the Louisville Cardinals. Blue, an entrepreneur and private equity specialist, was busy acquiring and tying together various sports businesses— from SFX’s tennis practice, which represented six of the top10 women players in the country to pro football super-agent Joel Segal’s practice, which included clients Michael Vick and Chris Johnson. Blue needed someone to put a public relations and marketing front together and to negotiate his largest endorsements. He wanted Lawson.
Lawson parlayed that experience into a position with Nelligan Sports, an aggregator of college properties that specializes in bundling radio, TV, and promotional rights of multiple college athletics programs in order to sell sponsorships to corporate entities like Chevrolet—as opposed to more traditional approaches like selling to individual truck dealerships. When Nelligan would ink a deal with a Ball State or Marquette for its services, Lawson would relocate to the university, assemble a team, and negotiate deals to increase marketing value. Nelligan eventually signed MTSU, the alma mater of Lawson’s in-laws. So Lawson and his family moved to Nashville.
Lawson spent the next several years with Blue, building a particularly special bond with Titans running back Chris Johnson. While on a Nike photo shoot in Oregon, that relationship drew the attention of Steelers star Polamalu, who soon left one of the largest marketing and public relations agencies in the world to have Lawson represent him. When Blue decided to cash out of the entertainment area, Lawson continued for a short time working for the buyer, Europe’s massive Lagardere Unlimited agency.
What I am really passionate about is that ability to influence and work with students . . .
continued on page 20 July 2013 | 19 |