McCormack Sport Leaders Forum 2022

MCCORMACK SPORT LEADERS FORUM

ISENBERG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT March 26, 2022

Notes

CONTENTS

03

ISENBERG MAP

05

AGENDA

06

PANEL DESCRIPTIONS

07

KEYNOTE

09

COLLEGE ATHLETICS PANEL

10

EMERGING LEAGUES PANEL

11

SPORT FOR GOOD PANEL

12

WHAT'S TRENDING? PANEL

13

YOUNG GUNS

14

LUNCH & LEARN

16

MEET OUR TEAM

Isenberg School of Management Map

MCCORMACK SPORT LEADERS FORUM

an event overview

AGENDA 9:00 AM Registration

2:30 PM Breakout Panels #2 Emerging Leagues

10:00 AM Keynote

Kellie Cavalier, VPO at Premier Rugby Sevens

Kathleen Francis, Chair and President at Women in Sports and Events, Inc.

11:00 AM Break 11:15 AM Breakout Panels #1 College Athletics

Jake Krantz, Premier Lacrosse League Jawad Yatim, Co-Founder of the Massachusetts Pirates Shaon Berry, MetroSports

Sport for Good

Donna Lopiano, Drake Group

Mackenson Charles, Director of Inclusive City Initiatives at Special Olympics Massachusetts

Erin McDermott, Director of Athletics at Harvard

Sally Nnamani, US Director of Programs at PeacePlayers

Ariel Pesante, UMass AD of Compliance

Megan Bartlett, Founder at The Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport

What’s Trending George Brisbon, Assistant AD, Sales, Marketing & Fan Experience at UMass Athletics

Anthony Dear, Detective Lieutenant at Massachusetts State Police

Braly Keller, NIL Specialist at Opendorse

3:15 PM Break

Jack Kingsley, Director of BD at Buzzer Kayla Ketring, Analyst Consumer Insights and Strategy, Navigate Lamar Phillips, Account Executive, Fan Relations at Boston Bruins

12:00 PM Break/Networking 1:00 PM Lunch & Learn 2:00 PM Break

3:30 PM Young Guns Amber J. Hutson, Account Executive, Olympic and Paralympic Marketing at GMR Marketing Brett Estrella, Esports & Gaming Lead at Excel Sports Management Diego Acuña, Director Client Services at LTG Capital Katherine Hauck, Corporate Partnership Coordinator at Kraft Sports + Entertainment

4:30 PM Closing Remarks

MARCH 26, 2022

PANEL DESCRIPTIONS

College Athletics In the past year, collegiate sports have undergone significant changes that have affected both organizations and athletes. The convergence of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the introduction of the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Rights provides athletes with varying new protections and business opportunities. This panel will examine the implications of the NCAA’s new rules and how college athletics are going to adapt and change with this unfamiliar environment.

What’s Trending Social media has increased the level of fan engagement. This panel will examine the new trends for fan engagement and will feature speakers from a wide range of segments in this industry.

Sport for Good Sport organizations and athletes use their resources and platforms to educate and inform their fanbases about their missions and visions.

The power of sport can be leveraged to support and inspire the population in various ways. This panel will feature a variety of different viewpoints of how organizations are using sport to better society.

Emerging Leagues As society’s interests continue to evolve there has been an emergence of various new leagues across the world. These leagues are establishing themselves as distinct from popular organizations. This panel will dive into these new leagues, help better understand how they start-up and develop, and how they can differentiate themselves from the competition.

Young Guns The transition from student to professional is one that many struggle to balance and figure out. This panel will feature speakers who are a few years post-grad, that will discuss their experiences and share their tips and tricks for adapting to life after college.

KATHLEEN FRANCIS Chair and President at Women in Sports and Events, Inc. As National Board Chair and President of Women In Sports and Events (WISE), Francis is making her impact in the C-Suites of some of the most respected organizations in the world. In her role, which she took over from founder Sue Rodin in 2011, she became only the second leader in the 26-year history of the influential industry organization. Francis leads more than 25 national chapters of WISE, an organization that provides women with a range of resources and tools—from networking events to mentoring programs, scholarships and more—to hone their skills and ultimately become leaders in the sports business industry.

Currently, WISE reaches more than a thousand people annually through its chapters, with its members holding positions at MLS, MLB, the USTA and more. Their partners—the NBA, MLB, NFL, NBC sports, CBS Sports, ESPN and more—are working to ensure that women in the sports industry have access to networking, training and job opportunities.

Before joining WISE, Francis worked in marketing for Major League Baseball, and she was managing director of the United States Tennis Association.

RECIPIENT OF

WISE Women of the Year in Sports Award

SBJ “TOP 40 UNDER 40” SPORTS EXECUTIVES

1999 and 2000 “Top 25 Women Executives in Sports”

EBONY OUTSTANDING WOMEN AWARDS

2000 Boys & Girls Clubs of America Champion for Youth Award

OUR MODERATORS WHAT'S TRENDING? PANEL

Madison Peyser

MSLF Director of Marketing, Social Media

EMERGING LEAGUES PANEL

Gabrielle Romanelli MSLF Director of Programming and Engagement

COLLEGE ATHLETICS PANEL

Kraylee Ledger MSLF Director of Programming and Engagement

Angelina Guarnieri MSLF Director of Marketing, Website

SPORT FOR GOOD PANEL

Chava Whittum

MSLF Director of Marketing, Attendee Outreach

Diana Camarillo MSLF Director of Sponsorship

Sophie Gindi

MSLF Director of Sponsorship

YOUNG GUNS PANEL

Scott Savran

Scout 360 Department Head, Analytics & Partnership Impact Measurement

COLLEGE ATHLETICS MODERATOR - KRAYLEE LEDGER

DONNA LOPIANO, DRAKE GROUP Donna Lopiano, Ph.D., is the President and founder of Sports Management Resources, a consulting firm that focuses on bringing the knowledge of experienced, expert former athletics directors to assist scholastic and collegiate athletics departments in solving growth and development challenges. Dr. Lopiano was named one of the “The 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports” as well as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Sports” and is former CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation. She has been nationally and internationally recognized for her leadership advocating for gender equity in sports by the International Olympic Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

ERIN MCDERMOTT, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS AT HARVARD McDermott successfully guided her department through the COVID-19 pandemic. With a focus on structure, culture and the future of Harvard Athletics, McDermott announced both an internal and external restructuring and department-wide realignment in the spring of 2021. McDermott created new positions to oversee all diversity, inclusion, belonging and student development efforts and worked with the University on a new development position that works collaboratively to drive strategies for major gifts to Athletics and special fundraising initiatives. Prior to joining Harvard, McDermott was the Director of Athletics & Recreation at the University of Chicago. Due to the institution’s success, McDermott was one of the recipients of the NACDA Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year Award.

BRALY KELLER, NIL SPECIALIST AT OPENDORSE Braly Keller is the Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) Specialist at Opendorse. Keller serves as the in-house expert on all things NIL policy, governance, education, and legislation. He was the former NIL Coordinator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, collaborating to develop and sustain the industry-leading Nebraska initiative. Keller also formerly served as Chair of NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was a member of the NCAA DIII NIL Oversight Group and NCAA DIII Championships Committee.

ARIEL PESANTE, UMASS AD OF COMPLIANCE Ariel "AP" Pesante was named the University of Massachusetts Associate Athletics Director for Governance and Compliance in July 2017. Pesante, a member of the department’s executive staff, leads the operation of UMass Athletics' compliance program, including rules education, NIL, financial aid and NCAA governance and legislative items. Pesante is also the departmental liaison to the bursar’s office, office of financial aid, registrar’s office, residential life and dining. In addition, he also provides sport oversight for the football program. In this role, he is responsible for assisting with game scheduling, personnel management and budget oversight. During his time at UMass, Pesante has provided sport oversight for men’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer. A leader nationally, Pesante has served terms as a member of the NCAA Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial aid cabinet and the NCAA Interpretations Committee. Pesante was a recipient of the Lead1 Institute’s minority scholarship in 2019 and is a 2016 graduate of the NCAA’s Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute. Additionally, Pesante is an active member of the Minority Opportunity Athletics Association, having served on its' membership committee, and is a member of the National Association for Athletics Compliance.

EMERGING LEAGUES MODERATORS - ANGELINA GUARNIERI & SOPHIE GINDI

JAWAD YATIM, CO-FOUNDER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS PIRATES Jawad Yatim played two seasons of arena football after college and knew that this was the career he wanted to pursue. Yatim was only 27 when he founded his own indoor arena football team, the Massachusetts Pirates, making him the youngest owner and operator in professional football. Since 2019, the team has tripled its multi-game ticket accounts and has secured a TV deal with NESN. They [the Pirates] also won a number of awards, including the league’s Community Service Award and Media Relations Award. Yatim was also named League Executive of the Year by the publication, Last Word on Sports. Yatim formed the LLC, and handled all the logo development and trademarking, arena lease negotiations, insurance, hiring front office staff and recruiting players and players, etc., building the entire brand. The Pirates have seen major growth in corporate partnerships, landing their first title sponsor in, Phoenix Communications, as well as landing partnerships with brands such as Berkshire Bank, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Cintron Energy, etc. They also have a partnership with 98.5 The Sports Hub, the largest sports talk radio station in New England.

KELLIE CAVALIER – VPO AT PREMIER RUGBY SEVENS Kellie Cavalier serves as the Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) Vice President of Operations. With an impressive background in the sports industry, Cavalier helps lead PR7s’ organizational equality and inclusion, plus oversee game-day operations, team logistics, fan experience, and ticketing. Cavalier spent more than 9 years with USA Rugby served as VP of International Events and oversaw the venue operations for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco. Most recently, she worked with 11th Hour Racing where she helped establish strategic partnerships in the sailing and maritime communities with the mission to restore ocean health.

JAKE KRANTZ, PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE Jake Krantz joined the Premier Lacrosse League in 2021 as the Director of Partnership Development.

Krantz is responsible for generating new revenue through sponsorship, broadcast integrations and licensing opportunities. Prior to the PLL, Krantz spent 5 years at CAA as an Agent and Executive.

Krantz sat in a hybrid role where he built and executed sport and entertainment marketing strategies within the Brand Consulting division with brands including Wells Fargo, Tissot, Wilson, and Bose. As an agent, he generated revenue on behalf of CAA's Property and Talent clients through sponsorships, endorsements, appearances, licensing, and equity partnerships.

SHAON BERRY, METROSPORTS Shaon Berry is a champion of youth education, engagement and development. From his time as a coach to building a 6 year nationally televised football platform, all the way to esports, Berry has helped the youth reach their full potential for over a decade. Metro is an esports virtual and live event competition production platform. They feature a 7k square foot LAN center just outside of Philadelphia and provide open recreation, pro-training and educational programming. Given the industry’s overwhelming lack of diversity in its participants, viewers and professionals, their goal is to build a new family of enthusiasts, and are actively recruiting Black, White, Asian, LatinX, Gay, & Straight Gamers.

SPORT FOR GOOD MODERATORS - DIANA CAMARILLO & CHAVA WHITTUM

SALLY NNAMANI, US DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AT PEACEPLAYERS Sally Nnamani brings her knack for collaborative problem solving to her work at PeacePlayers where she is the U.S. Director of Programs & Partnerships. In her role, she leads the strengthening and scaling of PeacePlayers programs across 5 markets. She also co-leads key institutional partnership engagement with stakeholders such as Nike, NBPA, and NBA teams. Nnamani built a grassroots hoops community in Belfast, Northern Ireland, created innovative programs and events that unlock future opportunities for youth in under-resourced communities across the country, and many more, helping to shape the sports for social impact industry. She recently collaborated with peers in the social impact and youth sports space to develop the Racial Equality & Assessment Learning (REAL) tool which allows organizations to self-assess their internal systems and practices and provides steps they can take to improve their ability to address structural racism. Nnamani's experiences as an athlete, coach, community builder, and senior leader give her a well-rounded perspective of the intersection of sports and social impact.

MEGAN BARTLETT, FOUNDER AT THE CENTER FOR HEALING AND JUSTICE THROUGH SPORT Megan Bartlett has spent more than 15 years supporting organizations that use sport to promote youth development and giving coaches the tools they need to help kids heal. She has co-created innovative coaching initiatives with partners like Nike, the Chicago Cubs, and Milwaukee Bucks; built capacity with community-based organizations and has partnered with the Child Trauma Academy to create the Neurosequential Model in Sport.

She is the author of A Kids Book about Trauma and co-author of Re-Designing Youth Sports: Change the Game.

She speaks regularly on the unique power sport has to promote physical and mental health and essential skills young people need to be successful on and off the field. Bartlett has a BA in Psychology and Sociology from Wesleyan University, where she was captain of the soccer team. She later earned a MA in Urban Policy and Planning from Tufts University while serving as an assistant coach for women’s soccer.

MACKENSON CHARLES, DIRECTOR OF INCLUSIVE CITY INITIATIVES AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS MASSACHUSETTS Mackenson Charles began as the Director of Inclusive City Initiatives at Special Olympics Massachusetts in July 2021. As an emerging leader with 10 plus years of experience, Charles provides high-quality program services for youth and families across non-profit, education, and private sectors. Previous to Special Olympics Massachusetts, Charles served as the Director of Strategy and Operations for Scholar Athletes. There he managed the Scholar Athletes program services in Boston and Springfield Public High Schools. He oversaw daily operations including schedules, inventory, data, training, stakeholder engagement, and program developments.

ANTHONY DEAR, DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT AT MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE Detective Lieutenant Anthony Dear is a 29 year veteran of the Mass State Police. Son of Chinese immigrants, born and raised in the city of Boston, a graduate of Boston Latin Academy, Northeastern University and Western NE College. He joined the MSP in 1993, served 25+ years in field services, held the positions of Commander of the CAT team in troop H, Station Commander of Brighton and Boston barracks. After the marathon bombing in Boston, he established the Boston Strong Invitational Basketball Tournament to bring together all agencies involved to remember MIT Police Officer Sean Collier and Boston Police Officer DJ Simmonds. Anthony Dear is the first Chief of Staff and Diversity Officer for the Mass State Police Division of Investigative Services. He is on the Board of Advisors Boston English High School Legal and Protective Studies. Started MSP TEAM, Together Everyone Achieves More, an outreach initiative that allows MSP members to start athletic programs related to their interests to connect with the communities they serve.

WHAT'S TRENDING? MODERATORS - MADISON PEYSER & GABRIELLE ROMANELLI

JACK KINGSLEY, DIRECTOR OF BD AT BUZZER Jack Kingsley is the Director of Business Development at Buzzer leading platform partnerships across live sports OTT services, sports betting/fantasy, and marketing partners. Jack is one of Buzzer’s first hires and the company has since scaled to over 60 employees in the last year. Prior to joining Buzzer, Jack’s experience included Media Strategy at DAZN and Brand Consulting at CAA. Jack received his Bachelor of Sport Business at the University of Miami and is currently an MBA candidate at NYU Stern while he works fulltime at Buzzer.

KAYLA KETRING, CONSUMER INSIGHTS AND STRATEGY ANALYST, NAVIGATE As an Analyst in Consumer Insights & Strategy, Kayla leads Navigate’s Sports Gambling thought leadership efforts and is published in a series of proprietary insights papers on the quickly evolving space. Kayla specializes in primary research, assisting with data analyzation and visualization for numerous studies aimed around segmentation, brand health, concept testing, sponsorship impact, and implicit research. Kayla is a key contributor to Navigates consulting projects with the likes of The Kansas City Royals, Hard Rock, Anheuser- Busch, and Populus companies. In May 2021, Kayla received her B.A. in Communications from The University of Pennsylvania and graduated as an accomplished four-year varsity softball player.

LAMAR PHILLIPS, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, FAN RELATIONS AT BOSTON BRUINS Lamar Phillips started as an Account Executive, Fan Relations at Boston Bruins in October 2019. Previous to this, Phillips spent his early career at the Boston Red Sox. Phillips' first role with the team was on the Event Operations Staff for the Mobility Assistance team. He was later promoted to a Front Office position, working for the Human Resources department, as an office/mailroom assistant. In addition to this role, he was the driver for the President of the Boston Red Sox, Larry Lucchino. In the Winter of 2016, he was promoted into the Box Office, working as a Ticket Services Associate. During the 2018 Season, he was promoted into the Ticket Sales department as a member of the Red Sox Sales Academy. He also won the 2018 "Hunt for October" sales competition. Phillips rode on a Boston Duck Tour Boat down Boylston Street during the 2018 Championship Parade after the Red Sox defeated in the Dodgers World Series that Fall, and held the 2018 World Series Trophy.

GEORGE BRISBON, ASSISTANT AD, SALES, MARKETING & FAN EXPERIENCE AT UMASS ATHLETICS George Brisbon is the Assistant Athletic Director of Sales, Marketing, & Fan Experience at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Brisbon is an innovative marketing specialist, with experience in strategic planning, project management, event coordination, integrated marketing communication, website design, and business development. Prior to UMass, he was the Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement at the University of Rhode Island. In his role at URI, he developed and directed the game presentation for Football, Men’s Basketball, while developing and overseeing Volleyball and Baseball marketing and in-game promotions. At URI, he implemented marketing & promotional strategies while developing and managing digital and print advertising for season ticket holders and single-game buyers. Brisbon also developed and managed digital content strategy for the department's social media pages and supervised the digital content team. He also served as the Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

YOUNG GUNS MODERATOR - SCOTT SAVRAN

DIEGO ACUÑA, DIRECTOR CLIENT SERVICES AT LTG CAPITAL Diego Acuña is a Chilean American businessman based out of the Boston area. His experience has ranged from working in professional soccer to retail and institutional finance. He currently serves as the Director of Client Services at LTG Capital. Before LTG, he worked with Sporting Kansas City as an Assistant Team Administrator and was previously a Grassroots Marketing Representative at the New England Revolution. Some of Acuña’s business interests include player contract allocation, investments, and entrepreneurship. At UMass Amherst, Acuña came in as a junior transfer student who later in his senior year was the Treasurer for the Association of Diversity in Sport from 2017 to 2018.

AMBER J. HUTSON, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC MARKETING AT GMR MARKETING Amber J. Hutson is a sports and entertainment professional with experience in marketing, events, and corporate partnerships. She currently works for GMR Marketing as an Account Executive for Olympic and Paralympic Marketing. Throughout her career, Amber has had the privilege to work for organizations in Major and Minor League Baseball, the NFL, MLS, and the NBA. Since starting with GMR in June of 2021, Amber has become a big fan of remote work and uses the opportunity to travel and live in different places around the U.S.

BRETT ESTRELLA, ESPORTS & GAMING LEAD AT EXCEL SPORTS MANAGEMENT Brett Estrella leads the esports/gaming representation practice at Excel Sports Management.

Within his role, Brett works with brands to find partnership opportunities across a client roster of prominent video game publishers, esports leagues, multi-team organizations, media platforms and content creators.

KATHERINE HAUCK, CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR AT KRAFT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT Katherine Hauck graduated from the McCormack Department of Sport Management in 2020.

During her time at UMass, she was involved in ADS and running the Sport Management Career Fair. Hauck interned with Special Olympics Massachusetts, RPM Athlete Performance, UMass Athletics, and Kraft Sports + Entertainment throughout her four years. Hauck joined Kraft Sports + Entertainment full time as a Corporate Partnerships Coordinator in July 2021 and works with corporate partners across the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, and Patriot Place. In her free time, you can find her spending time with her nieces and nephews or taking a Cody Rigsby Peloton class.

LUNCH & LEARN SPEAKERS CONNOR MALONEY Account Executive Business Development at New England Revolution

AUSTIN GAUDREAU Account Representative at New England Revolution

LIAM ROSE Senior iGaming Marketing & Operations Associate at DraftKings Inc.

ALEX CHOI Group Experience Coordinator for the Worcester Red Sox

BRALY KELLER NIL Specialist at Opendorse

JON CARTER Customer Service Representative at New England Revolution

POLINA BRODSKIY Assistant Director of Marketing and Community Outreach at Massachusetts Pirates Football

KATHERINE HAUCK Corporate Partnership Coordinator at Kraft Sports + Entertainment

DIEGO ACUÑA Director Client Services at LTG Capital

AMBER J. HUTSON Account Executive, Olympic and Paralympic Marketing at GMR Marketing

JAKE ALDRICH Sports Coordinator at Brookline Recreation MICHELLE TRACY Senior Customer Success Manager, Media & Sports

JONATHAN CAHILL ESP, Football & Baseball Coach at Algonquin Regional High School

BRETT ESTRELLA Senior Manager, Esports & Gaming Lead at Excel Sports Management NICK SCALTRETO Account Executive Youth Soccer at the New England Revolution MADISON PERLMUTTER Account Executive Business Development at the New England Revolution MORGAN PRICE Social Media Specialist at American Hockey League SAM CAMPBELL Associate Account Executive at Epsilon JARED DAVIS Coordinator - Partnership Services at LEARFIELD / UMass Sports Properties

meet

OUR TEAM

Madison Peyser

Angelina Guarnieri

Chava Whittum

Gabrielle Romanelli

Director of Marketing, Social Media

Director of Marketing, Website

Director of Marketing, Attendee Outreach

Director of Programming and Engagement

Kraylee Ledger

Diana Camarillo

Sophie Gindi

Director of Programming and Engagement

Director of Sponsorship

Director of Sponsorship

ADVISORS

Marissa Randall

William Norton

Emily Must

Steve McKelvey

Communications, Events, and Alumni Relations Manager

Director of Graduate Programs & Lecturer Sport Management

Director of Internships & Lecturer Sport Management

Chair of Sport Management & Professor Sport Management



Notes

Notes

Thank you for attending the McCormack Sports Leader Forum