Thanks for sharing this Alan.

As a guy who got a degree in Sports Ad, I can tell you this is a great opportunity for anyone just graduating or possibly still working toward their degree. However, no experienced person is taking this job. No way in hell.

This is the same model we've had for the last 6 years. Not sure if you all knew this was how it was set up, but it's the same thing we did during my time there and left. As to the 10-month relationship building, you guys are used to this by now. With the one fellow they got on the department, they will have someone similar to me in that he will be there for a few years and be a face for some folks who like to build relationships.

The big difference here is salary. When I was there, we clocked 8K over that time instead of 20K. Kind of jealous of those folks making much more in Athens, as my opinion is you can really have a good time in Athens on that kind of salary versus being in Columbus (always my pitch to recruit folks). Of course, finding people who will enjoy small-town life is difficult because of the pace, but those who went into this sales program and came out are all in pretty darn good spots.

This job is generally geared towards new graduates or kids that are going to go into the Sports AD Program. Traditionally, the model is take on one fellow who works then does his two years, 1-2 GAs in their last year who need revenue numbers, then at least 3-5 "inside sales" kids who just graduated and also need to show they can produce revenue. Just saying, but it's true.

Another difference here is the Legends connection. It used to be when Louis Iglesias was at Ohio in the Sports AD Department, he served us with the same model they used on the Cowboys and that they replicate at other properties (hence our record sales). With Louis no longer being in Athens due to an opportunity in Texas, I don't recall anyone in the Sports AD department or within the athletic department with Legends connections. With that, let me just say that I am intrigued as to who the "Legends Connection" is or if it's a copy and paste from the hey day and someone forgot to delete that sentence.

IT'S THE SAME MODEL AS BEFORE

It's always been pitched this way to entice kids to come. See my post above.....

Try reading 101, the new business is in reference to Chad's company "Legends", which is a relatively new business.

Definitely agree, at some point there needed to be some guys with stability on staff. It's why the kid they got on staff this year, Issac will prove to be some form of stability heading into next year and will help the new guys coming in to get the lay of the land somewhat like year's past.

Alan, you act like I have no clue how this works. I am well aware who Chad Estis is. I went through the program and worked in it for 3 years. Not once did we ever have Chad Estis call in. I am well aware of the connection to Legends, as one of my co-workers at OU was the Legends GA when that was a thing and he now works for the Falcons. And yes, I know all those guys and in fact will see a bunch of them next week in Frisco at the Star. So don't act like I have my head up my ass on this one. I worked it and know how this partnership is set up.

Once again we have had the same system for 5 years. They used the same job description we have used for 5+ years. So if you would do some research and realize how this partnership was set up initially (it was because of Louis being the Executive-in-Residence) maybe then you'll read what I said all along. It is not a real Legends partnership there.....

Oh look, the same job description from last year......sound familiar?

https://www.velvetjobs.com/job-posting/assistant-director...

I will be intrigued to see how this goes as well Alan. The attendance and sales numbers were a concern last year. That said, we will find out what it will look like with some stability.

A few things:

1. As I said on a Saul Thread, the concerns about the Marketing and Sales job transition stretched a lot of people in that office. When Drake was forced out, it was right in the middle of football renewals and didn't have someone in place for basketball season. To sell football and basketball effectively come August-September when both sales seasons overlap, it becomes difficult to balance time on the phones for each sport.

2. With the transitions every year, a lot of things fall through the cracks, whether it be on purpose or not. It's why I said it's invaluable to have someone stay on the sales staff from the previous year to help the new guys come in and assist the director as much as they can. When I was there, we were lucky to have Tanner Bond before he went to OBC and then have Roger Jones that first year who was as much a local as they come. Heading into this season, the group was new across the board with no stability of a fellow who became a GA like I did or Tanner did. The stories of any customer base are invaluable in building relationships and when people don't understand the back stories to situations, it can ultimately burn that relationship that developed.

3. With the information that fell through, group sales this year were lagging. These are vital in the perimeter areas (i.e. Parkersburg, Zanesville, Columbus area especially) to attract new fans and get them on the sales ladder. Since this area was lacking, it created a problem on the overall revenue number, especially as you are seeing with basketball. For groups, always focus on sections 109-112 to see how full it is when it is not a power team traveling in.

4. With the O-Zone scandals, it created serious problems in selling family pack seats at Orientation. This has always been a great honeywell to sell Family Pack season tickets for folks who wanted to save money, which in turn generated demand in other sections. With the family pack area not being sold out, the trickle-down effect did not occur in the stadium and as such made sellout opportunities difficult. Sell the family pack seats out, then the rest of the stadium fills in wonderfully. That's the key to selling out Peden, turn screws in the family pack areas, they are forced to pay more and in turn sell out areas of the main stands which pushes them to the corner.

This covers some of the problems that arose this season, as I think of more I can add em.

I just read this and laughed my ass off. B2B, I’m glad you now know who Chad is and Legends 😎.

I was curious to why there was no sales pitch for family packs at orientation this past summer.

A neighbor of mine 90 minutes away from Athens was at orientation two summers ago and came back with a family pack for football games after having never been to a sporting eventpreviously at Ohio University. I was expecting the same sales pitch when I took my daughter down for orientation last summer but there was none. It didn't affect me as I've been getting season tix for football and basketball already but was curious as to why the other parents weren't presented with this opportunity. It obviously worked the summer before.