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Q&A by Carson Reider '15

This week's Facilities Friday features a Q&A with Chris Hafling ‘04, Associate Athletic Director for Operations and Event Management at Northern Kentucky University. Chris discusses his challenges in operating facilites for a 17-sport NCAA Divison I program, the importance of customer service, and the benefits of the Ohio Sports Admin alumni network.

What is your day-to-day role as the Associate Athletic Director for Operations and Event Management at Northern Kentucky University?
I am responsible for all of NKU’s athletic facilities and the operation of those facilities. I also serve as our primary event manager for all NKU home athletic events, as well as coordinating rentals for outside events to be held at our NKU athletic facilities. In addition, I serve as our summer camp director and serve as our athletics department liaison with parking services, dining services, and the University’s facilities management division. I handle all of our facility scheduling, visiting team needs, and generally put out "fires" on a daily basis.

Please share with us a few other roles you've held along your career path.
As an undergrad at the University of Kentucky, I sought out work experience in the athletics program and was able to do a volunteer internship in the athletics program during my undergraduate career in marketing and academics within the athletics program. From there, I attended OU, and after leaving OU my first position was Marketing Assistant at the University of New Mexico. I primarily worked on group sales for football and basketball, as well as the planning and implementation of marketing plans and promotions for Women’s Basketball and Softball.

After that, I worked at Eastern Kentucky University as the Coordinator of Marketing and handled all marketing activities for all of our sports at EKU, as well as performing event management, sales, and sponsorship duties.

I then moved to Northern Kentucky University, starting as Director of Marketing and being promoted to Assistant AD for Marketing and Event Management. In this role, I handled all marketing activities for NKU athletics with all sports as well as event management responsibilities. I was then offered a promotion to move to the Internal side of operations and keep the event management role, and that is where I currently am in my career.

How do you aim to differentiate the internal operations efforts for Northern Kentucky from other schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference and NCAA?
As an athletics program in Year 2 of transition from Division II to Division I, we obviously have many challenges in the quality of our athletic facilities and the financial ability to improve them and maintain them. Our basketball and soccer facilities are outstanding facilities that are well-positioned in the A-Sun and the NCAA. However, some of our other facilities need some additional enhancements and renovations.

One thing I do is we do a lot of outside rentals of our facilities. I will bring in high schools, groups, etc. to rent out our facilities, and then we use that rental money to put back into the facilities for enhancements and improvements.

The other thing that we pride ourselves on is essentially "customer service." I have one full-time person that reports to me and a GA, and I have always told them that while we may not be able to compete with the facilities and operations at more mature Division I schools, there is no reason that our customer service cannot be just as good, if not better, than those more high profile schools. We have been applauded for these efforts during our first two years in our conference, and that is one thing that I think most differentiates us in our operations.

What would you say is the biggest challenge you face today in event management?
Our biggest challenge is probably the same that most institutions face – financial. In our case, this comes from two sides. First, we need more funding to make the necessary renovations, improvements, and to maintain our athletic facilities. I think almost every institution in the country would tell you this as well! From a second side though, we need more funding to staff positions. Again, we are running a 17-sport NCAA Division I program with six on-campus facilities and several off-campus auxiliary facilities and we have two full-time people running the operations for those (my position and our Athletics Facilities Coordinator that reports to me) and one GA. We need to identify resources/funding to create more staffing in our event management area so that we can more efficiently meet the needs of our student-athletes and coaches to do the best we can with event management and operations.

What have you and your staff done to find a solution?
With respect to "fixing" this problem, we are identifying areas we can cut back on in order to create more funding sources for additional staffing. I am hopeful by the 2015-16 academic year we will have one additional full-time person reporting directly to me. In addition, as noted above, one of our primary ways of addressing this issue is to rent our athletics facilities out to various groups and organizations to create additional revenue sources for us. We do many rentals each year, and with these rentals we have raised additional revenue that we have then put back into our enhancing our athletic facilities.

What are some innovative features, buildings, or policies you've seen lately in facilities and game day management at the collegiate level recently?
I have been fortunate enough to visit several BCS-level schools over the past year and tour their athletic facilities as well as attend multiple conventions, and I think that the most impressive athletic facilities I have seen follow the modes of technology, sustainability, and practicality. Incorporating technological aspects into modern athletics facilities is critical – one of the neatest things I saw was one facility where the student-athlete could utilize his or her cell phone to activate and open their equipment cubbies from the equipment room. It was very neat to see no keyed or combination locks and to see technology being used.

Sustainability and being good environmental stewards in our buildings is also critical – the modern facilities I have seen with solar and wind power, numerous recycling and green initiatives, etc. are part of the "new" athletic facilities model. Finally, practicality is critical. I think everyone that has ever spearheaded the building of a new facility will tell you after the building is complete they wished they had done something differently. I think it is critical to get as much "right" on the front end as possible, and practicality is huge. Many of the newer facilities I have seen are utilizing space well and intelligently (i.e. build your equipment room near the showers/locker area rather than having an equipment room through a clubhouse or something like that). Practicality is critical in most of the modern buildings I have seen.

Do you have any recent or upcoming projects you could share with us?
Within the last year, we have completed some signage and branding enhancements at our athletic facilities. In addition, we have resurfaced our tennis courts and resurfaced/refinished our volleyball floor changing it from a basketball design to a new volleyball design since basketball is now playing in a newer arena on campus.

Our goal for the next 1-2 years is to build a new building near our baseball, softball, and tennis venues. This venue would serve multiple purposes and contain NKU and visiting team lockers, umpire locker rooms, indoor batting cages, concessions and restroom areas, office space, academic space, team meeting space, etc. Hopefully we will have the funding in place to begin looking at this project within the next year.

What is the biggest piece of advice that you could offer someone trying to find a career in event management?
When students come to ask me about a career in college athletics, and specifically event management, I always tell them the best thing they can do is go to their athletics department and volunteer. Very few athletic departments are going to turn down "free help," as most of us can always use some extra personnel to assist with various responsibilities. I always tell the students you need to get that experience so you can see what the position really entails and then also do be able to develop and build his or her respective resume and learn/enhance his or her respective development. At the end of the day, I think most of us that are now established in our careers can remember when we were at that college age, and I think most of us are willing to help out those interested in pursuing a career in our field. The student just needs to be proactive and willing to provide assistance (often unpaid), and in return my responsibility is to provide that student with a good experience to showcase what this career entails long-term.

How has being part of the Ohio Sports Administration family affected your career and personal development?
Attending OU and graduating from the Sports Administration program is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have made many friends in my class as well as others during my time at OU and in my career. I currently work with two fellow OU alums in my athletics program at NKU, and the three of us have a very special bond due to our times at OU. Countless times I have picked up the phone or sent out an email to an OU alum (some that I knew before and others that I initiated conversation with) to ask about their experiences and thoughts on a problem/issue I have had.

I fully believe that the OU name on my resume helps me stand out during job applications and interviews, and I think it has certainly assisted me in my career. Furthermore, the lifelong network that exists has helped me grow in my career and professional and personal development.

Reach out to Chris by sending him an email at [email protected]!

To read the desktop version, click here.

Q&A by Carson Reider '15

This week's Facilities Friday features a Q&A with Chris Hafling ‘04, Associate Athletic Director for Operations and Event Management at Northern Kentucky University. Chris discusses his challenges in operating facilites for a 17-sport NCAA Divison I program, the importance of customer service, and the benefits of the Ohio Sports Admin alumni network.

What is your day-to-day role as the Associate Athletic Director for Operations and Event Management at Northern Kentucky University?
I am responsible for all of NKU’s athletic facilities and the operation of those facilities. I also serve as our primary event manager for all NKU home athletic events, as well as coordinating rentals for outside events to be held at our NKU athletic facilities. In addition, I serve as our summer camp director and serve as our athletics department liaison with parking services, dining services, and the University’s facilities management division. I handle all of our facility scheduling, visiting team needs, and generally put out "fires" on a daily basis.

Please share with us a few other roles you've held along your career path.
As an undergrad at the University of Kentucky, I sought out work experience in the athletics program and was able to do a volunteer internship in the athletics program during my undergraduate career in marketing and academics within the athletics program. From there, I attended OU, and after leaving OU my first position was Marketing Assistant at the University of New Mexico. I primarily worked on group sales for football and basketball, as well as the planning and implementation of marketing plans and promotions for Women’s Basketball and Softball.

After that, I worked at Eastern Kentucky University as the Coordinator of Marketing and handled all marketing activities for all of our sports at EKU, as well as performing event management, sales, and sponsorship duties.

I then moved to Northern Kentucky University, starting as Director of Marketing and being promoted to Assistant AD for Marketing and Event Management. In this role, I handled all marketing activities for NKU athletics with all sports as well as event management responsibilities. I was then offered a promotion to move to the Internal side of operations and keep the event management role, and that is where I currently am in my career.

How do you aim to differentiate the internal operations efforts for Northern Kentucky from other schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference and NCAA?
As an athletics program in Year 2 of transition from Division II to Division I, we obviously have many challenges in the quality of our athletic facilities and the financial ability to improve them and maintain them. Our basketball and soccer facilities are outstanding facilities that are well-positioned in the A-Sun and the NCAA. However, some of our other facilities need some additional enhancements and renovations.

One thing I do is we do a lot of outside rentals of our facilities. I will bring in high schools, groups, etc. to rent out our facilities, and then we use that rental money to put back into the facilities for enhancements and improvements.

The other thing that we pride ourselves on is essentially "customer service." I have one full-time person that reports to me and a GA, and I have always told them that while we may not be able to compete with the facilities and operations at more mature Division I schools, there is no reason that our customer service cannot be just as good, if not better, than those more high profile schools. We have been applauded for these efforts during our first two years in our conference, and that is one thing that I think most differentiates us in our operations.

What would you say is the biggest challenge you face today in event management?
Our biggest challenge is probably the same that most institutions face – financial. In our case, this comes from two sides. First, we need more funding to make the necessary renovations, improvements, and to maintain our athletic facilities. I think almost every institution in the country would tell you this as well! From a second side though, we need more funding to staff positions. Again, we are running a 17-sport NCAA Division I program with six on-campus facilities and several off-campus auxiliary facilities and we have two full-time people running the operations for those (my position and our Athletics Facilities Coordinator that reports to me) and one GA. We need to identify resources/funding to create more staffing in our event management area so that we can more efficiently meet the needs of our student-athletes and coaches to do the best we can with event management and operations.

What have you and your staff done to find a solution?
With respect to "fixing" this problem, we are identifying areas we can cut back on in order to create more funding sources for additional staffing. I am hopeful by the 2015-16 academic year we will have one additional full-time person reporting directly to me. In addition, as noted above, one of our primary ways of addressing this issue is to rent our athletics facilities out to various groups and organizations to create additional revenue sources for us. We do many rentals each year, and with these rentals we have raised additional revenue that we have then put back into our enhancing our athletic facilities.

What are some innovative features, buildings, or policies you've seen lately in facilities and game day management at the collegiate level recently?
I have been fortunate enough to visit several BCS-level schools over the past year and tour their athletic facilities as well as attend multiple conventions, and I think that the most impressive athletic facilities I have seen follow the modes of technology, sustainability, and practicality. Incorporating technological aspects into modern athletics facilities is critical – one of the neatest things I saw was one facility where the student-athlete could utilize his or her cell phone to activate and open their equipment cubbies from the equipment room. It was very neat to see no keyed or combination locks and to see technology being used.

Sustainability and being good environmental stewards in our buildings is also critical – the modern facilities I have seen with solar and wind power, numerous recycling and green initiatives, etc. are part of the "new" athletic facilities model. Finally, practicality is critical. I think everyone that has ever spearheaded the building of a new facility will tell you after the building is complete they wished they had done something differently. I think it is critical to get as much "right" on the front end as possible, and practicality is huge. Many of the newer facilities I have seen are utilizing space well and intelligently (i.e. build your equipment room near the showers/locker area rather than having an equipment room through a clubhouse or something like that). Practicality is critical in most of the modern buildings I have seen.

Do you have any recent or upcoming projects you could share with us?
Within the last year, we have completed some signage and branding enhancements at our athletic facilities. In addition, we have resurfaced our tennis courts and resurfaced/refinished our volleyball floor changing it from a basketball design to a new volleyball design since basketball is now playing in a newer arena on campus.

Our goal for the next 1-2 years is to build a new building near our baseball, softball, and tennis venues. This venue would serve multiple purposes and contain NKU and visiting team lockers, umpire locker rooms, indoor batting cages, concessions and restroom areas, office space, academic space, team meeting space, etc. Hopefully we will have the funding in place to begin looking at this project within the next year.

What is the biggest piece of advice that you could offer someone trying to find a career in event management?
When students come to ask me about a career in college athletics, and specifically event management, I always tell them the best thing they can do is go to their athletics department and volunteer. Very few athletic departments are going to turn down "free help," as most of us can always use some extra personnel to assist with various responsibilities. I always tell the students you need to get that experience so you can see what the position really entails and then also do be able to develop and build his or her respective resume and learn/enhance his or her respective development. At the end of the day, I think most of us that are now established in our careers can remember when we were at that college age, and I think most of us are willing to help out those interested in pursuing a career in our field. The student just needs to be proactive and willing to provide assistance (often unpaid), and in return my responsibility is to provide that student with a good experience to showcase what this career entails long-term.

How has being part of the Ohio Sports Administration family affected your career and personal development?
Attending OU and graduating from the Sports Administration program is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have made many friends in my class as well as others during my time at OU and in my career. I currently work with two fellow OU alums in my athletics program at NKU, and the three of us have a very special bond due to our times at OU. Countless times I have picked up the phone or sent out an email to an OU alum (some that I knew before and others that I initiated conversation with) to ask about their experiences and thoughts on a problem/issue I have had.

I fully believe that the OU name on my resume helps me stand out during job applications and interviews, and I think it has certainly assisted me in my career. Furthermore, the lifelong network that exists has helped me grow in my career and professional and personal development.

Reach out to Chris by sending him an email at [email protected]!