By Christina Wright ('10)

Ohio University Center for Sports Administration Executive Director Jim Kahler ('81) gets several hundred contacts a year from teams looking for qualified ticket salespeople. The Center has responded. Helping train and match eager sales professionals with teams that need them is the motivation behind OHIO’s online Sports Ticket Sales Certificate course, “Breaking into the Big Leagues.”

Teams wanting to “fish the pond,” as Kahler puts it, can help stock this pond by referring their “near misses” or other applicants to the Sports Ticket Sales Certificate program. The Center has designed digital marketing materials that can be forwarded to past applicants who may have lacked the requisite experience or to former interns in other departments who have the aptitude - but not the knowledge- to be the next great salesperson.

“We are asking those in the industry who are familiar with the OHIO brand to help spread the word about this project. Ticket sales are the engine that drive sports franchises; without ticket sales, sponsorships, merchandise and media rights are devalued. Finding young professionals to fuel that engine is an important task in reaching optimal business performance,” Kahler said.

“After the success of the Sports Sales Academy, we wanted to expand the number of careers started and companies positively affected,” Kahler said. “We knew that between the Center, our family and friends we could put together a program that would help us meet our mission to serve both students and the industry.”

With assistance from the Sports Ticket Sales Advisory Board and course partners Caliper and WorkInSports.com, the result is a six-week online course that prepares future industry professionals in the sales process, the importance of being well matched to the product one sells and utilizes guided interactive role plays in selling sports tickets. Students will take the Caliper profile to learn how well their traits match to those shown to be ideal for salespeople. Upon completing the course, students will have the option to post their resume and feature their Caliper score in a password-protected bank hosted by WorkInSports.com. 

The Sports Ticket Sales Advisory Board was put together to gain input on what should be included in the course and to be sure that expectations of those hiring new ticket sales professionals would be met.

Brent Stehlik, Director of Business Development for the Dallas Cowboys, was part of the Athens on-ground efforts with Mandalay Baseball Properties and helped mold the on-line course. “I have worked with Jim Kahler and Packy Moran at the Ohio University Sports Sales Academy and was excited to be a part of their advisory board,” Stehlik said. “We will look to recruit graduates who excel in this course and who exhibit strong sales aptitude.”

While demand will determine how many cohorts are running concurrently, the six-week course structure offers a great balance between the support of an instructor’s feedback and the freedom of time shifting in weekly deadlines and no required class meetings. Each cohort will be capped at around 20 people to provide access to the instructor and encourage good interaction with other learners.

One special feature planned is a bi-weekly “call-in show” that will feature the instructor and special guests answering questions and presenting current topics in real time while exposing learners to industry-leading web solutions for hosting meetings.

For more information about all the ways you and your organization can be involved in this latest project of the Center contact Jim Kahler ([email protected]) or Packy Moran ([email protected]) at (740) 593-4666. And be sure to follow this link to learn more about the course. Graduates of the first cohort should be available to talk with you in December!