By Craig Decker (‘10)
David Johnston (‘98), Vice President, Sales & Marketing for CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, was humbled to learn he has been named the 29th recipient of the 2010 Charles R. Higgins Distinguished Alumnus Award amongst so many qualified and well-deserving alumni. He is especially thankful to Dr. Higgins and Dr. Andrew Kreutzer for accepting him into the Ohio University Sports Administration and Facility Management Program over twelve years ago, and for Jim Kahler’s (‘81) leadership of the program over the past four years. After graduating from Washington and Lee University in 1991, Johnston was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, serving tours in Korea and Germany. Johnston’s passion for a career in sports was born from his deep involvement in rugby as a player, coach, and administrator. He founded the Frankenstein-Odenwald Rugby Football Club of Darmstadt, Germany; an accomplishment that led to the pursuit of his true passion at Ohio University in the SAFM Program.
After completing the program, Johnston joined the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams as a Corporate Sales Account Executive and Director of Licensing & Merchandising. He worked closely with team sponsors, suppliers, and licensees leading up to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Johnston created a fully integrated consumer products program and directed the first-ever concentrated U.S. Ski Team branding campaign that included print, television, and on-line media placements.
Looking to move closer to home after the birth of his first daughter, Johnston joined CBS Collegiate Sports Properties as the General Sales Manager of Terrapin Sports Marketing. After two years, Johnston was promoted to the corporate management team as National Sales Manager and continued to climb the ranks to his current role. As part of the senior management team, he is responsible for the overall operation, growth and financial success of the company and has been directly engaged in the acquisition and start-up of ten new business partnerships.
Johnston has been dedicated to giving back to the program. Jim Kahler,Executive Director of the Center for Sports Administration, reaffirms David’s support of the program: “We are excited to have David Johnston as this year’s Distinguished Alum. The time he has invested on our Alumni Advisory Board coupled with interns and fellows is only a small part of what David is all about.”
Johnston and his wife Kelly are grateful for the number of colleagues from the program, clients, partners, and most importantly, friends that have given him the opportunity to be successful doing something he loves. He is thankful for all that his 1998 classmates have given back to the program and for “their incredible levels of success within the sports industry.”
Johnston credits his parents for demonstrating the type of commitment and work ethic necessary to succeed in any endeavor. “My father worked two jobs for years to provide me the education and tools necessary to pursue whatever path I chose and my mother never allowed me to settle for anything less than my very best. The program provided the opportunities in the sports industry, but it was hard work and a commitment to excellence, traits learned from my parents and hardened in the military, that allowed me to maximize those opportunities.”
David and Kelly live in Charlottesville, Virginia with their three daughters Talley, Emma and Virginia Leigh.
