From left to right : Jim Kahler ('81), Brett Fuller VP of New Business Development with Ellerbe Becket, Doc Higgins and Brian Raney ( '08 ) Assistant Director of Athletic Development at the College of William and Mary meet at NACDA promoting the new Professional MSA program offered by Ohio University.
By Drew Ossakow ('11)
A few weeks ago my 2011 classmates and I finished the MBA program and we are all now gaining as much practical experience in the area of the sports industry we are most interested in as possible. This past week while most people who traveled to Anaheim, CA were looking to ride the roller coasters at the amusement park, a group of Ohio students were at the Marriott hotel for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention. The 2010 NACDA convention was my first time attending and it certainly will not be my last. This event provides so many opportunities to learn and meet the movers and shakers within collegiate athletics.
Last Tuesday evening I flew into Southern California just in time for the start of the OU reception. It was great seeing Craig Decker (’10), Jason Hill (’10), Garrett Munro (’10), Rob Norris (’10), and Taylor Wood (’10) as well as the many other alums who had traveled in. The great night was hosted by Jon and Brett from Ellerbe Becket who always show as a great time.
Wednesday began with the “Future of Athletic Development” featuring Sheila and Gene Smith from Ohio State. Prior to the session starting we heard a loud roar from the hallway and later were told that Landon Donovan had scored an extra time goal against Algeria to win the match. Back to the speech, which was amazing and truly gave us a picture of what’s to come for collegiate fundraising. Sheila Smith went through her top 10 observations of what we should understand now as we move forward in our development careers. She emphasized the need to understand more about donors and their environment and that new and social technologies will never replace face to face meetings. From an athletic director’s perspective, Gene Smith went over the fundraising role of an AD. He also passed along a great idea his staff had executed known as “Dinner on the 50”. It was a way to give donors access to the field at the Shoe like never before, while dining with family, coaches, and administrators in the middle of Ohio Stadium.
Another session that I came away extremely impressed with was titled ADAPT: Overcoming Adversity in Challenging Times. As someone who grew up watching the Michigan Wolverines I was immediately drawn to this speech that was given by former UM pitcher Jim Abbott. He spoke about his difficulties competing at the highest level with just one arm. It was a very inspirational speech and also at the end showed a moment of true stewardship. A University of Michigan development officer introduced Abbott by telling a story about how they first met over a sub and a pizza at his favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor. As the speech was waning down, the UM administrator introduced a delivery boy from the sub shop who brought Abbott his favorite combo meal. At this point he exclaimed, “how much do you tip for delivery from Ann Arbor to Anaheim?”
The final two days of the convention contained very informational sessions after lunch as well. The roundtable sessions in the afternoon were where a lot of current ideas from people working in the development field from all over the country were talked about. Issues such as the uses of social media in fundraising, conference giving cultures, and other best practices subjects were critiqued and discussed. It seems like everyone in the sports industry is trying to find ways to harness social media for useful application. Some of the main ideas that were talked about in the social media session were that LinkedIn has more practical uses than just professional networking and twitter has yet to be found useful with regards to giving.
NACDA every year also features a few key note speakers and this year did not disappoint. Mark Emmert, Phil Knight, and Condoleezza Rice each gave the audience profound messages with which to take back to our respective campuses. In particular, Dr. Rice spoke about the power of education and the importance of our jobs in collegiate athletics. She also talked about her days as a figure skater and the life lessons it had taught her. Tying the two ideas together Dr. Rice stressed that the student-athlete experience is second to none.
I wanted to finish up this article with a short story from NACDA that made me even prouder to be a Bobcat. Throughout the convention I was able to meet a lot of people and learn about their experiences working in collegiate athletics. When asked about what I was currently doing I explained that I was a graduate student at Ohio University studying sports administration. The response I received every time to this was that of respect and admiration. It gave me a humbling and proud feeling and was a story I wanted to share with all of you because of how it made me even prouder to be a Bobcat.
