On this episode of Fired Up, Jim Kahler of Ohio University and Sean O’Hara of the Las Vegas Raiders talk about preparedness and solid relationships in the professional sport community. 

Jim and Sean share how to take your passion and translate that to your career. Additionally, they unpack the power of networking and tapping into that network to work most effectively and efficiently.

They encourage their network members to indeed be the biggest fans of each other!

Chris McAdoo:

Welcome to Fired Up, an original podcast from Ignite Fan Insights, powered by NASCAR, the National Sports Forum, and the Association of Luxury Suite Directors.

Chris McAdoo:

This is a podcast for sports business pros like you. We go behind the gates and beyond the numbers that keep sports fans coming back for more.

Chris McAdoo:

Our host, Chris Wise, is the brains behind Ignite Fan Insights. With a commitment to research and innovation for over 30 years, he knows the right questions to ask, and more importantly, what to do with the answers.

Chris McAdoo:

Get ready for engaging, in-depth conversations with sports industry leaders that will inspire you to take action and connect with your fans.

Chris McAdoo:

I’m Chris McAdoo, and this is Fired Up.

Chris McAdoo:

Hello everybody, and welcome to Fired Up. It’s a podcast from Ignite Fan Insights and we are powered by NASCAR. We are happy to be here live at the National Sports Forum 25th anniversary in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chris McAdoo:

Now, Fired Up is a podcast that takes you behind the gates and beyond the numbers that keep sports fans coming back for more. How do we get that knowledge? We talk with people like Jim Kahler from Ohio University and Sean O’Hara from the Las Vegas Raiders, who are our guests on this episode. We are so stoked to have you guys.

Jim Kahler:

Excited to be here and be a part of the podcast.

Chris McAdoo:

There we go, man.

Sean O’Hara:

Yeah. It’s awesome to be here with Jim, part of the program and again, connecting on a national level. Thanks for having us.

Chris McAdoo:

Yeah, absolutely. I’m Chris McAdoo, and I’m going to hand it off to Chris Wise, the general manager and the man behind the data that makes the things happen. Chris Wise, you’ve been asking the right questions and getting the right answers for over 30 years.

Chris Wise:

Well, I’ve been asking questions for 30 years. That’s true.

Chris McAdoo:

Take it away, Chris.

Chris Wise:

Okay. Jim, thanks. Sean, thanks. I’m going to ask each one of you separately. Jim, you start. Just tell me a little bit more about you. Tell us about yourself, your career and what makes you tick.

Jim Kahler:

What makes me tick is getting the next generation of grad students ready for the sports business industry. I was one of those kids almost 40 years ago. I go back to Ohio University, class of 1981, and then I spent 20 years in the industry. Probably the most significant were the 10 and a half years as the Senior VP of Sales and Marketing with the Cavaliers. But then Shawn Kemp drove me to academia.

Chris Wise:

There’s always some motivation.

Jim Kahler:

That’s right. That’s right.

Sean O’Hara:

For me, I grew up in the Philadelphia area, a huge sports town. Went to UNC undergrad. I think that’s the challenge for most of us, is we all quickly realized we’re not going to be professional athletes. All right, how do I continue to work in sports? I think understanding that there’s a business side to sports and okay, what can I do? How can I specialize in certain things? I was fortunate enough to have mentors pointing me in a direction to go to a university program like Ohio, where over the last 20 years, there’s been a ton of programs that have sprung up.

Sean O’Hara:

But I think that’s been the thing that’s made Ohio stand out from the crowd is that they’ve been doing this for over 50 years. They have a playbook that they run and they have a network that is incomparable to any other program. To be able to pick up the phone and call the Chief Revenue Officer for the Dallas Cowboys or the San Francisco 49ers or the AD of the University of Kentucky and ask them for advice. Their response time is second to none. It’s a game changer.

Sean O’Hara:

Here I am. I’m actually getting ready to go back in a couple of weeks for our 10 year reunion program.

Chris Wise:

Wow, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. How did you find out about the program?

Sean O’Hara:

I was told there was a few programs to go to back in 2007. They didn’t exist like they do today. It was like, “Hey, take a look at these programs.”

Sean O’Hara:

I arrived on a snowy night in Athens, Ohio, and that’s a thing that a lot of people think about. It’s like, “Oh, wait. Athens, Ohio? You don’t go to Ohio state.” And it’s like, “No, there’s this small college town, Athens, Ohio, and yet you look at the industry, so many people know it because they spent time there, they’ve learned.

Sean O’Hara:

It was great. I had roommates from Kentucky, California, and Oregon. We had a diverse background and were excited to see each other being successful now in our careers.

Chris Wise:

What do you do for the Raiders?

Sean O’Hara:

Director of Corporate Partnerships. My job is to sell the naming rights on the building, and then huge founding partnerships that range in size and scale from about an annual investment of $2 million for a term of 10 years. Asking for a lot of money, but that’s what the value of sports is. It’s the ability to connect the fans in an unbelievable way. In Vegas, they’ve never had professional sports. This is a huge game-changer for not just city of Vegas, but for sports in general, from a gambling perspective.

Jim Kahler:

This has to be pretty interesting for you at this point in your career to essentially build that [inaudible 00:05:18] coming into Vegas.

Sean O’Hara:

Yeah. That’s the thing, is the Golden Knights were born there. They were a franchise that didn’t exist, but here we are bringing an iconic franchise like the Raiders, who’ve been around for 60 years, are known as the world’s team, the silver and black colors, the excitement, the proximity to the two markets that they previously spent time in, Oakland and LA. Then to build this magnificent stadium that sits right on the strip, and every football fan is going to be like, “Okay, my team’s playing in Vegas. I want to come there.”

Chris Wise:

He’s holding Browns tickets for me right now.

Chris Wise:

That is part of the draw. That’s a part of the decision process to come to Vegas because so many people from out of market would want to come.

Sean O’Hara:

Right. I think if you poll fans, and we did, and ask them, “Okay, where would you want to see your team play?” Over 75% of people said, “I want to go to Vegas.”

Sean O’Hara:

Part of that is the fact that unlike any other city, you go there, everybody stays on this 4.3 mile strip. If you go to New York, you might be in Ellis Island, you may be in Manhattan. You’re in LA, it’s spread out. Everybody’s coming there and they’re spending the time there. The town is built on hospitality experience. They know how to entertain, and they’re going to give people an amazing experience, and hopefully their team loses and the Raiders win, but [crosstalk 00:06:42] had a good time while they did it.

Chris Wise:

You’ve obviously nurtured many professionals. Talk a little bit about that, that nurturing, and what that has meant to you personally over the years, and how do you look at it for the future?

Jim Kahler:

That’s easy. I was with the Cavaliers from November of ’91 to July of ’02. That’s the pre-LeBron era. When the Cavs finally won a championship for my hometown, the city of Cleveland, a lot of my students said, “Gee, Jim, don’t you wish you were there to be a part of it?” but I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I think I got the best job in sports because I wake up with a team every day, like Sean. These kids are undefeated. We’re getting 150 applications a year and we’re only taking 20, 25. We’re really getting the best of the best.

Jim Kahler:

I get them for two years, get a chance to mold them, and then really, how does any student put an ROI on a graduate degree? I would tell you, look at our job placements and you see where these kids are going. Just the other day, my first GA from Ohio University, Brent Shobe, he’s the CRO of the 49ers. He made 40 Under 40. I guess I’m getting pretty old if my first GA made 40 Under 40. But I want to be around for a while, so maybe I’ll make a hundred under a hundred.

Chris Wise:

There you go.

Chris McAdoo:

This is interesting, especially for the audience of folks that are young, that are coming up, that want to put themselves in the best position to succeed, right? I think this could go to both of you. What are some of the things that you’ve seen year over year that have helped young people come in, learn, and take that next step to that right career or make that right career move?

Jim Kahler:

When we get them, a lot of them have some experience with sport. In Sean’s case, he was around the basketball program at UNC, so he’s got an idea on what it’s all about. But then what we’re looking for is really what this guy has: outstanding relationship skills. You guys just met him and you have no problem striking up a conversation. He’s passionate about what he does. I still say my sales class, “Take this from Mark McCormack. The number one attribute of a successful salesperson is having a passion and a belief in the product they represent.” You can see how passionate he is about the Raiders, so he’s going to come into a meeting and he’s going to bring it to life. He’s learned all the right things to do in the trade to put a successful partnership together.

Sean O’Hara:

I think it’s a big thing that’s… When you look at programs, it’s thinking about, “Okay, are you going to the program for the right reason? If you’re going for the piece of paper, that’s probably the wrong reason. You’re going there to learn, to really roll up your sleeves and be part of the culture and environment. This is a family environment. Ohio, is a family, and the ability to help one another grow in their careers.

Sean O’Hara:

That’s what excites us, coming back and giving back to students, because so many people have helped me move up in my career through phone conversations, through networking, through meetings, or introductions, or even references. Now, to be able to pay that forward and give back, and then knowing that people that came into this program have that DNA, I want to hire that person because I know that they still got a great filter and they got the right talent coming through there.

Sean O’Hara:

But I think that’s the other thing that Jim was always good about. An analogy he used to use of all sports analogies, it’s like, “Hey, you might be shooting a full court shot right now, but I’m going to sit you a screen. I’m going to get you a good look at the basket.” Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to apply themselves and get the job, but Ohio has set us up to get a better look at the basket.

Chris Wise:

I was going to ask you, Jim. Within your program, how broad a brush topically do you cover to prepare them for the sports world? There’s so many different aspects of front office work.

Jim Kahler:

Great question. But I think it all starts with where they go after they leave us. I like to tell people we have four food buckets, and those food buckets are professional sports, college, athletics, facility and special event management, you want to work in the Olympics or run an arena, and then the one that’s really taken off in the last couple of decades is working for a sports marketing agency, helping brands activate their investments in sponsorships.

Jim Kahler:

If you look at our stats every year, they’re going to fall in one of those buckets. Every now and then, somebody will end up at a place like Nike. I was showing you the list before. We got a lot of senior executives at Nike because my second life, I want to come back and work at Nike. It’s just a great culture.

Sean O’Hara:

I think the funny part is most people come there with their mind like, “Hey, this is what I want to do.” Then by being in the program over time, they were like, “Wow, I never would have known that this is what this is like,” or, “This is what working for college athletics,” and you shift.

Sean O’Hara:

It’s great. I think that’s part of what the program does. It’s not all classroom work. They’ve got expansive projects with unbelievable organizations, and you get exposed to this and then quickly realize, “Okay, you know what? This is really interesting. I really want to learn more about this,” and you might pivot. I think that’s the great part about the program is these projects and internships. It’s something that they can’t get anywhere else.

Sean O’Hara:

Then two is understanding that in today’s world, most people aren’t staying at a job for 30 years. It’s about going to get that experience and then focusing in a more of, “Okay, I got this great experience. I liked doing this. How do I keep doing that, and moving on in my career?”

Jim Kahler:

A big part of my job is alumni relations. How do you keep your alumni happy? You get them that first job in sports. But if you can help them get that second and third job, who do you think they’re going to call when they have an entry-level position?

Jim Kahler:

Think of us as a search firm with no fee. I get calls every week like, “Okay, Jimmy. I’m looking for somebody that’s got three to five years experience that can do this,” or, “I’m looking for somebody that’s been out 10 years who can do that. Who do you have for me? Who in that alumni directory do you think is ready to take that next move?”

Sean O’Hara:

It’s the farm system. Literally everybody’s coming up and trying to understand and keep tabs on, “Okay, who’s the next hot shot? Who’s the rising star?” I think the other thing, most times recruiters are only going to hire VP director-level positions, but yet people that are in those positions wanting to hire entry-level, they want to grow them up to be those roles. If we can steal talent from Ohio…

Chris Wise:

You’ve met many of them here.

Jim Kahler:

Yeah. If this conference has a thousand attendees, we had an alumni reception last night with 70 Bobcats. I wish we could have had you guys over, but they’re coming from all sectors of the country and all disciplines.

Chris Wise:

Wow. Within your academic environment, do you also pull disciplines from other schools, from business school or for hospitality?

Jim Kahler:

We are in the college of business and our students are really getting a dual degree. Year one, they get their MBA, year two, they get their MSA. When Sean left Ohio University, he had two grad degrees in two years.

Chris Wise:

Is that unique? Because that sounds unique to me.

Jim Kahler:

I think our program’s unique in this. Sean said, “We’re the birthplace of sports business education,” so it goes back to 1966. It was the vision of the owner of the LA Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Walter O’Malley. Walter was on the board of trustees at Columbia and he said, “We got to start training these kids how to run my ball club. This is getting to be a business.”

Jim Kahler:

This was late 1950s when these conversations started. Columbia, and we got to give a shout out to Colombia and thank them, in their infinite wisdom they said, “Sports? Bunch of dumb jocks? We’re not going there.” There was a young PhD student by the name of Jim Mason, Dr. James Mason, on his way to Ohio University, and he said, “You know what? I bet you I could get this started at a place like Ohio University.”

Jim Kahler:

I’d love to tell you was part of a strategic plan, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Chris Wise:

How long have you been there?

Jim Kahler:

Just celebrated my 14th anniversary, but I was there as a graduate student back in 1980, ’81.

Chris Wise:

Okay, yeah.

Chris McAdoo:

From the educational perspective you’ve seen all these guys come through, and you have seen folks come straight out, and then you get to see that career trajectory of all the way to the director level kind of things, where they’re hiring you guys.

Jim Kahler:

It’s better than putting a championship ring on your finger because LeBron made a shot. It’s absolutely better to be a part of that.

Sean O’Hara:

I think that’s the cool part, too, is we all came here with these competitive and passionate aspirations. As I was saying earlier, I had roommates from all over the country. We’re all going into those different four buckets and we’re each other’s biggest fans. When someone closes a big deal or gets a new job, we’re celebrating them. To his point, I just had another classmate of mine, Jessie Giordano, she’s also under 40 Under 40 this year.

Jim Kahler:

Two in this year’s class.

Chris Wise:

Really?

Sean O’Hara:

She’s been an amazing industry leader, and to be able to just… I shot her a text and said congratulations. We’re texting back and forth and it’s like, that’s the network. That’s the family connection point. We’re all hoping to continue to rise in our individual ranks and support one another.

Chris McAdoo:

What do you see as the next thing? What are you even teaching now that you weren’t five years ago? What do you think is going to be the next five years?

Jim Kahler:

We’re on it. Legalize sports gambling. Today, it’s a $25 billion industry. Three years from now, it’ll be a $100 billion industry. We’re getting ready to roll out an executive education certificate for college athletic administrators on sports gambling awareness. If you’re the AD at a big time school, what do you need to know? The terminology, how it works, and how outside influences are going to be looking for inside information.

Sean O’Hara:

It’s an amazing thing to see things involved because to your point, when I was in the program over a decade ago, the economy has just dropped. 2008 was a challenging environment. What became a huge topic was analytics and ROI and measurement. That just went off to a huge trajectory, and every company and property is thinking, “Okay, I want to measure my sponsorship. I can’t be spending willy-nilly, I need to know this is actually delivering value for my brand.”

Sean O’Hara:

To Jim’s point, that was the major thing that was happening, as well as how social media was progressing. But now I think he’s right on the next frontier, what is happening with sports betting. We’re the Raiders, we’re in the mecca, right? We’re in the number one. We’ve got great relationships.

Sean O’Hara:

But now it’s spreading across the entire US, and how companies, universities, everybody is a part of it is going to be a critical thing to have knowledge on.

Jim Kahler:

But by the way, I am a huge proponent of legalized sports gambling because what’s it going to mean for this industry? It’s going to increase TV ratings. It’s going to increase sponsorships for the teams and leagues that partner up. For the fan, it’s going to solve the fan engagement problem because when fans go to events, they’re tied to their cell phones. Now there’ll be able to do prop bets. I’m a baseball fan, but baseball is a long game. If I can break that game into nine games and do a prop bet when I’m there with Sean having a good time on will the Cleveland Indians score this next ending, all of a sudden time’s going to come around a little bit quicker. As a fan engagement tool, I think of it not only in-venue, but also if you’re sitting home on your couch with online gambling.

Chris McAdoo:

I was going to say, so much of what we have heard and what we have learned is that the sports fan of today doesn’t just want to watch, you want to be part of the competition. You want to be part of that experience.

Jim Kahler:

Yes, and if you think of what sports gambling does, you don’t have to run the 40 and 42 to put down a prop bet. I’m talking about the Joe Fan that’s going to put a pizza bet down.

Jim Kahler:

There are negatives of sports gambling, and people losing their mortgages and all that, that get addicted to gambling like anything else. But I think for average Joe Six-pack that wants to put a prop bet down and he can afford to lose five or $10, a little bit of skin in the game makes the experience a lot more interesting.

Sean O’Hara:

I think the engagement factor, it’s like, “How do I engage the audience in stadium as well as at home?” Because you’re right, now I’m distracted. I got other things going on, but now I have this involvement. I’m sharing it with friends. Obviously, that was what happened with these fantasy leagues that ultimately got us into the sports betting.

Sean O’Hara:

Now, teams like us, we’re trying to figure out what that looks like, because currently the NFL rules don’t allow us to do that. I say currently because things are going to change soon.

Jim Kahler:

I get a chuckle when I hear that, because when I first started working in the NBA in 1991, we were not allowed to sell a sponsorship to a casino. By the time I left in ’02, David Stern had sold a WNBA team to a casino. Things will evolve.

Chris Wise:

Will change.

Sean O’Hara:

I think that’s what we’re trying to figure out. People ask me, “Hey, is there going to be a sports book in the allegiancy?” Not when it opens up, but I don’t think it’s far from there.

Jim Kahler:

New Jersey is really getting out in front of it. We just did a presentation at this conference, but the sports gambling category for the New Jersey Devils is worth $5 million a year. I used to think when Coca-Cola was spending a $1 millon with us, that was a big deal.

Chris Wise:

It was. Pivot over to eSports for me. Where do you play in eSports?

Jim Kahler:

Ohio University just announced a redesign in our college of communications, a $625,000 facility. That’s not just for a competitive team, but for kids, just the average player that wants to come. I think you’re seeing a trend across the United States. When Sean was looking at schools, it’s like, “Hey, what kind of rec center does UNC have?” Now, they better have an eSports facility.

Jim Kahler:

It’s an arms race, like many other parts, but it’s also an enrollment driver. If we don’t invest in eSports, we may lose a kid to another school.

Chris Wise:

That’s a participation perspective, but what about from a [crosstalk 00:22:11] in the business side of it?

Jim Kahler:

We already have had some students that have gone on that. I have a student that is now overseeing an eSports program at a university and another one that’s working with one of the top promoters. When you’re selling out Madison Square Garden and the Staples Center to watch a bunch of people playing eSports… I’m not sure I get it, but I know it’s something that we are investing in and brushing up on.

Chris Wise:

I don’t get it, but I appreciate it.

Sean O’Hara:

One of our big partners in Vegas is Twitch, so they are going to have a gaming lounge at our stadium. They’re actually bringing their national conference, TwitchCon, to Vegas. Vegas has become an eSports destination. The HyperX arena, there’s a number of events that are coming there.

Sean O’Hara:

That’s a thing that I think is really cool about Vegas in general. Here you have a city that five years ago, professional sports didn’t exist, but within the next 10 years, it could be the sports entertainment capital of the world. We’ve got the NFL, you got the NHL, you’ve got conference championships, multiple eSports events, NASCAR races, boxing match, UFC. You name it, it’s in Vegas.

Chris Wise:

American Ninja Warrior.

Chris McAdoo:

What do you guys see coming up? We’ve talked about opportunities from eSports to others. What do you guys see as some of the biggest challenges that you’re going to be seeing over the course of the next couple of years, few years?

Jim Kahler:

Keeping arenas and stadiums full. I think if you look at the business model of professional sports, for the first time ever, media rights are eclipsing ticket revenue as in the number one source. This next generation of marketers and administrators are going to have to figure a way to keep those arenas and stadiums full, and there’s a lot of great companies here that new technology and new strategy that are helping along with that. I was in a session yesterday with [inaudible 00:24:09] and I was just blown away. I don’t know if you had a chance to talk to those guys, but where was that in 2002 when I could’ve used it?

Jim Kahler:

Technology will improve the game, but we tell our students 80% of the ticket revenue in an arena or stadium, and Sean’s on this, comes from 20% of the inventory. Think about that. 80% of the revenue comes from 20% of the inventory with your suites and your club seats and your courtside suites. But at the same time to keep that atmosphere fired up, you got to keep the upper bowl full. You got to find a way to keep that next generation of sports fans coming through. To me, that’ll be the biggest challenge in the next decade.

Sean O’Hara:

I would agree with it, and I think also just not out-pricing the ability for families to go. Tickets and things continue to go up. It’s like, “Okay, what else am I going to do with that experience? What else could I do with that money?”

Sean O’Hara:

And too, there’s a limited amount of events to go to. What else am I doing? If I’m a sold out building, how else am I connecting to everybody else and giving them opportunities to engage and be part of it, even if they can’t be in the arena or at the game? I think those are some big challenges.

Sean O’Hara:

Then just finding ways from a standpoint of what’s going to happen from a generational standpoint of, “If you didn’t grow up going to a game, when you’re at an adult age, are you going to want to go to a game or do you even care?”

Sean O’Hara:

I think that’s the tough part I see right now with college athletics, is it starts there. If they don’t go to sporting events that are free, why are they going to pay for [inaudible 00:25:53]?

Jim Kahler:

When he was a student at Carolina, they were dying to get in the building. Now, you don’t have to camp out 24 hours to be able to walk into the Dean Dome and get a seat.

Chris Wise:

It’s interesting. You see, obviously, stadiums downsizing or they’re reconfiguring their offering. That 20% inventory is slowly growing to more than 20% in some cases where the premium offering continues to expand, and in some cases in order to hit some revenue numbers.

Chris McAdoo:

Somebody’s always going to want to sit in the front row or that suite on the fifty yard line.

Sean O’Hara:

But credit to what we’ve learned here, in terms of what State Farm arena has re-imagined their spaces and made them more about spaces and experiences versus just sitting in a seat and being still for two hours. People want to move around, people want to do different things. Creating more environments where people can do that, I think is going to be a value to a lot of these arenas.

Sean O’Hara:

I think that’s the other interesting thing. Is there going to be another wave like there was in the early 2000s of all these new arenas and stadiums. It’s like, “Okay, they’re getting it to that age of 20, 25 years, 30. Are you really going to knock it down, or are you going to rebuild it just like they did in Cleveland with Rocket Mortgage and what they’ve done with that facility?”

Chris Wise:

How is your new facility different than any of the others’ more recent facilities?

Sean O’Hara:

I think it gets to that initial question of sizing. We could have easily made some of these 80,000. We sized it right, 65,000 seats. Vegas is the 40th largest market, but we also found that, “Hey, if we keep this tight, it also becomes a premium thing.” To get a ticket to get into that space is going to be a unique thing.

Sean O’Hara:

Our stadium will have really four major unique things. One, like the stadium in Glendale, we’ll have a grass field that we’ll rotate in and out of the stadium. That’ll go on its own wheels. It’s a four foot block that’ll go outside the stadium and then get rolled in on game day.

Sean O’Hara:

The other part of it, we will have an eight-story torch in one end zone that is commemorating Al Davis, Mark Davis’s father. He saw at the LA Coliseum and wanted to bring to life here.

Sean O’Hara:

We’ll also have a roof that is a dome, but it’s translucent. It’s the first one done in North America where they’re laying the special ETFE polymer on top of it that’ll give it that natural feel, but keep it really cool.

Sean O’Hara:

Then the iconic Instagrammable moment will be, we’ve got this huge platform where these lanai doors will open up, and when you’re standing on that platform, you will be looking directly at the strip. For every fan, you’re going to be like, “Oh, let’s meet here. Let’s get this amazing picture.” It’s all going to be about experience.

Chris McAdoo:

That sounds amazing. Just from a forward thinking progressive, how are we going to engage the fan where they are, and entertain them, and keep them coming back. Do you guys have anything to add before we get back to the…

Jim Kahler:

Before we shut down this podcast, yesterday we presented our findings on what the sponsors think. I’ve been doing this research with Ron Seaver and the National Sports Forum for 20 years now, and every two years, we will talk to this year 26 of the top brands in North America that are heavily engaged in sponsorship. Talking about Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, AT&T. We provide those individuals with anonymity, but we will not put them in the study unless they give us permission to show you who we talk to. By giving them anonymity, they can let their hair down and they can tell guys like Sean what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want to see with their partnerships in their future sponsorships.

Chris Wise:

Question for each one of you. How will you keep your brand relevant?

Sean O’Hara:

In terms of the Raiders?

Chris McAdoo:

Yeah. Not your personal brand, but the Raiders. Well, that too, if you want to. That’s not a bad question.

Sean O’Hara:

The key thing is, look, we’re reinventing ourselves. We just named ourselves the Las Vegas Raiders a few weeks ago. I think the key thing for us is to build the game of football. Vegas has never had a professional sports team, so to grow the game of football, it’s really important because of the fact that of all the helmet issues, concussions that have caused some detrimental image, is trying to sell the game as being what sports is so special.

Sean O’Hara:

Yeah, I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for the brand, is to figure out how they build upon this first year of success and knowing that sports is cyclical. As much as you can find success and achieve it, we all know we can’t control what happens on the field. You’ve got to build deep roots within the community.

Chris McAdoo:

Quick trivia question for you guys. 1950, what were the top two sports in the United States?

Jim Kahler:

Baseball? Hm, baseball…

Chris McAdoo:

1950, top two sports in the United States.

Jim Kahler:

I wasn’t born yet. I don’t say that often. Baseball… I’ll say football, but…

Sean O’Hara:

Quidditch?

Chris McAdoo:

How about horse racing and boxing?

Sean O’Hara:

Wow.

Jim Kahler:

Huh.

Chris McAdoo:

A lot can change over time. The NFL didn’t come on the scene with TV till the 60s? And what did horse racing have? Gambling, Saturday night at the fights. It was an action-packed sport.

Chris McAdoo:

Your question about how are we staying relevant, I’m going to steal a line from Arthur Blank’s presentation yesterday. He said, “What’s next?” And he simply said one thing: “There is no finish line.” If we don’t keep creating new programs like our professional MSA program, where working professionals can now get the same degree that Sean has by taking the courses online, they’re here for one of their residencies. If we don’t create sports gambling awareness certificates… We cannot be satisfied. There is no finish line, and our alumni are going to expect this out of us. If they see us falling behind to one of our competitors, this guy’s going to pick up the phone and give me a call and say, “Hey, what’s going on?”

Chris Wise:

He’s going to hold your feet to the fire.

Chris McAdoo:

We expect him to.

Jim Kahler:

I’ve often said that to people that are in the research world. You have to stay relevant. You have to stay current, or ahead of current, or you die. Because there is someone right behind you that’s going to take it.

Chris McAdoo:

Jim Kaler from Ohio University, you are right, man. There’s no finish line. It’s an opportunity and a challenge, but it’s an opportunity for everybody to learn, everybody to get better at their job.

Chris McAdoo:

Sean O’Hara from the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s also an opportunity for each of us to be each other’s biggest fan. When somebody does something great, say, “Man, that’s awesome.” If you do something great, be ready to share and be ready to grow the industry. Be be ready to grow yourself.

Chris McAdoo:

Where can folks learn more about your program? If you want to learn more about the Las Vegas Raiders, go on the internet.

Sean O’Hara:

I would say to his point, if you go on LinkedIn, you go on their website, you’ll just see things and you’ll see people list that, “Hey, I graduated from this program.” You’ll see some of the different examples because they’re in publications like Sports Business Journal. I don’t know. Jim, where’s the best [crosstalk 00:33:32]-

Jim Kahler:

We house everything under our center’s website. I run the AECOM Center for Sports Administration. If they would just type into Google search AECOM, A-E-C-O-M, Center for Sports Administration, you’ll find all of our offerings.

Chris McAdoo:

That’s awesome. Jim, Sean, thank you so much for joining us, and y’all listening, thank you very much for listening in to Fired Up, live from the National Sports Forum.

Chris McAdoo:

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Chris McAdoo:

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Chris McAdoo:

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Chris McAdoo:

Fired Up is hosted by Chris Wise and myself, Chris McAdoo. Thanks again for listening. Tune in next time, and as always, y’all stay Fired Up.