Sports Industry's Best Share Their Knowledge at Fifth Annual Partners in Sports Conference

University of Tennessee, Knoxville
October 26, 2007

Scott Paddock, Mike Paul, Andy Dolich, John Althoff

Neyland Stadium's Wolf-Kaplan Hospitality Center was packed with over 140 UT students, staff, and business professionals to hear four guest speakers: Scott Paddock, Director of Sports Marketing for the Gatorade Company, John Althoff, the Collegiate Sports Sponsorship Coordinator for State Farm Insurance Companies, Andy Dolich, President of Business Operation for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and Mike Paul, “The Reputation Doctor”, and President and senior counselor of MGP & Associates PR and reputation management firm.

The conference began with the introduction of the guest speakers, which was conducted by Bill Schmidt, the conference's chief organizer and moderator. Schmidt is the former Executive Vice President of Quaker Oats-Gatorade and CEO of Oakley, and is now the President of Pegasus Marketing.

Scott Paddock led off the speakers with an interesting presentation outlining many of Gatorade's marketing strategies. Paddock gave insight into what Gatorade looks for in sponsorship opportunities and the importance of sideline sponsorship. He placed an emphasis on Gatorade maintaining their loyalty to athletic performance and scientific research rather than marketing the product as a soft drink.

Paddock also spoke about exactly what Gatorade looks for when deciding to sign a professional athlete to an endorsement contract. He talked about how important Michael Jordan was in the growth of Gatorade’s marketing and how important the athletes were to the product. University of Tennessee Alum Peyton Manning was discussed as one of the primary Gatorade clients. Paddock also touched on their newest client, Tiger Woods.

The conference's second speaker, John Althoff, shared his experiences with collegiate sponsorship. Althoff’s presentation explained how important State Farm’s sponsorship of NCAA Football and Basketball broadcasts were in an attempt to market their company in the realm of sport. By sponsoring pre and post-game shows, having strategically placed signage in arenas, and especially sponsoring NCAA March Madness State Farm is recognized by millions of people around the country through sports.

Althoff briefly touched on State Farm’s recent breakthrough in attaining sponsorship of video games with the 2K and EA Sports brands. Althoff explained why Pat Summit (who is featured in State Farm advertisements) was a good fit for State Farm’s marketing strategy and their approach to using Summit’s notoriety. It was an interesting perspective on how to grow and market the State Farm brand through mediums other than commercials.

Andy Dolich gave a fascinating speech from the front office perspective of a professional team. Dolich spoke in depth about his time with the Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76’ers, and his current position with the Memphis Grizzlies. Dolich was part of the growth and success of the Oakland A’s under the “BillyBall” campaign and gave the audience insight on how he helped transform the A’s from a struggling team with poor attendance to one of the more popular and successful teams in Major League Baseball.

Dolich also spoke on the recent misfortune of the Memphis Grizzlies missing out on one of the top two NBA Draft picks and not adding Greg Oden or Kevin Durant to their roster. He emphasized how as a sport manager there will always be adversity and hard times but those tough times are when you gain the most valuable experience.

The final speaker, Mike Paul, gave the audience useful information on exactly how to build and maintain a positive reputation. Mr. Paul gave many examples from his professional career on successful and unsuccessful public relations strategies taken by professional athletes. In times of adversity Mr. Paul emphasized the need to own up to mistakes and be accountable for your actions in order to begin to rebuild a reputation.

At the audience’s request “The Reputation Doctor” spoke in detail about the current Michael Vick situation. He explained what missteps Mike Vick and his advisors had taken and gave his view on how he would have approached the situation if he was one of Vick’s advisors.

Partners in Sports would like to sincerely thank everyone who was involved with putting together the fourth installment of the Annual Partners in Sports Conference. Partners would especially like to thank the guest speakers for taking time out of their busy schedules to visit with UT's students and staff and provide their expertise and experiences in the sports industry.

Partners in Sports would also like thank Bill Schmidt in particular for his contributions and involvement with Partners in Sports and The University of Tennessee Sport Management Department.

In addition, Partners would like to give thanks to the following sponsors who helped make this event possible: Pegasus Marketing, St. Mary’s Health and Fitness Systems, Volunteer TV-8, Aubrey's Restaurant, and the University of Tennessee Men’s and Women’s Athletic Department.