Sports Business Conversations

ADC Partners
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Business
  • Updated Biweekly

Winner of Sports Podcast Awards' Best Sports Business Podcast Award! In this podcast series, ADC Partners co-founder Dave Almy hosts conversations with sports business professionals who are shaping the future of the industry. With interviews featuring brand representatives, team presidents, sports marketers, and even mascots, the 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast has insights for everyone involved in the sports industry. ADC Partners is a San Francisco Bay Area based agency specializing in sports business, sports marketing and partnerships. More information is at www.adcpartners.com

  1. 1d ago

    The Athlete Influencer Marketplace: Ishveen Jolly, Founder & CEO, OpenSponsorship

    It’s probably no surprise that Ishveen Jolly’s parents both wanted her to become a doctor. They’re both successful doctors, after all, and they were probably measuring her for a stethoscope when she got into Oxford. What mom and dad Jolly probably didn’t expect was that their daughter would major in economics, get bitten by the sports business bug, and launch a start up that counts Serena Williams and David Blitzer among its investors. No, it’s not a medical career, but I suspect Ishveen Jolly’s parents are pretty proud nonetheless. Ishveen is prone to finding exploitable niches. Her first venture connected sports properties in India and the West at a time when almost no one was thinking about cross-border sponsorships. But around 2014, while watching Uber and Airbnb reshape entire industries through marketplace efficiency, she had her lightbulb moment: why couldn't this happen in sponsorship? In 2015, she launched OpenSponsorship. Eleven years in, what started as a marketplace connecting brands and sports properties has evolved into what Ishveen calls a “tech-enabled agency for athlete and influencer marketing”. The platform now has over 33,000 athletes in its network, and crossed into profitability in 2024. In our conversation, Ishveen and I talk about that pivot from team and property deals to athlete marketing (and why she had to learn to love that pivot). We dive into what's driving the sharp increases in athlete marketing deal sizes, the NIL boom and what brands often misunderstand about it, and the questions she thinks brands should be asking right now to get more out of their influencer spend. She also shares what blisses her out more than a well-organized inbox — and the answer is, honestly, very on-brand. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    The Athlete Influencer Marketplace: Ishveen Jolly, Founder & CEO, OpenSponsorship

  2. Jul 21

    How Sports Helped Build T-Mobile: Mike Belcher, SVP of Biz Dev, Partnerships & Loyalty for T-Mobile

    A quick question: if your first job out of college was filling out labels on FedEx boxes, do you think you could picture yourself one day hosting a concert on Alcatraz Island — Blue Angels overhead, Creed on stage, the whole thing live on VH1? Probably not. But that's path taken by Mike Belcher, T-Mobile’s SVP of Business Development, Partnerships, and Loyalty Programs. After Mike graduated college, he spent eight years at Disney, where he began by perfecting that FedEx label creation. He left Disney with two things that shaped everything that followed: a deep belief in the power of storytelling and a relentless focus on the customer experience. From there, he joined T-Mobile, where he's spent two decades building one of the most celebrated sponsorship portfolios in sports business. Under Mike's watch, T-Mobile went from a distant fourth-place carrier to a brand that is synonymous with creative and effective partnership marketing. He turned an NBA sponsorship into the iconic Fave Five campaign with Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley — good enough to earn an attaboy from David Stern. He won the Sports Business Journal Award for Sponsor of the Year in 2023, secured official telecom partner status for the LA28 Olympics, and is leading the charge of embedding 5G into events like the PGA Championship and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. In our conversation, Mike and I talk about the evolution of sponsorship since he began at T Mobile, what separates a real partnership from a sponsorship, and what properties consistently get wrong when pitching T-Mobile. He also reveals what percentage of his wardrobe is T Mobile magenta — and his answer is probably more modest than you'd expect. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

  3. Jul 7

    Putting Hoops Data to Work: Davyeon Ross, co-Founder & CEO of ShotTracker

    Over the years, we’ve had a lot of conversations with sports business entrepreneurs. One thing they all share is a certain degree of risk tolerance. But even the most daring of them pale in comparison when it comes to this episode’s guest. At 17 years old, Davyeon Ross left his home in Trinidad and Tobago and headed to Kansas to get his college degree and play basketball. Now Kansas winters aren’t for the feint of heart, most especially for someone who grew up on a tropical island off the coast of Venezuela. Were there some thoughts about going back? For sure. But Davyeon persisted, and in doing so learned a of essential lessons about himself. Those lessons serve him today as the co-Founder and CEO of ShotTracker, a company that sits squarely at the white hot intersection of sport and technology integration. ShotTracker’s sensor-based system automatically captures basketball statistics and performance analytics in real time, and is currently in use by over 75 men's and women's college basketball programs. Former NBA Commissioner David Stern and Magic Johnson are among the company’s investors. In our conversation, Davyeon recounts his journey from that small island in the Caribbean to leading an innovative sports tech company. We discuss ShotTracker’s growth and the inevitable pivots that come with leading a start-up company. We also talks about working with coaches, how the company is leveraging its tech to improve fan experience, and why his favorite words in business are “wouldn’t it be cool if…” ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    Putting Hoops Data to Work: Davyeon Ross, co-Founder & CEO of ShotTracker

  4. Jun 23

    Moving from Fairways to Racetracks: Patrick Lindsey, SVP & GM of Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    It wasn’t too long ago that we had Peter Murray on this show to talk about his transition from running the Professional Fighters League to serving as the CEO of the Pro Bowlers Association. And if you think that’s an interesting career segue, let me introduce you to this episode’s guest, Patrick Lindsey. You see, not that long ago, Patrick was running the PGA Tour stop in Las Vegas, the Shriner’s Open. When the sponsorship of that tournament fell through, Patrick began looking for his next opportunity, which he quickly found. In the form of serving as the SVP and General Manager of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Now a golf tournament is obviously a much different animal from a NASCAR race. Or is it? Lindsay actually sees a lot of cross over between the two, and sees his golf experience as being essential for getting him ready for managing a motorsports venue. In our conversation, Patrick and I talk about his big job transition, and what he’s still learning on the fly. We dive into the current state of motorsports, why golf fans and NASCAR fans really aren’t that different, and how he keeps his events competitive in the face of new sports and entertainment competition in Las Vegas. He also reveals what he’ll be wearing the next time the world’s largest EDM festival rolls into town. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    Moving from Fairways to Racetracks: Patrick Lindsey, SVP & GM of Las Vegas Motor Speedway

  5. Jun 9

    Owning Sports History: Brandon Steiner, Founder of Steiner Sports & CollectibleXchange

    If you’re looking to buy a used stadium urinal, boy, have I got a deal for you. Well, in truth, I don’t have a deal for you. But Brandon Steiner, the founder of Steiner Sports and CollectibleXchange sure does. That’s because Steiner is in the process of dismantling HighMark Stadium, the former home of the Buffalo Bills, and in doing so, is offering a catalog of items from that venue for sale. As you can imagine, the fanatical members of the Bills Mafia are snapping them up. Urinals included. Steiner began his legendary sports business career by repping members of the New York Yankees for their corporate appearances. And living by his entrepreneurial mantra of “what else?”, he expanded that business to include collectibles, fan experiences and more.So when it came time for the Yankees to move to their new home in the Bronx, Steiner pitched the idea of managing the sale of pieces of Yankee Stadium history. HighMark Stadium is now the 7th stadium disassembly he’s managed. Our conversation is full of stories and insights from Steiner’s remarkable and eclectic sports business history. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    Owning Sports History: Brandon Steiner, Founder of Steiner Sports & CollectibleXchange

  6. Jun 2 ·  Bonus

    In the Room Where it Happened: Eryn McMahan of Longhorn Sports Properties on Creating a Sonic Boom for Humann

    Sports business is built on big transactions. In this new feature of the Sports Business Conversations podcast, we’ll take a close look at how some of these transactions came to be. It’s called “The Room Where It Happened”, and in it, we’ll deconstruct a recent sports transaction with the person who helped put all the pieces together. This time, Eryn McMahan of Longhorn Sports Properties and Learfield is taking us into the Room Where it Happened, where she’ll pull back the curtain on the partnership she crafted with Humann to put their brand on every single one of the Longhorns playing surfaces. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    In the Room Where it Happened: Eryn McMahan of Longhorn Sports Properties on Creating a Sonic Boom for Humann

  7. May 26

    Episode 100! Featuring Jonathan Karl of ABC News & Author of "Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign the Changed America"

    Hey this is Dave Almy of ADC Partners, and welcome the 100th episode of the sports business conversations podcast. And look, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, making it to 100 podcast episodes isn’t exactly up there with stupendous human achievements like landing on the moon, writing Hamlet, or inventing bourbon (and thank YOU, Elijah Craig). But it’s something worth celebrating a little bit, for sure. And frankly, I thought long and hard about who I wanted to feature on this momentous episode. For a while, I thought I wanted to try and chase down one of the White Whales of sports business like NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell or FIFA President Gianni Infantino. But everyone hears from them all the time, and frankly their PR people don’t let them say all that interesting. So I opted to go a completely different direction and take it all the way back to the beginning of my long history of working in and around audio. Over 40 years back in fact, to the moment when I met my Freshman year college roommate. When Jonathan Karl first walked into our dorm room in the mid 1980’s, I obviously had no way of knowing that he’d become a defining voice in journalism and one of the most important observers of this particularly tumultuous political era. But that’s exactly what he’s done. Jon is currently the Senior Washington Correspondent for ABC News, and has written 4 books about Donald Trump, his campaigns, and his presidencies. He’s uniquely well suited to do so, since he’s known the President for over 30 years when he first met him as a cub reporter for the NY Post. His latest book, “Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign the Changed America”, builds upon the first 3 books and reflects Jon’s extensive personal history of reporting on the President. And somehow he manages to do so in the objective manner that has always been the cornerstone of his reporting. No matter how you feel about Donald Trump and this political moment, I think you’ll find our conversation interesting, informative and revealing. And if you’re thinking “Hey, Dave, this doesn’t have anything to do with sports”, stop right there. As Seattle Seahawk Hall of Famer and US House Representative Steve Largent once remarked: "They say politics is a contact sport, and I have to agree with that." So you can, too. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    Episode 100! Featuring Jonathan Karl of ABC News & Author of "Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign the Changed America"

  8. May 12

    Connecting High School Sports to Brands: Adam Gouttierre, VP of Media for Hudl

    We're going to go out on a limb and say that if you’re listening to this podcast, you have a connection to high school sports. You’re probably not playing them at the moment, but we bet you did at some point. Maybe you have kids who play them now. Doesn’t matter. Whatever your connection or association, you know what a big deal high school sports are to students, families and communities. And that passion is what drives Adam Gouttierre, VP of Media for Hudl. For the uninitiated, Hudl provides video services to over 4000 high schools across the country. (The serve other sports verticals as well, but HS is their wheelhouse). They provide things like coaching analysis, game streaming, video hardware, and stuff like that. Millions of people watch their highlights and games on Hudl every week. And Adam is in charge of packaging up all that content, and helping brands use it to reach their core audiences, wherever they may be. In our conversation, we talk about Adam’s journey through the early days of online advertising markets, and what drew him to Hudl. We discuss the immense growth of Hudl, how the company makes high school sports accessible to brands, and his advice for what makes great storytelling content in sports. ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Sports Business Conversations podcast is a production of ADC Partners, a sports marketing agency that specializes in creating, managing, and evaluating effective partnerships between brands and sports. All rights reserved. YOUR HOST Dave Almy brings over 30 years of sports marketing and sports business experience to his role as host of the "1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations" podcast. Dave is the co-Founder of ADC Partners. FOLLOW US Here's where you can find us: LinkedIn: adc-partnersInstagram: adc_partners_podcastThreads: adc_partners_podcastYoutube: @adcpartnersHomepage: adcpartners.com/podcast

    Connecting High School Sports to Brands: Adam Gouttierre, VP of Media for Hudl
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Winner of Sports Podcast Awards' Best Sports Business Podcast Award! In this podcast series, ADC Partners co-founder Dave Almy hosts conversations with sports business professionals who are shaping the future of the industry. With interviews featuring brand representatives, team presidents, sports marketers, and even mascots, the 1-on-1: Sports Business Conversations podcast has insights for everyone involved in the sports industry. ADC Partners is a San Francisco Bay Area based agency specializing in sports business, sports marketing and partnerships. More information is at www.adcpartners.com

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