Previous Authors

AMY MARTIN

Amy Martin spent eight years living the agency life working with clients such as the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Coyotes and the the Super Bowl XLIII Host Committee. She spent three seasons with the Phoenix Suns developing and monetizing their digital media platform.

Digital Royalty, Amy’s Digital Integration and Social Marketing agency, focuses on developing strategies to help corporate brands, professional sports leagues, teams and athletes build, measure and monetize their digital universe. She has developed a proprietary Return on Influence (ROI) measurement formula to demonstrate the value of social marketing. Her most recent example of social media success is the growth of Shaquille O’Neal’s digital brand via social media and implementing measurable strategies which have resulted in securing major endorsement deals. Follow Amy on Twitter @DigitalRoyalty

MARK TUDI

Mark Tudi is the Founder and President of SPORTS CAREERS, the ORIGINAL and most comprehensive Employment Resource in the Sports & Entertainment Industry. For over 30 years, Mark has established a high-profile track record in sports career development, with over 750 successful retained search assignments. He has represented the career interests and managed opportunities for many of the leading executives, personalities, and organizations in Sports.

In addition, Mark founded the Sports & Entertainment Human Resource Forum (SEHRF) to build professional recognition and a unified Industry association for today’s Human Resource Managers, Hiring Authorities and Employers. Most recently, he has resurrected the SPORTS CAREERS Conference, the Sports Industry’s first and largest meeting of its kind, where people managers and the career-oriented connect. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkTudi and check out sportscareers.com, sportssearch.net, and marktudi.com

KRIS MATHIS

Kris Mathis is the Founder/CEO of SponsorPitch.com, a New York City-based sponsorship networking start-up. Kris started his career in sponsorship representing Fortune 500 clients at Edelman PR’s sponsorship consulting division prior to jumping to a brand management position at Paris-based mobile gaming startup, Gameloft. In between, Kris attended graduate school in Nashville (Music City!), Tennessee. In his spare time, Kris enjoys eating, running, the beach, UFC and Bryant Park.

Follow Kris on Twitter @sponsorpitch

FRANK AGIN

Frank Agin is the founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections, an organization that empowers entrepreneurs, sales representatives and professionals to become more successful through networking and developing stronger business relationships.

He is the author of a book entitled Foundational Networking: Creating Know, Like & Trust For A Lifetime of Extraordinary Success, and the co-author of LinkedWorking: Generating Success of the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website, which is one of the first books to set forth a strategy for being successful with social media websites. He is also currently co-authoring a book with Jim Ballard entitled The Player. In addition to these professional development books, Frank is the author of two novels (Out of the Comfort Zone and RIVAL) and is currently working on a third (Coach Dad).

He has an undergraduate degree from Beloit College (Beloit, WI) as well as a law degree and MBA from the Ohio State University. For additional information on Frank visit www.frankagin.com.

BEN STURNER

Ben Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue.

Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands.

Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship. You can follow Ben on Twitter @leverageagency and find out more about Leverage Agency.

MATT CREVIN

Matt Crevin

If you are passionate about pursuing a career in the sports industry and want to discover how top level insiders got their start, connect with Matt today. Matt provides a unique look into the careers of many sports industry executives, revealing their success stories, advice and techniques you can put to use as part of your search strategy. Collaborate with Matt and start listening, learning, creating and executing your own action plan!

Equipped with business background and sports insider’s knowledge, Matt is ready to share his passion and knowledge with you! He delivers to his individual clients a unique process and format which gives sports industry hopefuls a unique look into the numerous career opportunities available in the sports industry and more importantly how to position yourself to break in.

You can visit his website www.voiceofthebox.com to learn more and view past interviews.

TIM EVANS

Tim is the CEO of Athlete Web Design, a web design and internet marketing firm for athletes and sports professionals based in Chicago. Tim has been online since 1997 and is an expert in the domain name sales, acquisitions, and monetizing. This expertise in domain names has evolved into helping athletes and sports professionals with a virtual presence online through official websites for athletes and sports entities. Connect with Tim on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @athlete

MATT CLARK

Matt Clark is currently an intern for Sports Networker, studying sport management and public relations at York College of Pennsylvania. He has an extreme passion for learning about new trends in social media and technology and how it is revolutionizing sports. He has contributed as sports editor for the York College newspaper, been an event manager for collegiate sporting events, intramural supervisor, contributor to the sports information department, and executive board member on the Sport Management Student Association. Matt is heading into his third season as part of the game-day entertainment with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. Connect with him on Twitter @mattgclark or via email.

REUVEN FRIDMAR

Reuven is a fourth year student at Marquette University, earning degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and intern for Sports Networker. He hopes to create sports marketing initiatives that drive value while focusing on charitable causes. Reuven has lived in three countries and visited 13 total. He prides himself on being fluent in Hebrew, Russian, and English. He is a people and idea lover.

Connect with Reuven on Twitter @rtg07

PAUL THOMPSON

Paul Thompson is currently a student at The Ohio State University majoring in Sport and Leisure Studies with a minor in Business. Paul is an intern for Sports Networker and also works full-time for JP Morgan Chase. He enjoys meeting and learning about new people. He is an avid reader and loves learning as much as he can, whenever he can.

Connect with Paul onTwitter Pthompson913or via email.

MICHAEL FITZSIMMONS

Michael Fitzsimmons is a junior at the University of Arizona, majoring in English with a minor in Business. He is a previous staff writer for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, covering tennis, football, and baseball. The past two years he has played club baseball for Arizona. Michael loves to travel, learn the dynamics of different people, and looks forward to discovering all the opportunities the sports industry has to offer.

Feel free to get it touch with him via email.
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SAM CHAN

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

RYAN STEPHENS

Ryan is an Associate Media Analyst at Sports Media Challenge where he helps champion social media strategies for sports, lifestyle and entertainment brands. In his spare time he serves as a social media consultant who is passionate about the power of web 2.0 and its ability to cultivate conversations, build relationships and spread of ideas. Feel free to leave your thoughts on his articles, connect with him on his blog at Ryan Stephens Marketing or find him on LinkedIn and Twitter @ryanstephens

DARREN HEITNER

Darren Heitner created the first sports agent blog on the internet, SportsAgentBlog.com, which receives upwards of 5,000 unique visits per day from sports agents, athletes, media sources, and the general public. In the blog, everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals are examined, providing the framework for a great deal of information upon which he has been able to depend. In 2009, Darren created EntertainmentAgentBlog.com, which has the same purpose of SAB, but focuses on the entertainment industry.

Darren is also the CEO and Founder of Dynasty Athlete Representation, a full service sports and talent agency that handles contract negotiations, marketing endorsements, financial planning, legal services, etc. Connect with Darren on Twitter @Darren_Heitner

GAIL SIDEMAN

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others.

You can find more information about Sideman’s business at www.publiside.com or follow her on Twitter @Publiside and Facebook.

BILL GUERTIN

Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) ofThe 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of blue-chip clients includes the ticket sales departments of dozens of teams from the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How to Dominate Your Market, will be published this fall by John Wiley & Sons.

Subscribe to his Sports Ticket Sales Newsletter at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter @800poundgorilla.

ASH READ

Ash_Read Ash is the co-founder of FundSport.com a grassroots sports community providing sports clubs and athletes from around the world with professional, easy-to-understand advice and articles on all aspects of grassroots sport including sponsorship, fundraising, the Internet, social media, club management, PR and marketing. As well as being passionate about the development of grassroots sport Ash also has a keen involvement in the sports social media industry.

You can follow Ash on Twitter @ashread14

STEPHANIE BAGLEY

Stephanie is an editor and project manager with Vaynermedia, working with the NHL to explore ways the league can use social media to engage fans and grow excitement around the game. She also hits the sports circuit as a freelance reporter for ESPN the Magazine, where she has been lucky enough to write since 2007. Her Flip cam is her favorite accessory. When not on Twitter @StephBags and/or otherwise socially engaging, Stephanie enjoys snowboarding, cooking Italian food, the sport of hockey and taking years off her life watching her favorite teams, which include, but are not limited to, the New York Jets and the New York Mets.

BRENDAN WILHIDE

Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He has four years of experience in the sports industry, most notably in public relations and media relations in Minor League Baseball.

He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.

GREGG MARC MILLER

Gregg Marc Miller is the creator and host of the new blog and sports web show Who’s Huge in Sports? Gregg sits down with major players in sports, and related entertainment, in a relaxed environment discovering who they think is huge. Gregg cultivated his on camera skills as a performing artist in New York and Los Angeles. Through work in commercials, television and film he established relationships with various influential people in the Media Industry. He honed his technical skills working for years in video production, and sound engineering. Gregg can be reached through his website www.whoshugeinsports.com and by Twitter @whoshugesports or email.