The inaugural MKTG630:Sports Marketing Speaker Series in the fall of 2017 drew experts in the field of sports marketing from around the Kansas State campus and from major regional sports organizations, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Sporting Kansas City. Building upon the success of the fall 2017 semester, the instructor, Douglas Walker, associate professor in marketing, invited the speakers from those companies to present at the spring 2018 semester sports marketing class and also recruited representatives from several other sports businesses.
The speaker series is an integral part of the content for the MKTG630:Sports Marketing course, taught by associate professor of marketing, Doug Walker. Guest speaker visits not only add valuable content to the course, but also have the potential to provide experiential learning opportunities for interested students.
The MKTG630:Sports Marketing class had an enrollment of 115 for the fall 2017 semester and 195 for the spring 2018 semester. The students and Walker welcome members of the public to attend the events. The events are free and no ticket is required. Seating is first come, first served. The schedule for the speaker series for the remainder of the spring semester can be found at cba.k-state.edu/departments-initiatives/marketing/sports-marketing/index.html.
The Spring 2018 line-up of speakers to date has included Joni Smoller, associate athletic director for fan experience and sales, and Adam Prough, director of sales and analytics, both from K-State Athletics; Ben Fallin, senior motion graphics manager for the New Orleans Pelicans and New Orleans Saints; Brad Zollars, senior director of advertising and marketing for the Kansas City Royals; Kellen Begnoche, director of service and activation and Anthony Matthies, director of suite sales, both from the Kansas City Chiefs; Morgan Kolenda, director of promotions and public relations for the Kansas City T-Bones; and Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission.