Southeastern Conference’s Post

This is a very special panel for the Green Sports Alliance. Welcome to the stage, Former Board Chairs of the Green Sports Alliance, Scott Jenkins, and General Manager at the #KansasCityCurrent and Robin Raj, Founder & Executive Creative Director, Citizen Group, and Aileen McManamon, current Board Chair at Green Sports Alliance and Founder of 5T Sports Group. This group discusses how far we’ve come as an organization and industry, but also how far we still have to go, the necessity of sport leadership investing in sustainability, the responsibility we have to embrace sustainability within the industry, and the monetary value of sustainability. #FasterFurther #24GSASummit

I look forward to hearing what Kevin Demoff contributes to our SBA summit. Having worked alongside the real estate department at Qatar Investment Authorities makes me super keen to see where the intersection of sports and real estate is headed. Newly established Seregh seems to be at the forefront of building these sport real estate empires with board members ranging from our very special guest Kevin Demoff to Ex-Brookfield CEO, Ric Clark. The sports business industry has so much momentum right now. With secured media deals, advancements in technology, and the slow yet profound introduction of institutional investors to the US BIG 4 - interestingly, QIA being the first sovereign wealth fund in via Monumental Sports & Entertainment, team owners need to adopt a value creation mindset that first and foremost supports the fan experience and community, but also alters the traditional team ownership business model by leveraging new technology and AI, capturing M&A synergies, and developing real estate districts. Owners need to be forward thinkers embracing long-term strategies. This all being said needs to act in favor of the integrity of the sport, the athletes, and team’s on-field pursuit.

The longer girls play sports, the more likely they are to hold formal leadership roles. Our latest research #PlayToLead is a call to action for everyone throughout society to invest in girls’ youth sports programs. Why? Because when girls play, they lead, and we all win. Visit https://lnkd.in/gNPZ8gFQ to learn more and join us by sharing how you #PlayToLead using our ‘Play to Lead Toolkit.’

Would Sports Be Interesting Had It Stayed All White? If major league sports stayed all white, how interesting would that be? What legendary roster of G.O.A.T.’s would we have missed? What new styles of play that elevated the game’s competitiveness would we have never seen? I contemplated many Greatest Of All Time players. Baseball: Jackie Robinson. Big Papi. Mariano Riviera.  Football: Jerry Rice. Patrick Mahomes. Lawrence Taylor. Basketball: Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson. Kobe Bryant. What really clinched my fascination, however, was wondering when did it happen? When did we take multi-racial teams for granted? When did we cross the rubicon when multi-racial teams were just so everyday? Oh yeah, it’s just the way it is. Can you point to the specific day or year? When it comes to diverse corporate leadership, white male leaders make up the majority of roles at 75-80%. What would it take to cross the rubicon so that one day we can say, “diverse leadership, oh yeah, it’s just the way it is.” Until we cross that rubicon, how many GOAT’s are overlooked right now? How much profitability is diluted right now?  How many diverse markets are underserved right now? How are shareholders being under served right now? 🤷♀️ #maleallies #menasallies #seniorleadership #diversity #dei #leadership #diverseleadership #diverseteams

The Importance of Instilling Good Values and Sportsmanship In sports, victories and defeats are just part of the game. What truly defines an athlete—and a leader—are the values they embody and the sportsmanship they display. "Sportsmanship" is defined as fair and generous behavior or treatment of others. At the heart of our mission are the transformative Mercy Core Values: service, compassion, justice, integrity, and respect. Instilling these values not only shapes better athletes but also cultivates individuals who can navigate challenges on and off the field. Service encourages us to uplift others; compassion fosters empathy; justice ensures fairness; integrity promotes honesty; and respect builds strong relationships. Together, these values guide us to celebrate achievements with humility and handle setbacks gracefully. Let's embrace these essential qualities in ourselves and others. By doing so, we not only empower future generations to lead with character, resilience, and a spirit of camaraderie but also pave the way for a future of sports filled with respect, fairness, and compassion.  #Sportsmanship #Leadership #CharacterDevelopment

This day in history: Unforgettable moments unfolded in the world of sports, reshaping records and leaving an indelible mark on athletes and fans alike. - 1892: Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player, playing for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, marking the birth of professional football in the United States. - 1911: Boston Red Sox pitcher Joe Wood throws a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns, winning 5-0. - 1908: Rube Waddell of the St. Louis Browns sets a record by striking out 16 Philadelphia Athletics in a 5-4 win. - 1968: The U.S. Supreme Court voids an Arkansas law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools, though not directly a sports event, it impacts the broader educational context of athletes and sports education. - 1915: At 41 years old, Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a grand slam home run, a remarkable feat for his age. - 1921: Cy Young, aged 54, pitches two innings during Cleveland's 125th anniversary celebration, showcasing his enduring legacy in baseball. - 1944: The Royal Air Force sinks the German battleship Tirpitz with 12,000 lb Tallboy bombs, though not a U.S. sports event, it is a significant historical context for athletes serving in the military during World War II. #SportsHistory #LegendaryMoments #BaseballLegends #FootballPioneers #HistoricMilestones #AthletesLegacy #NoHitter #StrikeoutRecord #GrandSlam #LegacyInSports

Getting traded is like getting dumped at prom and winning homecoming king the same night. One team wants you and one team shipping you out. Behind the scenes of getting traded in professional sports: July 22, 2012 I won my first big league game. It pushed the Detroit Tigers into first place in the American League Central. The next day I learned they had traded me to a team in last place. - 1. Social Media Knows First I found out I was traded on the way to the ballpark. My dad called me and said Major League Baseball (MLB) writers were tweeting I traded. 60 seconds later I got a phone call from the Tigers GM telling me to come to his office when I arrived. - 2. The Goodbyes Are Fast The Tigers drafted, developed, and gave me the opportunity to be a big leaguer. I arrived as an 18-year-old kid knowing no one and I left as a 22-year-old wondering what just happened. Four years of relationships gone with 10 minutes of goodbyes. - 3. It Is Not Personal Pro sports are a business. The ownership and executive team have a job to do ~ win. Let me be clear, win at all costs. My feelings (or their feelings) don't matter ~ there is no performance improvement plan ~ it is a constant cycle of how do we win more. - 4. There Is No Orientation In 48 hours I went from a team in first place in the big leagues to a last-place team heading to AAA. 5 days later I was starting a game in Metairie, LA for a team now called the Babycakes. I was studying our lineup more than the other teams. - 5. Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder The Marlins were rebuilding. They were thrilled to be bringing in a fresh group of prospects. Not all my new teammates felt the same way. The minor leagues are a grind, fall on an organization's depth chart and that could be it for you. - So the next team your favorite team makes a trade, remember there is more than meets the eye. Some players are happy, some are mad. Some are relieved and others are blindsided. It is the human element of pro sports. ***If you enjoyed this share it with your network and follow me Jacob Turner for more at the intersections of sports and business.

Have You Ever Noticed an Athlete's Relentless Dedication? Top athletes optimize every detail of their lives to compete at the highest level. When they step onto the field, they’re up against the best of the best, where every competitor is talented. Winning often comes down to just a 1% difference, the sheer will to win. Every morning, we wake up competing with giants like Jeff Bezos, Russell Brunson, Tony Robbins, and others. There’s no real separation, they’re in the same arena, competing for the same clients, regardless of their billions in net worth. Consider the pay distribution in sports: a lower-level NFL player might make $400k per year and last only two seasons, while Kobe earned $25 million annually. The big rewards don’t go to everyone, they go to the top 1%. Knowing we’re up against the smartest, most driven minds, and that most rewards go to the best of the best, what are you doing to close that 1% gap? Let me know in the comments. 

As the Arizona Coyotes decamp to Utah, the team's fraught history in the Phoenix area illustrates a pattern in big-league sports: A city can't get a team without public money, but taxpayer support is no guarantee they'll stay. Salt Lake City is considering a sales tax hike to cover up to $1 billion in bonds for downtown renovations, including stadium space, for the new hockey team. The NHL on Thursday approved the Coyotes' sale to Ryan and Ashley Smith, who own the Utah Jazz. The renamed hockey team will play alongside the Jazz at the Delta Center. At a Friday news conference, Ryan Smith said the new sports team will "generate a lot of revenue." "Down the road, everyone will look back and go, wow, like, in a time when we needed to revitalize, reimagine we invested, and it worked out," he told reporters at the Delta Center. This is not the team's first foray into publicly funded stadium construction. Glendale, Arizona — a Phoenix suburb — borrowed $180 million in 2001 to build the team's arena there as they left Phoenix. Taxpayers then paid $25 million in 2010 and 2011 to cover the team's losses and keep them in town for subsequent seasons. In 2012, the city agreed to pay $15 million yearly to operate the team's stadium, not long after Glendale had implemented layoffs to cover a budget deficit. When the city voided the deal two years later, the team threatened to sue taxpayers for $200 million, which Glendale averted with a more modest contract. Two years into the new deal, the NHL demanded $225 million from the Arizona legislature for a new arena, saying the team wasn't profitable in Glendale. Attendance was too low to generate many sponsorships. The bill didn't pass. The city booted the Coyotes in 2021 after news broke that the team was exploring a Tempe location. But last year Tempe voters rejected arena funding effectively ensuring the Coyotes' departure from Arizona. Critics of public funding for the team's Salt Lake home argue hockey is a risky bet in Utah, and city officials should slow down lest taxpayers find themselves backed into a Glendale-esque cycle of payouts to keep the NHL team. "These are definitely not salutary investments. They never pay off and it's not worth the public contributions," JC Bradbury, a professor of economics at Kennesaw State University who is critical of taxpayer funding of sports stadiums, told Axios in February.

The world may never see another basketball player as flat-out brilliant as Caitlin Clark. Last night, Clark became the leading Division I college scorer in women’s basketball history, scoring 49 points, setting a new Iowa program record for points in a game. But that’s not all: She scored or assisted on 79 of Iowa’s 106 points, the most points accounted for by any D-I women‘s basketball player in the last 25 years. Apart from her mad basketball skills, what sets Clark apart? 🔥 She’s all about making the team shine. She’s got this radar for finding the perfect teammate to pass to, making her team stronger with every play. 🔥 Caitlyn brings the energy, the hustle, the heart, and the joie de vivre to every practice and every game. She’s the MVP and head cheerleader rolled into one. 🔥 Her positivity is contagious and lifts everyone up to bring their A-game. Her teammates believe in themselves because she believes in them. 🔥 She plays her heart out every single minute of every game, and takes nothing for granted. Caitlin Clark's greatness as a team player transcends the boundaries of the basketball court, demonstrating the transformative impact of collaboration, leadership, and shared purpose in achieving collective success. Don’t you wish all leaders had even just a little of Caitlin Clark ‘s magic? Late edit: Turns out that Lynette Woodward and Pearl Moore had higher scoring records, but this was before the time NCAA recognized women's sports. For more info on these basketball greats, see the link in comment below. #starpower #caitlinclark #greatleader #phenom #awesome #teamleadership