Behind the Scenes: Panther Sports Properties

Beyond the Field sat down with General Manager and Manager for Business Development for Panther Sports Properties, Brian Gabel and Kelsey Motley.

You may be thinking what is Panther Sports Properties? Well first we have to take a look at what Learfield, formally known as Learfield Sports, is to fully understand Panther Sports Properties. Learfield is the multimedia rights holder for 120 Division I schools. They handle everything corporate sponsorship related which includes: in-venue signage, radio and television advertisements, on court promotions, and hospitality. Panther Sports Properties is a property of Learfield and a partner of UNI Athletics. Like Learfield, Panther Sports Properties handles all of the in-venue signage, radio and television advertisements, on court promotions, and hospitality. Panther Sports Properties has been a partner of UNI Athletics for 8 years.

Brian and Kelsey with friends from Indiana State University

The Panther Sports Properties team is made up of three full time employees and two interns. Brian has been serving as the General Manager for the past three years, Kelsey joined the team as Manager for Business Development in July 2015, and in December, Ryan Randall was hired as Coordinator of Sales Operations. All three are alumni of UNI. Kelsey and Brian are deeply involved in the community with Kelsey being involved with her church as long as being a good sub for any sports team  in the Cedar Valley.

On a day-to-day basis you would find the Panther Sports Properties team connecting with local and national business oweners, prospecting potential new clients, and working with different vendors to ensure that their game day, television, radio, and website needs are met to the highest standard. During game day you will find the PSP team talking with game sponsors, socializing with clients in attendance, making sure the radio crew has all the promotional reads they need, and taking photos of all the digital signage that is used during the game to send to clients. A lot of what PSP does during the game is make clients happy, shake hands, and kiss babies while wearing 3 inch heels as in Kelsey's case.

General Manager Brian Gabel and game sponsor from the Eastern Iowa Airport

One of the best things about working for Panther Sports Properties according to Kelsey is meeting new people everyday because everyone has a cool story to tell, is at a different place in their life, and its exciting to help give people the opportunity to promote their company at the Division I level. She also noted that she has had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people from Learfield, where her favorite memory so far has came from. In October, Kelsey had the opportunity to attend sales training at the Learfield headquarters in Plano, Texas. During this, she was the only female in attendance along with 30 males. The sales training gave her the opportunity to not only work on her sales skills but to connect with other workers in the Learfield network. She noted that it was a great opportunity to see what other schools around the country are doing and how she could bring those ideas back to UNI.

The most difficult part of working in corporate sponsorship is rejection. Rejection can come from both sides of a sale. A client may not be a good fit for UNI or their needs may be better satisfied in doing a different type of advertising. There is also rejection from a potential client. A potential client may not be interested in doing business with Panther Sports Properties or may not think that it is the right time to do so. "Rejection will come. It is important to know that when you get into a sales job," Kelsey noted. She mentioned that you must have a way to cope with rejection and stress. For her, it's going to the gym to workout. It is important to deal with rejection and stress in a positive way and not let it effect your daily life.

General Manager Brian Gabel presenting the Cedar Falls Parks and Recreation Department with a check from Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Without Panther Sports Properties, many local companies may not be able to be promoted to a larger audience. Panther Sports Properties helps these local companies get their name out to those who may not know who they are. Panther Sports Proprieties helps to generate money for the athletic department and overall helps the whole university.   

Behind the Scenes: Facilities/Operations

Beyond the Field sat down with Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations Trent Ames.

Trent got his start working for UNI Athletics during his first semester at UNI. He was hired in 2002 as a UNI-Dome Student Worker to assist with game day parking. He eventually worked his way up to working security by the time he graduated from UNI in December of 2005. He fell in love with working in facilities and operations the moment he started.

Upon graduation Trent was hired as a Facilities/Operations Assistant where he assisted with day-to-day operations. He served in this role for a year until he hired full-time as Facilities Coordinator. In 2012 Trent was promoted to his current role as Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations.

On a day-to-day basis, Trent is responsible for many different tasks. The facilities staff is responsible for setting up rooms for film sessions for football, setting up suites for football and basketball, arranging student security and police for game day, game day parking coordination, court/field setup, and making sure that game timing is right.

One thing that Trent likes most about his job is that everyday is different. Trent and his staff are constantly planning, organizing, and setting up for many different events that come to UNI. Another thing Trent enjoys is meeting all the different coaches, student athletes, and outside performers that come to campus.

The month of February is one of the busiest times of the year for the facilities staff. One big event that the facilities staff had to get ready for was the UNI Dome Softball Classic. This event draws six teams from around the Midwest to play softball games in the UNI Dome for a weekend. The event started on Friday, February 12 and lasted until Sunday, February 14.

What goes into an event like this? A lot of hours spent on setup and planning. Many people do not understand what does into setting up for this softball tournament. One of the most important tasks is putting the turf down over the track. This process takes the longest amount of time and the most man hours. The turf has to be velcroed together and made sure that it will not be too loosely connected. Other tasks include setting up are the backstop, outfield fencing, benches, scoreboard/videoboard elements, field markings, and batting cages. This setup required facilities staff to work over night on Thursday due to the fact that the track team had practice that day.
 

Once the softball tournament was finished on Sunday, the facilities staff was there to tear everything down and get ready for track practice the very next day. This required the staff again to stay overnight to get everything back to normal for track. 

Another big event that is occurring is a Luke Bryan concert. The concert is Saturday, February 20 but planning for this event started months ago. This required meeting with the promoter and Luke Bryan staff to get the stage dimensions, when stage parts will be coming in, when stage parts will be leaving, and many other important details. One of the most important planning issues is the amount of staff needed for this concert. The last time Luke Bryan came to UNI he sold out the UNI Dome. That is over 20,000 people in the Dome at one time. This required a lot of police, student security, and professional staff on hand to make sure the concert went successfully. 

The final question I asked Trent was if he had any advice for those who are looking to work in Athletic Facilities. "You have to be flexible, adapt to every thing that comes your way, get along well with others, and have the ability to communicate effectively. Communication is key to every operation, not just in facilities. Just telling someone something one time isn't enough. You may need to tell them five different times just to ensure that they know what's up."  

Overall, the facilities and operations department at UNI plays a huge role in all that goes on. Whether it be a football game or a concert, the facilities staff is there to make sure any event is a success. Without the facilities staff, many of these great events may not even happen.