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.