href="#u34fa1424-ea79-5d2b-af50-49404c643776">Secret 17. Activate Your Student-Athlete Advantage
Secret 20. Prepare for the Future by Tracking Trends
The End: Your Road Map: It’s Not a Secret
Appendix A—NCAA Student-Athlete Success Data
Appendix C—Contributors to the Book
Foreword
We are human; therefore, we make mistakes—all of us. But what sets us apart is acknowledging the mistake and correcting it. I learned this lesson while participating in intercollegiate athletics, and it has served me well in the rough-and-tumble world of business.
Let me share with you my biggest mistake in my career in the professional sports business and how my boss helped me quickly rectify it.
In the waning months of 2005, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), owner of the San Jose Earthquakes—one of the founding members of Major League Soccer—decided to relocate the franchise to Houston. I was offered the position of president/general manager of the franchise and on New Year’s Day in 2006 my tenure began.
Of course, there were dozens of tasks in front of us—hiring a staff, finding office space, negotiating a stadium lease, identifying a practice facility, relocating players and coaches, securing sponsorships, selling season tickets. The list was endless and we had only a few weeks before the opening match.
Naturally, the most pressing issue was deciding on the team name. After conducting just a handful of meetings with local soccer officials as well as the MLS office, we decided—in a nod to the European tradition of naming clubs after the year in which they were founded (think Schalke 04 or Hannover 96)—to name the new club Houston 1836, which was the year the City of Houston was established by charter.
Almost immediately there was negative feedback bordering on outrage. Why? Well, 1836 was “annus horribilis” in the eyes of a sizable portion of the Houston community. Three significant military battles took place that year—Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto. And in that last battle, which was fought just outside what is now Houston, General Sam Houston defeated General Santa Anna and Mexico lost its province of Texas.
Very quickly I realized that our brand new franchise had a problem. Unintentionally, we had just insulted a hugely important demographic—the Hispanic fan of Mexican descent—by rolling out the team name without a proper vetting. A week or so into this imbroglio, my cell phone rang.
It was Phil Anschutz, owner of AEG, my boss, and a man of few words. He wanted to know my assessment of the situation. I told him it was serious. He pushed back a bit, saying “my folks in Los Angeles (AEG executives) think this will blow over and that the team can ride it out.” “No,” I responded, “it won’t. This is like a burr under the saddle and it will only get worse.” There were a few seconds of silence, then Phil said matter-of-factly, “Well, change the name.”
Mr. Anshutz, a man I had not yet met, trusted in me, and his decisiveness allowed us to cut our losses, rectify the error, and return to promoting the team and the inaugural season. And that inaugural season ended with a bang—the Houston Dynamo as MLS Cup Champions!
In this book, you will read about how being a student-athlete teaches you how to recognize your mistakes and correct them. Being a student-athlete also gives you the skill set to manage and prioritize time demands. Like most student-athletes, you will go pro in something other than sport. This experience truly equips you for life after sport in your career, family, and personal growth.
There are several anecdotes in this book about the value of being a student-athlete and playing intercollegiate athletics. In my case, I would not have had my career opportunities if sport had not been part of my early foundation. Transitioning into the business world was as fundamental as playing college football. It gave me the confidence, determination, and spirit to excel in life.
Oliver Luck
Executive Vice President, NCAA
Acknowledgments
The writing of a book such as this requires the input, support, and expertise of many. Even with a core writing team of five authors with varied backgrounds and experiences, a topic as vast and complicated as this book’s necessitates the contributions of many others. We are fortunate to have received input from sixty-four external contributors in the writing of this book. Their experiences, perspectives, and advice played a vital and significant role in the compilation of this book.
We would further like to acknowledge recent Ohio University graduate Kevin Fagin, now with the Cincinnati Reds, for his efforts in supporting the data collection required for this book.
Thank you also to Syracuse University’s Margie Chetney and students Arek Olson and Sierra Shafer, former student-athletes, who helped in the research and reviewing process.
Within the book, the names of the interviewees are noted where they are quoted or where their input was included. The interviewees come from many backgrounds, including former student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, sport administrators, other professionals, and former professional athletes. All interviewees, along with their sport and school if they are former student-athletes, plus their current title, are listed in Appendix C at the back of the book. We would like to express our most sincere appreciation for their support, time, and expertise, which informed and helped shape this book.
The authors would also like to thank the team at Ohio University Press, particularly Gillian Berchowitz, for their support, informative reviews, and strong push for a high-quality product that can improve the student-athlete experience for all.
Finally, all five of us would like to expressly thank our families, friends, and colleagues who supported the long nights, big pushes, and tough conversations that are always required in the process of writing a book of this nature.
Introduction
When business author Stephen Covey wrote his landmark text The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 1989, he drew from more than twenty-five years of observing what made leaders successful.
