SNODGRASS PARTNERS - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member
• Collegiate Sports Advisor
• Founder and CEO of ABW BUILDING BRIDGES

White is personable, creative, energetic, and experienced sports administration executive with over 40 years of progressive experience in intercollegiate and professional athletics administration. Alfred B. White is the Founder and CEO of ABW BUILDING BRIDGES, a collaborative sports firm, serving as your connection to the sports world. He helps facilitate relationships, collaborates with athletics leaders, and helps companies establish themselves in the collegiate sports market. White is the first member of both our internal SP Team and our Network of Allied Partners. White is a personable, creative, energetic, and experienced sports administration executive with over 40 years of progressive experience in intercollegiate and professional athletics administration. Prior to opening his consulting firm, he held positions as an NCAA administrator, Division I Commissioner, President of a professional sports franchise and Senior Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for the College Football Playoff (CFP). He is a highly effective strategic planner, team builder and implementer; adept leader in administration, special initiatives, organization, and supervision/management. Through his impressive experience he has built relationships with all the major media outlets, is highly connected with corporate partners, and understands the unique dance that needs to be done during negotiations. All of this and more is what makes him an extremely valuable asset to our Network of Allied Partners at SP Athletics. White graduated from Texas Tech University with a BGS in Telecommunications. He and his wife, Judy, have recently relocated to be near family in Leawood, Kansas.

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member

Pioneering, forward-thinking and solution-focused, Celia Slater is the owner and founder of True North Sports.

Job Titles:

• Immediate past Chair
• Member of the Advisory Board
• Member of the Board of Directors
• Immediate past Chair and Member of the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum

Christopher E. Clouser is the Immediate Past Chair and member of the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum located in Newport, Rhode Island (2004-2015) and was named Life Trustee in 2017. He serves as Co-Chairman of D and D Holdings of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a residential real estate development company. He is an Advisory Director of MOA Enterprises, VML (a WPP company), and Paragon Group of Companies. Chris remains active in several charities and the Clouser Family Foundation. Prior to current activities, Chris was President of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the world governing body of men's professional tennis, where he also served as Chairman of ATP Properties and Chair of the ATP Foundation. Prior to the ATP, over a 25-year corporate career from 1981-2004, he held senior officer positions with Burger King Brands (President), Preview Travel/Travelocity (President and CEO), the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball Club (Board Member 1994-2000), Northwest Airlines (Senior Vice President 1990-2000), Hallmark Cards, Inc. (Corporate Vice President 1981-1985), Sprint (Senior Vice President 1986-1988), and Bell Atlantic (Vice President and President of the Bell Atlantic Charitable Foundation 1988-2000). Chris attended the University of Missouri on a tennis scholarship majoring in Political Science and Communications and in 1973 joined the staff of United States Senator Thomas F. Eagleton of Missouri and became the Senator's Special Assistant. Chris was Manager of the Senator's successful re-election in 1980. He is the Founder and former President of the Northwest Airlines' charitable assistance program, AirCares; Founder of the Minnesota Walk for Hunger, and the Children's Music and Arts Foundation. Chris has served on the Boards of the following charitable organizations: Campfire Inc., the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Hennepin Theatre Trust, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, Taste of the NFL/Hunger Related Events, Kansas City Spirit, Children's Heartlink, Research Medical Center, the Vote America Foundation, the Harlem Globetrotters Foundation, the Association of National Advertisers, and the Advertising Council. He has served on the following corporate Boards of Directors: Piper Jaffray Inc., Gibson Guitar/Baldwin Corp., Pepsi Americas, Marquette Bancshares, VML Inc., Delta Beverage, Transamerica Retirement, Mesaba Aviation, MOA Enterprises, Acorn Energy, and Omnimetrix, LLC. Chris has received numerous awards including the Kansas City Downtown Inc. Man of the Year, the Chairman's Award of Northwest Airlines, the Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil, and numerous Telly, Effie and Clio awards for corporate marketing, advertising and promotional programs and for musical presentations with Tony Bennett, BB King, James Taylor, and others. Chris served on the Northwest-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Global Alliance Committee from 1993 to 1999. He was a key executive in the merger of Preview Travel with Travelocity which formed the world's largest online travel company in 2000. While at Burger King, Chris led all global marketing and sales while serving on the Executive Committee managing the successful sale of the company to a consortium of private equity firms. Chris served as Chair of the 75th anniversary of Hallmark Cards, Inc. while leading the company's Public Affairs and Communications. While serving as a senior officer at Sprint, Chris led the initial launch of the company which featured the award winning "Pin Drop" campaign. While at Bell Atlantic (predecessor to Verizon), Chris launched the first marketing campaign for voice and data service offerings including the then new Caller-ID product, and award-winning campaigns with James Earl Jones. He initiated Bell Atlantic's focus on literacy, and received the American Library Association highest recognition.

Job Titles:

• President
• President, and CEO of Validity Screening Solutions Is a Graduate of the University of Miami

Darren Dupriest, president, and CEO of Validity Screening Solutions is a graduate of the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. He began his industry career in 1992. In his capacity, he directs all functions of this PBSA Accredited company, including employment-related screenings, due diligence investigations, substance abuse testing and many more services. During his career, this former licensed investigator has led investigations ranging from workers' compensation fraud, embezzlement, merger, and acquisition due diligence, along with sexual harassment and employee theft investigations. Dupriest is frequently invited to speak at organizations such as the Kansas Association of School Business Officials, the Heartland Labor Law Conference, the International Public Management Association, the High Technology Crime Investigation Association, the Kansas City Safety and Health Council, as well as being a featured speaker at SHRM conferences in eight states. He is a founding member of the Professional Background Screeners Association(PBSA), an organization that now boasts over 500 members. Dupriest serves as an expert witness and has organized training programs on the subjects of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and identity theft.

Job Titles:

• Director of Racquet Sports at the Country Club
• Racquet Sports Advisor

Dave has extensive career experience within racquet sports and tennis. He is the current Past President of the USPTA Southwest and a USPTA Master Professional, having earned that distinction in 2019. Dave Moyer is the Director of Racquet Sports at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona, joining the team in 2011. During his tenure at The Country Club at DC Ranch, he has been able to grow the tennis program from a small, one person operation, into a thriving tennis program with five USPTA assistant professionals. Participation of both adults and juniors has grown each year with revenue increasing from $47,000 to over $350,000 during his tenure. He has also seen the improvement of the facilities with the addition of lighting on all six courts and the construction of a new tennis shop to host offices, merchandise, meeting space and bathroom facilities, a new ramada and patio area for viewing and socializing as well as cameras on two courts for analyzing matches and lessons. Dave is the current Past President of the USPTA Southwest and a USPTA Master Professional, having earned that distinction in 2019. Before coming to the Southwest, Dave was the Director of Tennis at Homestead Country Club in the Kansas City area, and Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. At both stops, he was highly involved in both the USPTA and USTA and his hard work earned him much recognition. Beginning in 1996, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Missouri Valley Division where he served for three years and was named the Nebraska and Kansas Tennis Professional of the year and received the Lessons for Life Award. The USTA recognized him for Tournament of the Year, Facility of the Year and Family of the Year during his tenure in the Missouri Valley. In 2019, Dave was named the Alex Gordon USPTA Southwest Tennis Professional of the Year. Dave is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and is married to Wendy Moyer. Together they have two boys ages 16 and 13.

David Siroty brings a unique perspective to college sports, a 30-plus year career that mixes Fortune 500 corporate learnings with a rich on-campus resume.

Job Titles:

• Marketing Partner

Donna began her career amidst the rapid growth of the personal computer industry in the mid 1980's. She held sales, training and brand marketing positions for a variety of software products during her tenure at Informix Software, a leading provider of database management systems whose technology is now owned by IBM.

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member
• Collegiate Sports Advisor

Dr. Hilliard remains driven to help others achieve their goals and in turn, help build the depth and accomplishments of the athlete development community one person or one institution at a time. Dr. Janice L. Hilliard has made ensuring the successful future of today's student-athlete, especially today's female student-athlete, the focus of her professional life. She sees their future as limitless, but only when equipped with the right mindset and the right tools. That explains her commitment to empowering them to maximize their short and long term opportunities. She is equally committed to developing and supporting sports leaders who are actively involved in preparing athletes for successful lives after sports. Through her company, Hilliard Solutions, Janice and her accomplished team of associates provide consulting, career coaching, athlete life skills programming and professional development solutions for sports leaders, athlete development professionals and educational and community organizations. The Hilliard Solutions 360 Degree Athlete Development Model and methods strategically engage, educate, and empower athletes and key players in their ecosystem to address the challenges inherent in integrating education, sports, and business. Importantly, this model of athlete education maximizes the opportunity for athletes and their organizations to achieve mutually beneficial goals. A plethora of organizations have taken advantage of Hilliard Solutions including the NCAA, NBA, MLS, Women Leaders in College Sports, National Alliance of Social Workers in Sports, Minority Opportunities Athletic Association, and the Memphis Grizzlies. Numerous esteemed educational institutions have benefited also, including the University of California/Berkeley, University of Florida, Temple University, and Iowa State University. The only Ph.D. at the National Basketball Association (NBA) during her 15-year tenure there, she spent 5 of those years as its Vice President of NBA Player Development, responsible for the continuing education and professional development initiatives for NBA players. As she had done for the NBA's D League previously, she created and implemented professional development training platforms for players, league and team player development directors and collegiate student-athlete development leaders. Prior to the NBA, she was a collegiate associate athletics director at the University of Houston and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, secondary school teacher, coach and counselor in Texas and Michigan, and collegiate basketball scholarship student-athlete at the University of Houston. Janice earned her Doctorate degree in Educational Administration, a Master's degree in Urban Counseling from Michigan State University and a Bachelor's in education from the University of Houston. She is a published author, adjunct professor, and public speaker who is highly respected in both the collegiate and professional sectors. She is most proud of the annual Women in Athlete Development Symposium & Networking Event she created and oversees to educate, prepare, and assist women seeking careers in the athlete development field. She remains driven to help others achieve their goals and in turn, help build the depth and accomplishments of the athlete development community one person or one institution at a time. She continues to be recognized for her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, women's empowerment, and the community at large by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, American Athletic Conference, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Job Titles:

• Allied Partner, Will Lead the First - Ever USTA All - American College Combine. the USTA All - American College Combine
• Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine
• Performance Physiologist Consultant

Mark Kovacs, PhD, FACSM, CSCS*D, is the CEO of the Kovacs Institute, which is a performance sciences institute focused on elite individuals looking to optimize performance in sport, business and life. He is also an Associate Professor in the Sport Health Science Department and the Director of the Life Sport Science Institute at Life University. He is a sports administrator, performance physiologist, researcher, professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching elite athletes. Dr. Kovacs formally directed the Sport Science, Strength & Conditioning and Coaching Education departments for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), was the Director of the Gatorade Sport Science Institute, an executive with PepsiCo focused on long-term research and innovation. He has been a keynote speaker and presenter on five continents and performed more than 200 workshops and presentations. He has presented at Harvard University, NYU Medical School, Princeton University, University of North Carolina, Chinese Olympic Committee, South Korea Olympic Committee, Mexican Olympic Committee, United States Olympic Committee, NBA, NFL & MLB teams among dozens of other leading institutions. Dr. Kovacs is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and has published over 50 research articles and abstracts in some of the top scientific journals in the field of sport and exercise science. He was an All-American and NCAA doubles champion in tennis at Auburn University and competed professionally after University. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the Department of Kinesiology at Auburn University. Dr. Kovacs earned his doctorate in exercise physiology from the University of Alabama. He was the youngest ever recipient of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award and the 2014 US Olympic Committee's Doc Counsilman Science Award for his innovative use of sport science application to Olympic athletes. He has been involved with two National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, the Brazilian National Football team for the 2014 World Cup, the US Fed Cup team and dozens of other major sporting events applying sport science principles to optimize athletic performance. He has published six books on different aspects of sport science and currently volunteers on numerous committees and boards in professional organizations along with many community outreach programs. In addition, he is a founder of the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) which is the worldwide leading education and certification organization for individuals that work with tennis athletes in the areas of performance enhancement and injury prevention.

Job Titles:

• Advisor

Liz Dalton has dedicated herself to intercollegiate athletics for more than 32 years. She began her career as a soccer student-athlete at Texas A&M and since that time has served institutions in all three divisions, including Group of 5 and Power 5 Division I programs.

Job Titles:

• Marketing Coordinator
• Related Staff Member

Emma Jacobs joined the team at Snodgrass Partners as Marketing Coordinator in November 2020 after graduating, Magna Cum Laude, from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with a degree in Communication Studies. While at FAU, Emma made the President's List and received the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Medal. Emma was a member of the soccer team at FAU, where the team won back-to-back Conference USA regular season championships for the first time in the program's history. Emma transferred to FAU from Kansas State University, where she was a member of the university's inaugural women's soccer team and was also a member of the Big XII Commissioner's Honor Roll. While at FAU, Emma worked for Florida Atlantic Sports Properties, assisting with game day and event operations. She also was a camp counselor for the FAU Soccer Academy and worked as an independent contractor for Wag!, a mobile app that provides on-demand dog walking services. In her role with Snodgrass Partners, Emma has oversight and responsibility for all marketing activities, including the firm's social media platforms and website. Emma is the daughter of Tom Jacobs, co-founder of the Snodgrass Partners Sports Division. A former collegiate soccer player at Florida Atlantic University, Emma Jacobs has oversight and responsibility for all marketing activities.

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member

Jason Prichett has experience creating sponsorships for properties such as ATP World Tour, PGA, LPGA, USA Cycling, and Major League Baseball.

Jeff is well-known and highly-respected throughout college athletics - not only for what he accomplished as a coach, but also for his prowess and the tangible results he has delivered while working with teams and athletic departments.

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Related Staff Member

Sports industry veteran, Jon LeCrone, named Partner with SP Athletics. Having served for over 40 years in a number of different roles within college athletics, he brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the team. Jonathan B. (Jon) LeCrone is in his second year as Advisor to the Commissioner after serving 29 years as Commissioner of the Horizon League. Under his direction, the Horizon League vigorously pursued its vision, which is to be highly competitive and nationally recognized while developing student-athletes to their full potential.

Job Titles:

• Coach for the Lafayette

Kia Damon was officially introduced as the new Head Coach for the Lafayette women's basketball program on May 31. She is… Pioneering, forward-thinking and solution-focused, Celia Slater is the owner and founder of True North Sports. She is a nationally-recognized leader committed to providing professional development opportunities for coaches of all sports interested in pursuing both excellence in their profession and bridging the gap toward gender equality for both coaches and players.

Job Titles:

• Founder
• Related Staff Member
• Founder of CIO Bench
• IT Executive Coaching Consultant

Larry Bonfante is the founder of CIO Bench Coach, an executive coaching practice for Information Technology (IT) executives and the author of the book Lessons in IT Transformation. He has held executive leadership positions over the past 35 years in various industries including financial, pharmaceutical, not for profit, consulting and sports and entertainment. Larry has served as executive coach and trusted business adviser to C-level executives at some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the world. In this capacity, he has helped companies transform the technology function; attract, develop and retain key leaders; turn talented individuals into high-performing teams; change the organizational culture; leverage diversity as a strategic asset; and build strong board and C-level relationships. Over the course of his career, Larry has received numerous industry accolades including being nominated for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Hall of Fame in 2013, being named as one of CIO Magazine's CIO 100 in 2011, and one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders in 2009. As CIO for the United States Tennis Association, Larry's team was responsible for all information technology related services supporting the US Open, the most highly attended annual sporting event in the world. He has served as a mentor and executive coach for many IT leaders in various industries. He has served as both president and chairman of the Society for Information Management - Fairfield-Westchester (FWSIM) chapter and is a founding member of the CIO Executive Council. Larry has been a guest lecturer for the master's degree programs at Columbia University, New York University, and Polytechnic Institute. He is an accomplished public speaker who has delivered keynote presentations at many major industry conferences, conducted leadership workshops for world class organizations, and written leadership blogs for both CIO Insight and Information Week. You can learn more about his executive coaching practice at CIO Bench Coach.

Job Titles:

• Collegiate Sports Advisor

With over 20 years of experience working in the sports and entertainment industry, Lee has served in a variety of roles at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and within the minor-league sports landscape.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Advisory Board
• Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Mike Goss is the Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where he has been elected to serve from 2019 to 2022. At the end of 2022, he become Chairman Emeritus of the Hall of Fame. Previously, Mike has been the EVO and CFO of global media company Condé Nast and art auction house Sotheby's. Mike was the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Bain Capital LLC from 2001 to 2013. Mike was with Bain Capital for fifteen years in various senior managerial capacities including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure in these roles, Bain Capital grew from $10 billion to $70 billion in assets under management, its number of global offices grew from four to nine, and its worldwide headcount grew from 200 to 940. Prior to joining Bain Capital, Mike was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Digitas Inc., a worldwide digital media firm which he helped take public on behalf of its private equity backers. Between 1994 and 1999, Mike was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and a member of the board of directors of Playtex Products, Inc. Mike graduated from Kansas State University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science Magna Cum Laude in economics. While at K-State, he was a member of the Men's Tennis Team and played for Coach Steve Snodgrass, Founder and CEO of Snodgrass Partners. In 1996, he graduated from the Harvard Business School with a Masters of Business Administration with Distinction. He is member of the Board of Directors of Platform Specialty Products. He resides in Westport, Connecticut and New York City. He is married to his wife, Becky, and has two grown daughters, Emma and Lucy.

Job Titles:

• CEO
• CEO at 86HOPE
• Southern Methodist in 2006 As Deputy Director

Mike Vaught serves as the CEO at 86HOPE, a boutique consulting agency that provides a variety of services to clients in search of regional or national branding/exposure, and B2B opportunities through elite sports partnerships. Founded in 2019, 86HOPE has partnerships with top NASCAR Teams, NASCAR Tracks, College Football, College Basketball, and 501c3's. Prior to 86HOPE, Vaught served as Grand Canyon's Vice President of Athletics from 2014-2019. Vaught led GCU through the four year NCAA transition to division 1 status, transitioning 21 sports and over 100 staff. During Vaught's tenure the Lopes won back-to-back Western Athletic Conference Commissioners Cups, Academic Excellence Award, and 21 WAC Conference Championships. GCU also constructed 10 Athletic Facilities in 2 years under Vaught's leadership. Prior to joining GCU, Vaught held several administrative roles within collegiate and high school athletics. Vaught joined Southern Methodist in 2006 as deputy director of athletics for a program that hadn't been to a football bowl game in 25 years and still hadn't recovered from the NCAA death penalty incurred by its football program in 1987. Vaught was involved in two key hires - football coach June Jones and men's basketball coach Larry Brown - while also restructuring all student-athlete welfare programs that resulted in improved GPAs and class attendance. As sport supervisor of the football program, Vaught developed and implemented a plan that took SMU to a bowl game in Jones' second year and in each of the three years afterward. It was SMU's for bowl came in 25 years. Vaught also joined with SMU's director of athletics to formulate an 18-month plan that resulted in the university joining the Big East Conference (now known as the American Conference). Before aiding the Mustangs, Vaught helped build a football program at Rice that hadn't been to a bowl game in 45 years. With Todd Graham as coach, Rice accepted a bid to the New Orleans Bowl in his first year. In just six months at Rice, Vaught and Graham broke the school record for football fundraising. Vaught also served as athletic director for the five-school Alamo Heights High School District in San Antonio, Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, and spent 19 years as a college football coach at Arkansas, Missouri State, Texas State and the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was offensive coordinator for a team that won the national rushing title in 1999. Before going to Grand Canyon, he spent two and a half years in the private sector as director of corporate sponsorships for a health and wellness company. In his role, he helped develop partnerships with ESPN, the Texas Bowl, FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, Texas Kickoff and Cowboys Classic football games, and with Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing on the NASCAR Xfinity Tour, ending the 2013 season with the NASCAR Championship. At each stop, Vaught has instituted a benchmark of striving for perfection and excellence. More than words, however, he has instituted organizational plans to achieve that success both on the field and in the classroom while also becoming active in charitable causes. Vaught and his wife Karri have been married 32 years.

Job Titles:

• Soccer Recruiting Advisor

Peter Arch grew up in England playing, coaching, and studying the game of Soccer. Since 1989 he has been actively involved in growing the sport in the U.S. and has helped create the largest youth soccer coaching company in North America.

Job Titles:

• Athletics Development and Advisor

Peter Davis is an experienced and accomplished sports and business leader specializing in business development and strategic partnerships.

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member
• Business Development and Collegiate Sports Advisor

Ron Prettyman served as an Athletics Director for 34 years prior to moving to the… Ron Prettyman brings a wealth of experience to the Sports Consulting and Recruiting team. Ron current serves as the Interim Athletic Director at California Baptist University. During his distinguished career, he served as Managing Director of Championships at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2016-18. He had global oversight of 17 NCAA National Championships including the College World Series, Division I Football, Women's Volleyball, Men's Ice Hockey and several others. Significant revenue, attendance and viewership growth was achieved under Ron's direction. He was the primary liaison to the Football Oversight Committee and worked with Rules and Officials functions for all sports at all levels. Certification of all college football bowl games was also among the responsibilities. Ron served as Athletics Director at Indiana State University for 11 years (2005-16) before going to the NCAA. During that span, Indiana State appeared in six NCAA championship events in five different sports. In 2014-15, a school record-placing second in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) All Sports Trophy was accomplished and Indiana State finished in the top five in the MVC in each of the last 5 years of his tenure. In 2014, the Indiana State football team advanced to the NCAA FCS playoffs for the first time in 30 years. The Indiana State men's basketball team reached post season competition for an unprecedented five consecutive years (2010-14). Prior to his time at Indiana State, Prettyman served as Athletics Director at California State University Dominguez Hills for 10 years (1995-2005). All athletics facilities on campus were upgraded or built including the Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly Home Depot Center) which was a $200 million project. This facility serves as the current home for the NFL Los Angeles Chargers, Major League Soccer Los Angeles Galaxy, USA National Soccer Teams and other high-profile training programs such as USA Cycling and the USTA. It is one of the only on campus Olympic Training sites in the United States. The campus has hosted three NCAA Division II National Championships and one Division I National Championship. Prettyman served as an Athletics Director for 34 years prior to moving to the NCAA capping a current 37 years in intercollegiate athletics administration. Prettyman received the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics (NACDA) Athletics Director of the Year Award in 2004 and 2011.

Job Titles:

• Founder

Steve has three decades of C-level management and marketing experience in diverse industries including financial,…

Job Titles:

• Advisor
• Co - Founder

Tom Jacobs is a 33-year veteran in the field of athletics administration. He co-founded Snodgrass Partners' Sports Recruiting and Consulting practice and serves as a key advisor.

Job Titles:

• Related Staff Member
• Collegiate Sports Advisor

Tom is a 40-year veteran of college athletics having worked as a coach, administrator and NCAA committee leader.

Job Titles:

• CEO of FanJolt

Trevor Short is the CEO of FanJolt, a new platform that offers fans unprecedented access to top talent in sports, music, and entertainment. His extensive background in the event industry, which is the driver for his business endeavors.

Job Titles:

• CEO of Tournkey

Tyler Childs is the CEO of Tournkey, an industry leader in tournament management and event accommodations. He grew up in hospitality in a small town in Canada about an hour from Detroit, Michigan. His family is made up of self- made entrepreneurs and Tyler is no different. His journey started with youthful inexperience in the family hotel and conference center, where he worked every role imaginable. Tyler moved to London, Ontario in 2006 to attend Western University. During his time there he reinforced his passion for sports, leadership, and coaching. After completing a Master's Degree in 2011, Tyler joined Sport-Travel and began to rethink the way they approached the business. His passion helped the business scale through creative partnerships and innovative technologies. As time passed, Tyler continued to grow and become a leader within the company. In 2016, Tyler started his first company, Tournkey, while simultaneously purchasing Sport-Travel which, as of March 2022, has become Tournkey. From there he has been able to build a team of experts across a wide range of services as part of an ever-evolving partner organization. Tyler and his team are now taking their new product offerings to support and evolve the event industry from the inside out.