|
|
Sport Management Hall of Fame
|
Billy Blood ('03) - SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR & CFO - UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
William (Billy) Blood currently serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director & CFO for the University of Oregon Athletics Department. His day-to-day duties including oversight of the athletic department’s $175M annual operating budget, management of all athletics’ procurement processes (RFP, RFQ, & AP), financial reporting and cash fund reconciliation, special event/concert/postseason settlements and serves as the athletic department’s delegated contracting authority. He assists with hosting of NCAA championships, serves as financial/legal/risk liaison for football postseason and was member of the 2022 World Athletics Championships host committee which was held in the United States for the first time in history. Prior to joining the Ducks, Blood was the Associate Athletic Director of Internal Affairs & CFAO for Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) athletics and was responsible for oversight of the business office, facilities & operations, equipment room, and served as sport administrator for women’s soccer and men’s golf. During his time at FGCU, he coordinated and managed a multitude of events including athletics with NCAA D-II Women’s Basketball Regional Championship, ASUN Conference Championships, and NCAA D-I Women’s Soccer Tournament; as well as keynote speaking events with Dick Cheney, Maya Angelou, Mikhail Gorbachev, Colin Powell, Joe Biden, and Laura Bush. He served as the primary administrator during FGCU’s historic run during the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, becoming the first 15-seed team to reach the Sweet 16. Billy started his journey as an intramural official and building supervisor at the Aebersold Recreation Center while completing a B.S. in Sport Management with minor in Business Administration (’03). He and his wife Valerie reside in Eugene, OR with their daughter Ava Rose and son Mason. 
Jeannie Hamilton – FOUNDING FACULTY MEMBER OF THE SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY SPORT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM BIO COMING SOON 
Greg Hoyer ('97) - SENIOR MANAGER, STADIUM EVENT OPERATIONS AT ACRISURE STADIUM
After graduating from Slippery Rock University, Greg completed an internship and accepted a position with SMG at the Civic Arena. He worked full-time in the Event Operations department overseeing the work order and purchase orders programs for the facility as well as working Pittsburgh Penguins games and various other special events the venue hosted. Also, during this time he worked part-time at Three Rivers Stadium as an Event Supervisor overseeing VIP parking in the inner circle of the building and the ticket takers at the entry gates. Greg transitioned from the Civic / Mellon Arena to Heinz Field, now Acrisure Stadium, in 2001 when the stadium was built and currently serves as the Senior Manager of Stadium Event Operations. He works with the University of Pittsburgh and the NFL to staff all Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Panthers football games as well as stadium event planning and staffing for all other major events held at Acrisure Stadium, including concerts, NHL events, the Acrisure Stadium Kickoff & Rib Festival – one of the largest rib festivals on the East coast. Greg also works with local charity organizations to assist in planning their fundraising walks and all military branches to coordinate different ceremonies they may have at Acrisure Stadium on non-event days, including reenlistments, promotion, retirement, change of command and base closings. 
Greg Hutton ('07) - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT US CLUB SOCCER
A Virginia native and graduate of Slippery Rock University (B.S.) and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (M.Ed.), Greg Hutton is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of US Club Soccer, a National Association member of U.S. Soccer which offers competitions, programming, resources and services to its member clubs and leagues and 800,000+ annual registrants. He has contributed to US Club Soccer’s growth and prominence since joining the organization in 2008. In addition to managing day-to-day functions and internal affairs, among Hutton’s primary focuses as COO are organizational reform, safeguarding and compliance, enhancing services and operations, increasing standards, and attracting talent. Hutton works closely with U.S. Soccer – the National Governing Body of soccer in the United States – in his position and serves the broader U.S. Soccer ecosystem via relationships with key stakeholders and as a member of various committees and task forces. Beyond the academic degree, Hutton is connected to SRU as a former member of the men’s soccer team (2003 – 2007) and Sport Management Alumni Advisory Board (2013 – 2019), recipient of the Young Alumni Award (2014), and inductee to the SRU Soccer Ring of Honor (2019) as part of the 2005 PSAC men’s soccer championship team. In November 2024, Hutton was appointed to the Town of Mount Pleasant’s Recreation Advisory Commission, established to assist and promote the recreational offerings of South Carolina’s fourth-largest municipality and serve as a representative body. In 2023, Greg and his wife, Laura, formed GLH Company LLC, which provides consulting and professional services primarily to nonprofit, cause and cure organizations. The couple are Co-Owners and Co-Managing Members, and Laura is the Principal Consultant. They live in the Charleston, South Carolina, metro area with their two kids: Isaac (7) and Nicole (6). 
Jennifer Miller (M '07) - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BRAND AND TRADEMARK LICENSING AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
Jenn has been with West Virginia University for six and a half years and currently serves as Assistant Director for Retail, Marketing and Licensing. She is responsible for managing and cultivating relationships with WVU licensees and retailers, acting as a project lead for university marketing campaigns through coordination of all relevant parties across the university and athletics, oversight of the WVU youth mascot program including coordination of athletics and community appearances, coordination and execution of national marketing campaigns with CLC, WVU’s licensing agent, and overall management of the WVU brand including reviewing and approving product artwork, identifying new opportunities to promote the WVU brand and monitoring the marketplace for infringing products. In addition to her duties at West Virginia University, Jenn serves as a board member for the International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA). ICLA is an organization responsible for promoting and enhancing the collegiate licensing industry through education and development of its professionals. As a member of the board, Jenn serves as chair of the education committee. Prior to her employment at West Virginia University, Jenn has worked for several organizations including AAA as a Merchandise Manager/Retail Buyer, Aramark at the Wells Fargo Center as a Retail Event Manager, and PSSI Stadium Corp. as an Event Operations intern. Throughout her career, Jenn has been an advocate for the Slippery Rock SPMT program and continues to visit the university to speak with classes and attend recruitment events when possible. 
David Stetzer ('89) – VICE PRESIDENT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
David had a love of cars and racing from a young age. While completing his Sport Management degree at SRU, he applied for an internship at the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway hoping to get his foot in the door. He was accepted for that internship, and began a 36-year career with Speedway Motorsports. While based in Charlotte, David held several key positions with the company including managing a subsidiary which manufactures and sells racecars. He led the development of a large dealer network with locations throughout the US, Canada and U.K. with the purpose of promoting auto racing events and selling the cars. Immediately after graduation David was in charge of generating non-traditional revenue streams for the track which included renting the facility to companies such as Paramount Pictures while filming “Days of Thunder”, Miller Brewing, General Motors and Ford. In his current role David oversees the Las Vegas Motor Speedway event operations team including all front of house staff, event security and EMS for a multi-purpose venue hosting more than 1,3000 events annually. His role has been expanded to include planning traffic flow and parking for numerous other venues within the NASCAR season. David met his wife, Maria Stetzer ('89), during his time spent at SRU, and together they have been married for 35 years, have three children, and three grandchildren. David is a long-standing member of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association and served two terms as the Honorary Commander of the 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base. 
Derek Stucker ('98) - DIRECTOR, NCAA & HIGH SCHOOL ACQUISITIONS - ADIDAS Derek has been with adidas for twenty-one (21) years and currently serves as the Director of NCAA & High School Acquisitions. He is responsible for leading a team that drives new business opportunities through a network of 3rd party team dealers. His team’s focus is on Division 1 NCAA Partnerships along with elite high schools, targeting & identifying next generation athletes and high schools that put the brand on the biggest stages of sport at the high school level. In addition, Derek acts as the liaison between the brand’s sports marketing division, bridging gaps to help drive the sport eco-system in North America. Previously, Derek held the role of Director, NCAA Sports Marketing, focusing on the brand’s Power 5 partnerships and managing the Locker Room team. This consisted of all aspects of product, equipment, seeding, scripting out product drops and driving team sales opportunities and managing promotional budgets. Included were building relationships at all levels of the Division 1 athletic department. At the conclusion of his Slippery Rock degree, Stucker cut his teeth into college athletics through an internship at the University of Miami which turned into a full-time position as Assistant Marketing Director for the Athletic Department. This led to a role with adidas, securing a team sales territory position for the states of Tennessee & Kentucky. 
Jason Varnish ('03) - OWNER/CONSULTANT - BOM ADVISERS
Starting off as a tour guide and a gameday event supervisor at Heinz Field in 2002 while working towards his master's degree in Sport Management at Slippery Rock University, Jason was able to secure a full-time internship with the stadium and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2003 season. His career in ticketing began at the end of that NFL season when he became Assistant Box Office Manager at Mellon Arena for facility manager SMG and the Pittsburgh Penguins. After ascending to the role of box office manager in 2005, over the next seven years Jason had the task of being able to work on some of the largest and most complex tours of that time such as U2, Bon Jovi, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill and AC/DC! Mixed in with the yearly arena events such as Disney on Ice, the Harlem Globetrotters and Monster Jam, Jason was also responsible for the management of the Petersen Events Center box office on the University of Pittsburgh campus for all non-Pitt athletic events at the venue. While it was with great pride to have been able to work in the building he grew up seeing concerts and sporting events in during his youth, he had the honor to assist in the closing of the building, which at the time served as the oldest operational arena in the NHL, with a soulful and emotional James Taylor and Carole King performance. Shortly after that last show, Jason and his box office team moved across the street to the brand new state of the art CONSOL Energy Center where it was opened with a bang by Paul McCartney for two back to back sold out performances in August 2010. Over the next four years, he and his crew in the box office would be responsible for the management and selling of millions of dollars of tickets in a myriad array of events including Lady Gaga, Madonna, Roger Waters performance of The Wall as well as historic sporting events such as the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball 2nd/3rd round games and the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four Championship. Jason was always looking to expand his knowledge of the industry and his network of relationships with colleagues and peers, which is why his involvement with INTIX (International Ticketing Association) has always held a very important place in his career. Along with serving on several committees and being strongly active in his local organizing committee POINK, Jason has also presented at various conferences over the years along with being honored to be nominated for awards such as the Box Office of the Year and Ticketing Professional of the Year. He was most recently awarded the 2014 Venues Today Box Office Star award as voted on by his peers in the ticketing industry. Among some of his most proud moments have been his involvement in ticketing for the very first concerts ever performed at the hallowed grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY with performances by the Rolling Stones and the Police in back to back years. Jason also takes great pride in being able to pass along his experiences as an adjunct professor at Point Park University in the Sports, Arts and Entertainment Management program. Creating the course Ticketing 101 in the Spring of 2012, Jason tries to use the course to show students how ticketing and the box office can affect and touch all aspects of an event while preparing them with real world activities that mirror the workplace environment. |