Interview with Dr. Amanda (Amy) Greene

Interview

Sports Degrees Online: Today we are joined by Dr. Amanda (Amy) Greene, Professor of Sport Management at East Tennessee State University. Dr. Greene, welcome to the show!

Can you share a bit about your journey starting from an undergraduate sport management student to where you are today?

Dr. Greene: Thank you for having me on the show. I love sharing my experience from undergraduate degree in sport management to now, as it is not a conventional path. As an undergraduate student-athlete at King University, I quickly realized my athletic career would soon be ending and I needed to find something I was passionate about to study.

I was interested in staying plugged into the sport world, but how I could make a career in sports without being an athlete? Sport Management seemed to be a great fit because it was a degree that would combine sport and business. I had a choice to make. King University did not offer a degree in sport management. I made the decision to East Tennessee State University (E.T.S.U.) and study sport management.

I continued my education with E.T.S.U. by earning my Master’s Degree in Sport Management. Throughout my time as an undergrad student and master’s student I was able to volunteer and work at several different sport organizations (MiLB, Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway, and E.T.S.U. athletics).

I had not only further developed my love for sport marketing and sales, I had also discovered a passion for academics and higher education. I continued my schooling at E.T.S.U. and earned my doctorate degree of Education and Policy Analysis. I decided E.T.S.U. was where I wanted to stay and my goal was to become sport management faculty.

I was able to achieve that goal and have now been the Undergraduate program coordinator for nine years. I say my path is unconventional because rarely does a University hire their own graduates. I was a 3x graduate and was told to not even apply because I would not be considered for a faculty position at E.T.S.U. My point – set a goal, do not let others discourage you from that goal, that dream. It is truly up to you to find you passion and then go to work pursuing that dream.

Sports Degrees Online: Professor, sports marketing, social media, and fan engagement are a few of your interests. Specifically, you are interested in Motorsport marketing. Why do you find these subject areas interesting?

Dr. Greene: I have always been interested in the phenomenon of fandom. I guess that is why I am so drawn to sport marketing, sales and sponsorship. The power of fandom is evident when you look at the millions/billions of dollars spent each year on sponsorships. Companies who will spend so much money to just have an association with a team or athlete, all because of the fandom that follows that team, sport organization or athlete. Sport marketing initiatives, sales tactics and social media platforms are all impacted by the fans and how to best reach those fans and move them to purchasing more!

Sports Degrees Online: What are some of the ways that your industry experience makes you a better professor?

Dr. Greene: Most of my work experience was with Bristol Motor Speedway and with our local minor league baseball team, Johnson City Cardinals. These experiences were very different but both helped shaped my perspective of working in sport and the grind that a young professional must have to make it in sport business.

At Bristol Motor Speedway I worked in Events, with pre-race being a focus. This allowed me the opportunity to work with others from different departments and to learn the importance of preparedness. Walking into meetings with several VPs from different departments, who are all asking questions about the upcoming events – taught me to always be prepared before the meeting.

I still use this approach before walking into any class, meeting, or advising session. ‘How can I best be prepared?’ is a question I still ask myself. If I am prepared as a professor, the students have more confidence in me and what I am teaching.

MiLB was also a great space for learning as a young professional. My biggest takeaway from working in MiLB was humility. You are not above cleaning a toilet, pulling tarp, taking out the trash, etc. In this setting you have to be a team player, willing to work with others, willing to take orders from managers, and willing to step away from your “job description” to get the job done that night.

I remember working in marketing and doing all the fun promotions, when I was asked to step away and run to Walmart to get more burgers for the concession stand. WHAT? I work in marketing! I learned a hard lesson about teamwork, humility, and listening to superiors. I still use all this today as a professor. I work so closely with my colleagues, that we call ourselves a team! I know the value of listening to my superiors, even when I do not like the request or action being made.

I know I must remain humble, no matter how many promotions, how many students I graduate, or how many committees I serve on, I must remain humble and be willing to step in and help others when needed.

Sports Degrees Online: At ETSU, you offer both undergraduate and graduate Sport Management programs. Can you talk us through some of the highlights of each program?

Dr. Greene: I could talk about our programs all day, but I will focus on a couple features that I feel set us apart. First, our undergraduate program has a team of faculty that work very closely to ensure all our classes are complimenting each other.

Most of our classes are hands on learning with a community engagement component. We feel strongly that our students learn best from this strategic approach. We also have professionals speak to our students. This allows students to learn different perspectives when working in sport as well as the opportunity to network with professionals in the classroom.

Our master’s program is 100% online. The program was designed this way to accommodate students who are already working in the industry. They are able to gain valuable work experience while attending classes online.

Both of our programs conclude with an internship, which allows students the opportunity to work in the industry while earning credit.

Sports Degrees Online: What are some important factors for students to keep in mind as they are trying to choose which sport management/sport business program is the best fit for them?

Dr. Greene: Look for faculty who are engaging. It takes lots of effort to run a sport management program that involves guest speakers, site visits, networking events, and community engagement, so be sure the faculty are excited to offer these out of classroom experiences.

Also, look at the connection faculty have with surrounding sport organizations. For example, our program has an internship agreement with Bristol Motor Speedway, J.C. Country club, MiLB clubs, and E.T.S.U. athletics. This allows us a steady stream of internship and volunteer opportunities. This only happens when faculty develop relationships with sport organizations.

Get on LinkedIn and find where graduates of program are getting hired. For us, you would see students working at Memphis Grizzlies, Bristol Motor Speedway, Spurs, Hornets, Titans, NHL, MiHL, MiLB, collegiate sport, NASCAR, etc.

Sports Degrees Online: Part of our goal at Sports Degrees Online is to highlight and promote areas of growth within the sports industry where some of the best opportunities exist today and in the near future. What are some fields within sport management and administration areas where there is good career potential?

Dr. Greene: SALES! I teach our sport sales class and therefore am in contact with many sport organizations at all levels and everyone says the same thing…’train students to sell!’ I believe if students can learn the proper skills to communicate and sell, they will have an advantage over those who do not possess that skill set.

We created and run a “Breaking into Sport” networking event. I am a co-founder, along with my friend, Landon Owen (Sr. Dir. Of Ticketing and Service, at Bristol Motor Speedway). This event hosts 30+ sport organizations and 150+ sport management students. This allows us faculty time to talk with each organization about their needs (we do surveys). Top of the list each year is their need for young employees to have sales experience or possess knowledge in sport sales.

Sports Degrees Online: Finally, what are some of the selling points of why students should consider pursuing a sport management degree in Tennessee? How is the sports economy generally in the region, and what are some of the major employers where your graduates are finding jobs?

Dr. Greene: I feel strongly that our sport management program at E.T.S.U. is among one of the top because of the relationships our faculty have with students and industry professionals. These close connections allow students to get involved in the industry early on during their time in our program. We also offer the Breaking into Sport networking event which hosts many sport organizations from our region. This allows students to meet those who work in sport, in our region.

As I stated before, our students are working in the industry through internships and volunteer experiences as early as freshman and sophomore years. They can develop a strong regional sport industry network as they complete their degree. As we all know, the sport industry is a tight knit group, so when our students are ready to graduate, they not only have a regional network of professionals, but those they have worked for as an intern or volunteer have extensive networks.

A great example is when students go and work for Landon Owen at BMS, in ticketing, he is often willing to make calls on their behalf to help land interviews with different sport organizations. Just last week Landon made a call to Memphis Grizzlies about a student who had worked hard for him. The student is now one of the Grizzlies top sellers!

Some of the major employers for our students are: Bristol Motor Speedway (NASCAR) Bristol Dragway (NHRA) Boyd Sport, LLC (college wood bat summer league baseball, 5 teams in our region) E.T.S.U. athletic department Golf clubs in our region