The Sports Business Exchange

This week’s featured young sports business professional is Steven Gibbs from Hoop Mountain.

Name: Steven Gibbs

Age: 24

Name of Company(s) Hoop Mountain Basketball, Zero Gravity Basketball, Team New England Select Basketball, The Pingree School

Web Site: www.hoopmountain.com

Favorite sport to play: Basketball

Favorite sport to watch: Basketball

Favorite professional team(s):
Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins

Favorite college team(s):
Boston College Eagles, Syracuse Orange, UMass Minutemen, Harvard Crimson

Please briefly describe your background in sports business:
Director of Event Operations and Marketing for Hoop Mountain Basketball Corporation, a partner of the New England Recruiting Report. I also serve as managing partner for the Zero Gravity Basketball Tournament Series and coach basketball at Pingree, the current New England Prep School Basketball Champions.

If you could change one thing in sports business what would it be?
Exploitation of intercollegiate student-athletes. For example, John Wall brings in millions of dollars to the University of Kentucky, but will be forced to leave Coach Cal and company after just one year to support his family and go to the NBA. I feel as there should be a way for superstars like this to get a taste of the income they bring in which could possibly help college athletes stay and graduate before turning pro.

What’s your most prized possession that you display at your desk and why?
I proudly display a John Calipari signed “Refuse to Lose” Basketball on my desk. This gives myself the motivation to “Refuse to Lose” any business deal, any basketball game, and conflict that comes up while I am in the office.

Do you think you have encountered any unique challenges or advantages because of your age?
I feel that being in a decision making position at the age of 24 presents both its challenges and advantages. A challenge is certainly the fact of having to manage, and direct peers that are much older. A positive advantage of my age is the fact that I am not as tied down as an older professional who is married and has children, this allows me to work 80 hours a week, that is something some that are older simply cannot do.

What campaign do you think is working right now?
Title IX. I feel that this has made women’s sports grow leaps and bounds all the way from the youth to the college level. It is really been impressive to see the youth participation numbers among females playing athletics, and the rise in popularity in Women’s sports such as NCAA Women’s Basketball and the Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament.

What’s one issue in sports that needs to be addressed immediately for the betterment of the sport?
There are two major issues I see that need to be addressed. First would be all of the cheating and scandals in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Recruiting. The second and most obvious is the Bowl Championship Series, we must crown a true national champion on the field.

What’s the toughest part of your job and what’s the easiest part of your job?
Being in the events industry, outsiders often feel the hardest part of running a high quality event, is directing the actual event. I strongly, feel the most difficult part of event planning is the sales/marketing and operational planning prior to the event and the easiest part is actually operating the event on site. This holds true in both my current role in the basketball industry and my past role, in event operations at the NCAA Division I level.

If you could give one piece of advice to young sports business professionals coming up the ranks behind you, what would it be?
Network, Network, Network!!!