Since the days of the ancient Greek Olympics and Roman gladiators, people have been innately drawn to sports. We stand at rapt attention as we admire physical feats of speed, strength or endurance. The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched program on American TV, and it’s been reported that as many as five billion of the world’s eight billion inhabitants tuned in to watch last year’s World Cup. Yep, we love athletes.

However, in today’s highly competitive, hyperconnected world, legions of support are required to train and support sportspersons. Whether it entails poring over analytics that help players enhance their performance, cultivating sponsorships that provide financial support to collegiate athletic departments, or managing the digital assets that support disseminating sports-related content, numerous roles must be filled to support the business of sports. 

Here’s a look at one of several Deltasigs to helps connect fans to our favorite sports.

Chris Boline, Nevada-Reno
Business Development Manager for Learfield Sports' Wolf Pack Sports Properties 

Chris, a Reno native, earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nevada-Reno. As the sports editor at his high school and college publications, passionate fandom is in his blood. He majored in business management and minored in economics. After graduation, he worked for the Reno Bighorns, the town’s NBA feeder league basketball team, and currently works as a business development manager for Learfield Sports’ Wolf Pack Sports Properties, which manages all promotional aspects of Nevada-Reno sports. Chris arranges sponsorships that financially support the school’s athletic department.

"For fans, it’s about more than wins and losses,” Boline said. “This is the community’s college team, and we want to leverage this passion to connect Wolf Pack alums and fans to our sponsors.”

The sponsorships Chris arrange represent a wide range of businesses and enterprises. There are national accounts, such as Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo, but there is an emphasis on local and regional businesses that want to raise brand awareness among the team’s fans, such as a local pizza chain, healthcare system, bank and car dealership. When Boline’s team takes on a new sponsor, branding becomes broad-spectrum attention. 

“From digital and radio advertising to stadium signage and hospitality at sports events, every representation of a sponsor’s brand has to be spot-on,” Boline said. “To be successful in this role, you have to have an understanding of the client’s priorities and expectations to know you can deliver ROI to them. Above all, strong interpersonal skills are key, and you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable to really engage and understand clients.”

The school’s athletic department has raised its profile by joining the Mountain West Conference, and the revenue generated from sponsorships has enabled the school to build new softball fields, the Roman Sessions Center, a training facility for Nevada-Reno’s basketball program, and a state-of-the-art natatorium for the school’s swim team.

Boline said the most important lesson he learned from his time in Delta Sigma Pi was the ability to network and feel comfortable meeting people in professional environments. 

Check back for more spotlights in this series!