10: College Athletic Apparel Deals with David Teel

In this episode, Peter Ott discusses the University of Virginia’s recent extension of its athletic apparel deal with Nike with David Teel, an award-winning columnist for the Daily Press, an newspaper that covers the Hampton Roads metro area of Virginia. Interestingly enough, neither Nike nor the University of Virginia seemed eager to publicize the deal much, which provides an interesting contrast to past agreements between universities and athletic apparel companies. Mr. Teel provides an interesting and informed perspective into this current deal and how these deals have evolved over time. You can follow Mr. Teel on twitter here or order his book “Press Pass: Thirty Years of Bylines, Headlines and Deadlines” here. Mr. Teel was able to learn about this detail through his reporting work.

• • •

Episode 4: NCAA Issues with Sonny Vaccaro

In this episode (the second of a two part series), Peter Ott speaks with Sports Marketing legend Sonny Vaccaro about his advocacy on behalf of college athletes. Sonny was recently the subject of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled “Sole Man.” That movie looked at the broad outline of his life, from his start in Trafford, Pennsylvania to his signing of Michael Jordan to his first Nike deal to his recent advocacy on behalf of college athletes. In this podcast, Sonny discusses what he thinks is wrong with the current NCAA system. He outlines how he thinks that college athletes are being exploited by the NCAA and its member schools and he discusses the O’Bannon lawsuit.

• • •

Episode 3: The Career of Sonny Vaccaro

In this episode (the first of a two part series), Peter Ott speaks with Sports Marketing legend Sonny Vaccaro about his career. Sonny was recently the subject of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled “Sole Man.” That movie looked at the broad outline of his life, from his start in Trafford, Pennsylvania to his signing of Michael Jordan to his first Nike deal to his recent advocacy on behalf of college athletes. This podcast starts with the assumption that listeners are already somewhat familiar with those aspects of Sonny’s life and explores some of the notable parts of Sonny’s life more in depth. This podcast brings out Sonny’s personality, as he discusses his personal and professional life and shares lessons that any #sportsbiz professional can take away from his life story.

• • •

Special Preview of Upcoming Sonny Vaccaro Podcast

I just finished recording a new podcast with legendary sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro. It should be a good one, as we covered a wide variety of topics including his time with Nike, his dealing with Michael Jordan, his innovations in grassroots basketball, and his advocacy on behalf of college athletes. I plan on releasing it next week.

• • •