Money Talks: What Pro Sports Can Teach College Sports

Wednesday, November 12 | 12:30 PM ET

Money Talks: What Pro Sports Can Teach College Sports

This episode of SBJ Live offers a timely conversation on how professional sports practices are shaping the future of college athletics. As schools hire CEOs and explore private equity investment, expectations for operational excellence are rising. This episode will examine what college programs can learn from pro sports in areas such as ticketing, hospitality, and sponsorship strategy—and how these lessons can drive sustainable growth and fan engagement.

What We Will Discuss:

• How pro sports have optimized ticketing and dynamic pricing—and what that means for college venues.
• Hospitality innovations: premium experiences, suites, and service models colleges can adopt.
• Sponsorship best practices from pro leagues and teams, including category management and activation playbooks.
• The implications of CEO-style leadership and potential private equity involvement for governance and revenue models.
• Transferable insights for athletic departments navigating a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Who Should Attend:

Athletic directors, college sports executives, ticketing and hospitality professionals, sponsorship managers, agency leaders, and anyone interested in the intersection of pro and college sports business.

Featured Speakers (Additional to be Announced)

Andrew Donovan has been one of the most influential voices in shaping the future of college athletics. Since joining Altius Sports Partners in 2021, and being elevated to President in September 2025, he has helped guide the industry through its most transformative era, driving new models of collaboration between schools, brands, and athletes.

Before becoming President, Andrew led Altius’ College Division, overseeing partnerships with more than 40 Division I programs, including nearly half of the Power Four. His leadership expanded Altius’ reach into brand partnerships with companies like Verizon and Powerade, positioning the firm at the center of the evolving college sports economy.

As President, Andrew oversees all school business and brand partnerships, steering Altius’ strategy across revenue generation, operational enhancement, stakeholder collaboration, and rule-change initiatives. His vision and leadership have transformed Altius from a fast-growing consultancy into an industry-leading force, reshaping how colleges and brands approach key challenges within the collegiate athletics landscape, including departmental revenue optimization and athlete licensing and NIL engagement.

Prior to joining Altius, Andrew served as Sr. Associate Athletics Director for Regulatory Affairs at Tennessee, where he managed compliance for 20 teams and launched one of the nation’s first NIL education programs. He also held compliance leadership roles at Marshall University and LSU.

Rob Higgins has been announced by the University of South Florida as the university’s first-ever CEO of Athletics on Sept. 9, 2025, following a comprehensive national search.

Higgins previously served as executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission since 2004, successfully positioning the region as one of the nation’s premier destinations in sports and entertainment, including hosting two Super Bowls, a College Football Playoff National Championship and a long list of other high-profile events during his tenure. Higgins, a former USF Athletics staff member, becomes the first USF alum to lead the department.

Higgins served as the president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee in 2021 and was on the bid and operations committee that hosted Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. In addition to the two Super Bowls, events the region has hosted and/or been awarded since he joined the Tampa Bay Sports Commission include the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four on four occasions, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament three times, the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in hockey three times, the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship twice, the NHL All-Star Weekend, NHL Stadium Series and WrestleMania 37.

Among his accolades, Higgins was named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Power 100 each of the last five years, selected for Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “30 Under 30” list, the Tampa Bay Times named him one of the top 10 difference makers in Tampa Bay and Huffington Post listed him as one of the top 30 sports marketers in the world.

Higgins’ connection to USF started at an early age. Shortly after attending his first men’s basketball game at age 8, he became a ball kid for the team. After graduating from USF, he worked as a staff member for USF Athletics, helping oversee facilities and event management. He was inducted into USF’s Zimmerman School of Advertising Hall of Fame in 2015 and in May 2025 he received the Distinguished Citizen Award at USF Commencement.

Jared Kozinn is the Deputy Athletics Director, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer for Michigan State Athletics where he is responsible for maximizing and diversifying revenue streams within Michigan State Athletics. Jared oversees partnerships, marketing, branding & creative services, sports information and ticketing.  Prior to joining Michigan State Athletics, Jared was the Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, Premium & Events for the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was responsible for overseeing and leading sales, activation and event operations while developing and enhancing relationships with current and prospective partners. 

Jared has also held various other corporate partnerships, premium and ticketing leadership roles for organizations in Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Hockey League. Jared grew up in Buffalo, NY and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before earning his J.D. and M.B.A. from Saint Louis University. 

Registration is free. All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar following the event.

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