Miscellaneous
Welcome to Episode 22 of the Front Office Exchange podcast, featuring Ken Halpin, Athletics Director for Winthrop University, a public school in Rock Hill, S.C., which is just south of Charlotte, and a member of the Big South Conference. So, what were you doing in sports business in your mid-30s? That's what I kept asking myself when talking to Ken, Winthrop's new AD as of last summer. He's a PhD with an early career outside of sports business, and he's hit the ground running here in the greater Charlotte area with Winthrop. I was referred to Ken by past guest Troy Kirby, and he was as-advertised: super impressive and a clear rising star in the industry. Ken discussed what it was like for him - both personally and professionally - to move his family from the west to east coast while giving a unique look into what the first six months are like for a new and first-time AD. He could not stress the importance of his PhD enough, and said that learning the value of revenue generation early on in his career has helped him immensely as he's progressed. One piece of advice he was given by a mentor that shared related back to his graduate degree, and the doubts he had when considering enrolling. "Stop thinking about how smart you are or aren't," the mentor said. "It's about persistence and how hard you will work." I think that's something we can all appreciate. Big thanks both to Ken and to you for listening. For show notes, past episodes and more, please visit us at www.frontofficeexchange.com, on Facebook at Front Office Exchange and on Twitter at @frontofficeexch. Please also feel free to reach out to me directly at jake@frontofficeexchange.com and on Twitter at @jakefehling. This and past episodes of Front Office Exchange are available on iTunes and SoundCloud, among other places, and I encourage you to subscribe, share episodes, rate them, add comments, and suggest ideas for future guests.