For more stories from the College of Business, read the 2013 Exchange Magazine.
Although the “pitch” takes
on different meanings in marketing and soccer, both definitions hold a special place at the heart of Courtney Carter’s success.
A soccer standout while at Oregon State, the College of Business graduate entered the world of sports marketing after preparing on the field, in Bexell Hall and through internships.
Currently with Sports Management & CreativeWORKS at ESPN, Carter attributes athletics for developing many of the skills that helped her succeed professionally. From time management and prioritization,
to interpersonal relationships and leadership, Carter has seen it translate to the business world.
“All of the time management skills that students struggle with, from an athlete-perspective, is somewhat forced because you have responsibilities to your teammates, your coaches and to representing your school, on top of keeping up your grades and classwork,” Carter said.
The time management skills she learned as a student-athlete were
not the only benefit of the sport. Even an injury led to preparation for her career. While redshirting for a year
due to a broken leg, Carter obtained an internship with the New York Knicks in New York City—something she may not have had the opportunity to do had she remained injury-free.
With the support of the College of Business, Carter was able to spend two quarters helping create and direct the New York Knicks in-arena experience and learning first-hand the fast-paced world of sports marketing. Following her internship, Carter returned to Corvallis to play her final year of soccer and finish her degree. Upon graduation, she returned to the New York Knicks as a full-time Account Executive.
Carter firmly believes that soccer, “made me the woman I am off the field,” and that is one driven to succeed. After spending what she calls her “growing up years” working for Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing within Business Development, Carter moved to ESPN, where she is currently part of the sports management and creative team that generates and implements marketing solutions for clients such as Nissan, Diet Mountain Dew, StubHub, Diageo Brands and Infiniti.
A commitment to sports keeps
her active in giving back, serving as National Board Member and Chair of the Business Development Committee for Women In Sports & Events (WISE). Her accomplishments also include production of a short film titled “Hearts Gamble,” which won Best Short Screenplay at the Manhattan Film Festival, and Best Short Film at the Las Vegas International Film Festival.
The impact the College of Business has had on Carter’s success does not go unrecognized. Carter keeps a copy of Leading at the Edge by Dennis N. T. Perkins, a textbook from Professor Jack Drexler’s leadership class, within arm’s reach at her desk.
“I loved the class, and loved the way he taught it,” Carter said. “It taught
me a lot in terms of interpersonal relationships, how you deal when someone doesn’t like the idea or if they want something else to happen. It’s the closest to real life you could have gotten in school. That’s one thing that is hard to recreate in an academic setting.”
She also cites Professor Jim McAlexander’s marketing class and Professor Clay Dibrell’s strategic management class as being influential. Not surprisingly, leadership, marketing
and strategic management are the three aspects Carter enjoys the most, and she appreciates how the classes were taught in a fun manner, while remaining relevant.
Carter lives by the statement “you never stop being an athlete.” She continues to play soccer—now at a semi-pro level in New York City—and plans to make sports and entertainment her lifelong career.
Hall of Fans
Of her accomplishments at ESPN, Carter points to the Hall of Fans as being one of her favorite projects. With Stubhub as the sponsor, the Hall of Fans was designed to honor super- fans of the sports world, and give them the recognition that they deserve for the integral role they play.
Carter worked with her creative
team to take the Hall of Fans concept
from an idea to a full-blown brand
and marketing campaign. Carter had a
hunch this was going to be big – after
all, it was designed as an outlet for boisterous, over-the-top fans to demonstrate their passion to the world.
The socially-fueled marketing campaign was launched at the ESPY’s in 2012, with a three-week call for entries in which fans uploaded an essay, picture or video to thehalloffans.com. A panel of judges narrowed over 5,000 entries down to ten. Videos of those ten were then posted online for America to vote on.
The first class inducted include three fans deemed the ultimate in sports
by the voting power of America: Emily Pitek, Alabama Crimson Tide softball fan; Captain Dee-Fense, Baltimore Ravens fan; and The Green Men, Vancouver Canucks fans. They were honored at a ceremony at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., on Sept. 19, 2012.
The Hall of Fans is expected to gain even more traction in its second year, and the search for the next class to be inducted into the Hall of Fans begins in the summer of 2013. Carter reflects, “It was really fun for me to be involved from the ground up in creating a brand and building what we envision being an institution we can offer fans for years to come.”
