Event Recap: NACDA/NACMA Convention 2015
The 3 Point Productions team returned to Orlando last week for the 50th Annual NACDA Convention (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics), where thousands of attendees from the college sports industry represented athletic department staff members, corporate brand managers, sports agencies and vendors. This year, 3PT increased our involvement as an official sponsor of NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators), an organization that we support wholeheartedly for the great work they do with athletic departments and their marketing staffs across the nation.
Michigan State AD, Mark Hollis, gave an inspiring keynote speech to kickoff the conference.
There were many highlights to the week in Orlando and I’d like to take the time to highlight a few. The keynote speaker for NACMA’s kickoff session was Michigan State AD, Mark Hollis, one of the most innovative minds in the world of college sports. He has spearheaded the creation of several landmark events over the years, such as hockey and basketball games staged in a football stadium and the first basketball game on an aircraft carrier. If you have an opportunity to cross paths with Hollis or hear him speak, it’s well worth the price of admission.
Another highlight was the NACMA Marketing Team of the Year award, which went to the University of Maryland (honorable mention to BYU and University of Arizona). The Terrapins have made a nationwide splash with the notoriety gained through some of their in-arena flash mobs and outside the box approach to enhancing the gameday experience. The award was well deserved and I look forward to seeing more of what Maryland has in the works for the upcoming academic year.
In the breakout sessions, one topic in particular stood out that I feel stirs up some of the strongest debates around the country…the balance of band and canned music at college games. It was interesting to hear the varying opinions from school to school, with a wide range of approaches. At the end of the day, I think the most important takeaway from this discussion is that it isn’t a band vs. canned music debate; the focus should be how to effectively integrate both into the game presentation as they each serve as strong resources of entertainment.
Even University of North Carolina AD, Bubba Cunningham, stopped by the booth to throw a few footballs.
Our trip to Orlando was well worth the trip, we even had some fun with the 3PT football toss contest, which many of the attendees participated in at our exhibit booth and won 3PT t-shirts, mini-hoops and golf balls. If you are involved in college athletics and aren't already aware of the annual NACDA Convention, it is definitely worth checking out.