Wilson Returns to Provide Experience for Future Leaders in Sports Business

Game Changers will support projects with The Dreamville Chi-League Powered by Wilson.

Atlanta, GA – Today, The Winning Edge Leadership Academy announced ten Game Changers that make up the second cohort for the Gigs for Game Changers (G4G) initiative with Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods. This diverse cohort of student-athletes and young professionals will work remotely and on location in Chicago to support The Dreamville Chi-League powered by Wilson. After a four-year hiatus, Dreamville Records and Wilson have come together to revive one of basketball’s most celebrated competitions in Chicago, the landscape for Game Changers completing projects in marketing, operations, communications, and social responsibility.  

In addition to creating projects surrounding the summer Pro-Am tournament, Wilson mentors and Dreamville employees will engage Game Changers as they participate in career and professional development content including effective networking, compelling presentations, professional dining, best practices for social media, resume writing, maximizing their digital presence, interview prep and candid discussions with industry professionals on growing a successful career in sports business. The Winning Edge and Wilson will also collaborate on community events including a career panel and town hall.

Executive Director of The Winning Edge Corinne Milien said of the partnership:“Wilson returning this summer shows their continued commitment to promote diversity in sport business by providing the next generation of leaders access to mentorship, networking and workforce training. This unique experience will engage, empower, and elevate a diverse pool of talent as they continue or begin their career in the industry.”

The G4G: Wilson Summer 2021 cohort features student-athletes and young professionals representing nine schools. Three of the 10 Game Changers are currently in graduate school and one is competing professionally overseas.

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G4G: Wilson Summer 2021 Cohort

Communication & Social Media

Taya Reimer

Univ. of Notre Dame/Michigan State, Basketball

Julian Short

Indiana University East, Basketball

Corporate & Social Responsibility

Timothy Harris

Loyola University Chicago, Track & Field

Elijah Morgan

University of Notre Dame, Basketball

Event Operations

Quinton Pryor

Valencia College

David Jean-Baptiste

Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Basketball

Marketing Strategy

Sydney Wood

Northwestern University, Basketball

Jarrin Randall

Davenport University, Basketball

Storytelling Through Product

Kris Wooten

Elon University, Basketball

Jordan Haywood

Elon University, Track & Field

About The Dreamville Chi-League Powered by Wilson:

Known to bring together current NBA stars, former collegiate standouts and local high school legends, the NBA-sanctioned pro-am will feature a men’s bracket consisting of eight 10-player teams in a single-elimination tournament hosted at Chicago State on Sunday, Aug. 8, Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. For the first time, Chi-League will include a women’s bracket comprised of four 10-player teams that will play the final two weekends, following the same format.

When planning the comeback, allyship through the power of sport was equally as important as continuing Chi-League’s on-court traditions. Through the new Chi-League, Wilson will work alongside Dreamville to provide the opportunity to build bonds with its local Chicago basketball community in multiple ways:

• Wilson and Dreamville will co-host youth clinics each Saturday of the league, working with local trainers and Chi-League coaches at the South Side YMCA (63rd St. & Stony Island Ave.)

• The Winning Edge will facilitate a Town Hall to build a long-term relationship with the local community and enable allyship through action.

• Local black-owned businesses from the surrounding neighborhoods will be engaged for on-site concessions and entertainment.

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To play in The Dreamville Chi-League Powered by Wilson email Jobba Maxey: jobbajordan@gmail.com

Wilson Contact – Sarah Houseknecht: sarah.houseknecht@wilson.com.

Facebook Black Creative Network: Taylor Middleton

Written by Taylor Middleton
Graduate Assistant, Dr. Richard Lapchick and The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports

I am a proud graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where I also competed as a track and field athlete. During my time on campus I gained not only an interest in sports marketing but I landed a first-class mentor. After working with Markeisha Everett, Assistant Athletic Director of Marketing during my senior year. My mentor helped me understand how my interests could turn into a career which brought me to a recent opportunity with The Winning Edge Leadership Academy and their partnership with Facebook.  As a current graduate assistant with Dr. Richard Lapchick in the DeVos Sports Business Management program I have learned a lot but I am always looking for more experience to further my knowledge in marketing. Thankfully through Facebook's Black Creative Network, I had the opportunity to polish my skills in marketing and explore the business of social media.    

After learning about the program from my mentor and having a conversation with Corinne, I started working on a project with Erin Kane of The Clarion Agency and their client, Arike Ogunbowale, a guard for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings. My objective for the project was to advise on content ideas and share how Arike could leverage Facebook and Instagram to increase her engagement.

Coming out of the first few meetings with The Clarion Agency and the team at Facebook, I performed an audit of Arike’s social media that identified opportunities to grow her audience. Using data from the audit, I developed and shared a social strategy that highlighted Arike’s personality and showcased her interests on Faceboom and Instagram. 

Throughout the project, I was nervous because I knew I had a lot of great ideas but I did not know where to start. As a student-athlete competing and training at the collegiate level,  I didn’t get the opportunity to participate in many internships. I knew this would be my first test to show my ability. I was not feeling the first draft of my audit. I felt it was not up to par and it was too bland. After a lot of trial and error and working with my network to find additional resources I delivered an audit I thought was worth presenting to the group. I got great feedback from Arike and The Clarion Agency followed by the green light to continue the project. 

That green light, meant it was time to actually put together a strategy. Social media is a fast paced platform with trends changing all the time. To get a better understanding of the full capabilities with Facebook and Instagram I met with Nick Marquez, Lead of North American Sports Team Partnerships at Facebook sports.  We discussed the different ways I could suggest consistent execution of content on Arike’s platforms to meet her goals. 

At the end of the project, I delivered social content calendars for the two different platforms. It was a lot of hard work and I spent many nights making sure everything was in order because I really wanted to show I was capable of providing Arike what she wanted.

Overall, this experience was amazing! It taught me the value of the work I want to do and want to continue doing in sports business. What has been even better is watching Arike’s account grow since I provided my deliverables. Her Instagram started at 109K at the beginning of May and is now sitting at 114K and counting. I am very appreciative of The Winning Edge and Facebook for giving me this opportunity. I learned throughout this experience to always find a way to do something better, never settle, and always push yourself past a surface level of work. 

G4G: Wilson Spring 2021 Recap

10 current and former minority student-athletes took part in the first cohort for the “Gigs for Game Changers” initiative with Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods. During the six-week program, Game Changers worked remotely with Wilson mentors to complete five short-term projects with the marketing department of Wilson’s Team Sports division. Game Changers gained experience working in a variety of marketing functions, built their network through ongoing meetings with Wilson leadership and professional development sessions, culminating with a presentation of their findings at the conclusion of the program.

PROJECTS

Developing an Actionable Persona for Today’s Avid Athlete

How Consumer Insights Influence Product Development

How to Measure Marketing Efficacy Across Touch Points

Understanding and Forming a POV on the new NCAA Name, Image & Likeness Rules

Identifying a Micro-Influencer Roster for Your Brand

Facebook Black Creative Network: Aaron Chapman

University of Washington alum and former athlete, Aaron Chapman is a self-taught director and editor who has spent the past few months working with the Washington Football Team to create mobile based ads for their upcoming season.

Click the image to hear about Aaron’s experience.