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Eric Nichols was named director of marketing for the University of South Carolina athletics department in June 2008. Nichols oversees all aspects of athletics marketing and serves as the marketing liaison to the athletics ticket office, website and video production, as well as Gamecock Sports Properties, Barnes & Noble merchandising, university licensing and communications and Global Spectrum. Nichols came to South Carolina following a successful stint at Vanderbilt University, where he served as the athletics department's director of marketing and promotions beginning in January 2004. Under his guidance, net ticket revenue grew 50 percent in four years, adding millions of dollars to Vanderbilt's athletics bottom line. Season football ticket sales doubled to an 11-year high-water mark in 2007 despite the team not having a winning record in this window of time. Men's basketball and baseball games were sold out on a season basis and the 2007-08 women's basketball average attendance also jumped from 33rd to 17th in the country. Nichols also created the highly popular "Vandyville" promotion, a pre-game football village of tailgates and activities. Nichols first started at Vanderbilt in 1998 as an assistant director of facilities. He was director of game operations from 2000 to 2002 before being promoted to director of online services, a position he held for two years. His outstanding work with the department's official website led to his promotion to director of marketing in 2004. Nichols served on the athletics department's senior administrative team, the university's executive communications council and was an adjunct professor at Belmont University's master of sport administration program. He is a graduate of Leadership Vanderbilt, a member of the American Marketing Association and the United Way of Middle Tennessee Marketing Committee, has spoken at the NACDA Conference (2007) and has completed an Executive Leadership Class at Vanderbilt's Owen School of Business. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree from the University of Tennessee-Martin, where he also spent time as a graduate assistant coach for women's volleyball. Eric and his wife Christina have one daughter, Grace. |
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