Oct. 6, 2008

1.) Name: Sean Briner

2.) Current Position & Employer

Associate Athletic Director, Marketing/Sales at San Diego State

3.) # Years in current position

Third

4.) Why/when did you decide to pursue a career in college athletics?

Only after finishing college and starting a high school teaching/coaching career did I realize that college athletics was the ultimate job for me. Different profession, but a similar goal - to make a difference in the lives of young people.

5.) Who do you consider to be your role model in this industry?

There are many who deserve credit for that, but three come to mind immediately. Steve Becvar offered me my first job in collegiate athletics at Air Force and is still a mentor today. I learned a ton from Mike Karabin at Toledo, a pioneer of the corporate sponsorship sales "in-house" philosophy that was a tremendous success there. Jeff Schemmel here at San Diego State constantly talks about it being "all about the kids", and I admire that about his leadership.

6.) What are your career aspirations?

My number one goal is to strive toward making a difference for student-athletes. Becoming an athletic director one day is another.

7.) How important do you feel your involvement is with NACMA in terms of continuing to grow your career?

We all know that networking is vitally important in college athletics, not necessarily to find the "next job," but to share ideas and learn new things that make sense for your campus. Best of all, NACMA is an opportunity to develop friendships.

8.) What is your favorite memory from your job, or project you are most proud of?

Without a doubt, the people I've worked with over the years.

9.) Were you ever involved in a marketing "blunder"? If so, please explain!

Discovering an error in a football game day program advertisement that involved a current student-athlete, and having to recruit about 30 people to help remove the ad from about 10,000 game programs on a Friday night!

That's a tough one. There are so many great coaches with such different personalities. I'd say that Fisher DeBerry impacted me in a couple of ways. Nobody got more out of his team than Coach DeBerry. And nobody genuinely cared more about the people he worked with, including their families, than Coach.

11.) What do you feel is the most important quality for those early in the profession to posses?

Do not be afraid to fail. Even the absolute best marketing concepts or plans just might not work as intended, sometimes due to factors out of your control. Learn from it and move on!

12.) What advice would you give to those who are looking to venture into the field of collegiate athletics marketing?

Find as much experience as soon as you can. Only after graduating from Ohio State did I figure out that college sports was the career for me. What a missed opportunity during my undergraduate years! I look at the 12 undergraduate marketing interns we have currently at San Diego State and am very proud of what they are learning and the experience they are gaining. And I see being a mentor to them as my way of giving back.

13.) In your opinion, where is collegiate athletics marketing headed in the future?:

Of course higher expectations to make an impact on revenue production. Making sure that we communicate the uniqueness of college athletics in our messaging. A constant challenge for everyone is to stay ahead of, or up with changing technology!

14.) What is the best advice anyone have ever given you?

The best professional advice I've received is to make sure your job is something that you love.

15.) Who are the people who have influenced you the most?

Without question my parents, who have always been tremendous role models and extremely supportive.