Northwoods Kalamazoo Growlers

Ohio University & Kalamazoo Growlers Create Virtual Sales Academy

Published on October 21, 2021 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release


KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Growlers Baseball Club and Ohio University are teaming up for an unprecedented project with Ohio University Sports Administration students creating a virtual sales academy on campus. While still attending classes and residing in Athens, Ohio, five Bobcat students will be interacting with fans and selling ticket packages for the team based in Kalamazoo, MI.

Jim Kahler, Executive in Residence for Ohio University's Sports Administration Program and professor of the Sport Management undergraduate ticket sales class, will be leading the charge for Ohio University. Jim will select students in his class, as well as select members of Ohio's Sports Business Association, a student organization, and educate about the best ticket sales strategies implemented across the country.

Brian Colopy, Owner of the Growlers and OU alumnus of 2009, and CJ Hurley, Corporate Partnerships Manager of the Growlers and OU alumnus of 2020, will be heading up the project from Kalamazoo. Brian and CJ will conduct virtual training sessions and online interviews to select five students for the inaugural Ohio U. Virtual Sales Academy. Once chosen, the five Bobcat students will receive continual training all semester and experience actual, hands-on sales experience with the Growlers ticket team - while still participating in classes and organizations from Athens, Ohio. The students will be interacting as if they were based in the local community of Kalamazoo.

The idea was successfully beta-tested in 2019 with CJ Hurley as a virtual Inside/Groups ticket representative. Through making calls and generating revenue while still living on Ohio University's campus as a student, CJ realized this was not only doable - but a fantastic opportunity for students looking for hands-on ticket sales experience and a team looking to generate more revenue for their ticket department.

Training sessions for the Ohio U. Sales Academy will begin on November 2nd, and training/virtual interviews will continue later the same month. The five chosen students will be announced in December, and they'll begin making sales calls prior to the holiday break.

The Kalamazoo Growlers are a summer collegiate baseball team in Southwest Michigan and a proud member of the Northwoods League. Their season runs late May through mid-August, and they continually rank top 10 in total summer collegiate attendance nationwide.

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