Our Alumni

At least 280 graduates of Rice University are employed full time in the sports and entertainment industry. As of Spring 2024, these graduates include:

Click on any industry to scroll into view.

PRO TEAMS | APPAREL | GOVERNING | MEDIA | ANALYTICS | MARKETING | AGENCIES | EVENTS | COLLEGE ATHLETICS | COACHING | HIGH SCHOOL | TRAINING


Pro Sports Teams

Organization Alumnus Position
Austin FC Marcus Martinez '21 High Performance Data Analyst
Baltimore Orioles Chad Tatum '17 Manager, Domestic Scouting
Baltimore Ravens OJ Brigance '92 Senior Advisor of Player Development
Baltimore Ravens Corey Frazier '12 Pro Scout
Buffalo Bills Jaylon Finner '14 Defensive Quality Control Coach
Carolina Panthers Frank Okam (MLS '16) Defensive Line Coach
Chicago Bulls Jimmy “JJ” Polk ‘97 Assistant General Manager
Chicago White Sox Paul Janisch '18 Director of Player Development
Cincinnati Bengals James Casey '11 Tight Ends Coach
Cincinnati Bengals Justin Hill '11 Running Backs Coach
Cincinnati Reds Vanessa Shannon '99 Director of Mental Skills
Dallas Cowboys Klein Kubiak '13 National Scout/Special Projects
Dallas Cowboys Will McClay '89 Vice President of Player Personnel
Fenerbache Sports Club Ali Koc '89 President
Friedkin Group (AC Roma) Brian Walker (MBA '12) VP, Sport Investment Strategy and Development
Houston Astros Thomas Avalos '23 Account Executive
Houston Astros Jimmy Comerota '10 Director of Corporate Partnership Sales
Houston Astros Kyle McLaughlin (MBA '21) Player Operations Assistant
Houston Rockets Julian Duncan '99 (MBA '06) Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer
Houston Rockets Jacob Kauffman '23 Business Analyst
Houston Rockets Travis Stockbridge '15 Scouting Coordinator / GM of RGV Vipers
Houston Texans Steven Johnson (MBA) '11 Vice President, Planning and Strategy
Houston Texans Ishan Mehta '19 Data Scientist
Los Angeles Dodgers Danny Lehmann '15 Game Planning and Communications Coach
Maine Celtics Dajuan Eubanks '94 President
MSG (NY Knicks, NY Rangers, etc.) Matthew Weingast '10 Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs
New York Knicks Nick Fleder '17 Senior Manager, Insights and Amateur Scouting
New York Yankees Dominic Cox '21 Affiliate Video Manager
Oklahoma City Thunder Mike Wilks Assistant Coach
San Diego Padres Mario Paciuc ‘20 Baseball Research and Development Analyst
Seattle Seahawks Larry Izzo '96 Special Teams Coordinator
Texas Rangers Austin Kubitza '19 Account Executive - New Business Development
Toronto Raptors Dr. Lacee Carmon-Johnson '08 Manager, Basketball Advancement
Washington Nationals Cody Staab '19 Area Supervisor
Wisconsin Herd Arte Culver '06 President of Basketball Operations

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Sports Apparel & Manufacturers

Organization Alumnus Position
Academy Sports + Outdoors Mary Mikell Lampton '14 Measurement and Competitive Intelligence Analyst
Academy Sports + Outdoors Lilly Marrow '14 Sr. Merchandise Presentation Space Planner
Altra Christian Villescas '16 Running Product Developer
Athleta Christine Lo '19 Social Media Marketing Coordinator
Athleta / Gap Stephanie Wei '13 Director of Consumer Insights
BSN Sports Ryan McCarthy '15 Territory Sales Manager
Columbia Sportswear Booth Babcock '94 Senior Real Estate Manager
Converse Florence Hahn '91 Sr. Technical Product Manager - Product Creation
Fanatics Christina Fangos '07 Associate General Counsel
Fitbit Mike Lytle '11 Product Manager
H2I Group Brian Smith '14 Territory Manager - East Texas, Eastern Oklahoma & Arkansas
Hobie Cat Bill Van Vooren '99 VP, Business Process and Data Analytics
Johnson Outdoors Cherry Rafferty (MEE '99) Senior Software Engineer
Kettlebell Kings Chad Price ’07 Co-Founder/Managing Partner
Legends Global Merchandising Kate Jablonski '23 Assistant Event Manager
Markwort Sporting Goods Glenn Markwort '75 Vice President
Nike Alex Cameron '04 Sr. Director, Sustainable Football
Nike Gabrien Clark '14 Director, Nike Direct Inline Stores Analytics
Nike Carrie Ding (MBA '20) Program Manager, Global Marketplace Operations, Strategy and Capabilities
Nike Carly Frennea (MBA '07, Ph.D. '15) Director of Strategic Planning (Global Consumer Direct Sciences)
Nike Matt Geiger '07 Retail Designer, NA Retail Design
Nike Christine Jeon '12 Strategy and Innovation Director
Nike Jennifer Judy '93 Heritage and Culture Program Manager: WHQ Meetings & Events
Nike Allison Luthy-Kaplan (MBA '19) Marketplace Operations Manager, NA Seasonal Readiness
Nike Robert Mardock (MBA '07) Business Ops & Planner Manager - Global Brand Imaging
Nike Marielle Morris '18 Machine Learning Engineer
Nike Madison Nasteff '19 Shoe Design Engineer
Nike Torsten Nullmeier '82 Finance Director, Northern Europe
Nike Carlo Quinonez '03 Business Operations Director, Marketplace Operations
Nike Jason Petro '17 Senior Analyst - Launch Operations
Nike Allie Schaich '15 Direct Digital Commerce Manager
Nike Jesse Tsu '11 Director, SNKRS Launch
Nike Reuben Uy '03 Senior Software Engineer
On Running Jerry Fuqua '82 Regional Sales Representative
PUMA Group (Germany) Victoria Smirnova '22 Global Brand PR Intern
PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf) Grace Wilson '21 Product Test Engineer
REI Jason Tung '04 DVP, Strategy and Corporate Development
Star Innovations Nicole Gresham Perry '89 CEO
TaylorMade Adidas Golf Company John Lukin '00 Vice President, Global Legal
TenCate Grass Troy Squires ‘77 Vice President of Business Development
Tennis-Point Adam Gustaffson '16 Country Manager - Sweden
Under Armour Elena Gumbs '16 Associate Product Line Manager, Curry Footwear
Under Armour Daniel Pessing '05 Sr. Merchant, Footwear - Americas Merchandising
Wilson Sporting Goods Lindsey Hodge '18 National Account Manager

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Sports Governing Bodies

Organization Alumnus Position
ATP Tour Kon Haerle '06 Director of Player Relations
Canadian Forces Morale / Welfare Svcs. Scott Mitchell '11 Fitness and Sports Instructor
College Football Playoff Ryan Hall '02 Director of Public Events
Duael Track Ben Schragger '19 Co-Founder
Hamilton County Sports Authority Carl Daniels '88 Director
International Yacht Racing Federation Michael Bond (Vuitton) '97 Associate Director
Major League Baseball (MLB) Liz Hebert '17 Sr. Coordinator, Medical Operations
Major League Baseball (MLB) Justin Wolin '15 Sr. Manager, Club Business Operations and Strategy
MLB Player's Association Ian Penny '85 General Counsel
National Football Foundation Matthew Sign '92 Chief Operation Officer
National Basketball Association (NBA) Derek Liang '16 (MBA) Marketing Director, NBA China
National Football League (NFL) Ryan Glassman '13 Event Operations Manager
National Football League (NFL) Oliver Lin (MBA) IT Director, Business Relation/Enterprise Application
PGA Tour Ian Knight '87 Director of Championship Management
Special Olympics NY (Long Island) Emily Mohlin '21 Associate Director of Programs
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Louis Alvares '21 Business Development Coordinator
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Kristian Stengel '21 Global Partnerships
United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOC) Evangeline Rivera '10 Deputy General Counsel
U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) Catalina Santamaria '21 External Relations Strategy Extern
USA Swimming Ellery Parrish '21 Manager, Business Affairs
United States Tennis Association (USTA) Ellen Miller '85 National Faculty Coach, 10 and Under

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Sport & Entertainment Media

Organization Alumnus Position
Amazon Studios Farhaad Virani '01 Associate General Counsel
Apple TV Tori Bennette '12 Business Affairs
Bally Sports Timon Chiang '08 (MBA) VP, Product
Cloud Imperium Games Carlos Tafur '21 Workplace Assistant
Disney Streaming Services Westin Williams '14 Enterprise Portfolio Manager
Electronic Arts Taylor Crain '21 Positive Play Coordinator
Entertainment Studios Sarah Lyons '11 Associate Producer
ESPN Jeremy Mills '97 Statistics Manager
ESPN Jonathan Yardley '05 Play by Play Broadcaster
Fox Sports / NWSL Jen Cooper '90 Soccer Broadcast Production Researcher
MGM Milinda McNeeley '79 Sr. Vice President Legal and Business Affairs
NFL Films Jen Spell '22 Production Assistant
Space City Home Network Ashlee Austin '23 National Sales Coordinator
Sports Talk 790 ND Kalu '97 Sports Show Host
Walt Disney Company Michael Dobson '89 Sr. Tech Support Engineer
Walt Disney Company JP Lopez '96 Senior Manager, Human Resources
Warner Bros. Entertainment Roger Willard '04 (MBA) Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer

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Sport & Entertainment Analytics Firms

Organization Alumnus Position
Betfred Owen Wright '22 Trader
Big League Advantage Jason Gardner '21 Data Analyst
Blue Crow Sports Group Veronica Fereday (MBA '19) Director of Global Merchandising
Columbia Records Darren Defreeuw '08 Developer, Music Analytics
Electronic Arts - EA Mobile Sports Evan Stackpole '14 Marketing Analyst
Eon Sports VR Robert Brackenridge '06 (MBA) Director of Engineering
Eventellect Caroline Cobb '19 Sr. Pricing Analyst
Eventellect Max Cunningham '23 Data Scientist
Eventellect Asad Lalani '19 Sr. Account Analyst
Eventellect Michael Larimore (MBA '19) Director of Operations
Eventellect Manav Kabra '22 Analyst NBA/MLB
Eventellect Kevin Reilly '17 League Manager - MLS
Eventellect Henry Thurman '23 Business Analyst
Eventellect David Zhou '19 Data Science Software Developer
FortressGB Austin Bulman '22 Client Support Analyst
Gametime Unlimited Spencer Boucher '11 Senior Data Scientist
The Power Rank Edward Feng '99 Founder
Rivalry Tech Aaron Knape (MBA '08) CEO
Second Spectrum Heaven Chen '13 Software Engineer
Sport Info Solutions Connor Ayubi '22 Basketball Strategy Analyst
Sport Info Solutions Sergio Santamaria '18 Director, Business Innovation & Data Solutions
SponsorUnited Trevor Vinklarek '20 Houston Market Manager
SportsTrace Alex Gardner '18 Chief Technology Officer
Swish Analytics Senthil Natarajan '17 Data Science Manager
X10 Capital Antonio Cruz '21 Director of Athlete Outreach
Zelus Analytics Ben Jedlovec '08 VP, Technology and Data

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Sport & Entertainment Marketing / Sponsorship Activation Firms

Organization Alumnus Position
College Sports Consultants Drew Scott '98 Founder
Columbia Records Darren Defreeuw '08 Developer, Music Analytics
Gatorade Jeramy Goodson '10 Market Development Manager - Athletic Channel
HoneyStinger Jashon Palmer '23 Marketing Coordinator
Kilowatt Events Laurel Smith '20 Operations Coordinator
Learfield - Gator Sports Properties Ashten Gholson '11 Senior Manager, Business Development
Learfield - Gator Sports Properties Taylor Rowe '23 Partnership Services Coordinator
LEARFIELD Amplify Brandon Evans '08 GM of Ticket Solutions, University of Houston
LEARFIELD Katie Worden '05 VP, Chief Compliance Officer
Legends Eric Heacock (MBA '05) VP Project Development
The Marketing Arm Benecia Newhouse '01 US Olympic Properties Executive / AT&T
Octagon Max Boekelmann '21 Sr. Account Executive, AB InBev Global Team
Octagon Financial Services Elizabeth Labue '21 Client Services Assistant
Portas Consulting Trey O'Neil '10 Senior Project Manager
Professional Sports Partners (PSP) Matthew Rutherford '20 Partnership Marketing Coordinator
Red Phoenix Diae El-Jardi '23 Executive Assistant
Sorare Satoshi Mitzutani '13 Marketplace Operations Manager
SponsorUnited Trevor Vinklarek '20 Houston Market Manager
Teall Sports Properties Jeremy Reiskind '17 Director of Operations

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Sport Agencies / Sport Law Firms / Athlete Foundations

Organization Alumnus Position
4th & 1 Venturers Paine Matiscik '18 Managing Partner
Athlete Licensing Company Bobby Bramhall '08 President and Co-founder
Ballengee Group Scott Lonergan '07 MLBPA Certified Agent
Bet on Self Sports Tamir Jackson '13 Co-Owner
Bond Schoeneck & King Richard Evrard '78 Partner - Collegiate Sports
The Collective Engine Tony Wylie'07 (MBA) Founder
The Familie Amalya Lewinson '17 Client Relations
Independent Sports & Entertainment Filip Zivojinovic '09 Sports Agent
Klutch Sports Group, LLC Marcus Thompson '22 Executive Assistant to Rich Paul
Ocean Avenue Entertainment Addison Owen '20 Assistant to Talent Manager
Priority Sports & Entertainment Matt Baldwin '00 Agent - Coaches, Broadcasters, Front Office
William Morris Endeavor (WME) Joe Branch (MBA '04) Head of On-Court Basketball Strategy

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Sport & Entertainment Facilities, Events / Event Management

Organization Alumnus Position
Bobby Jones Links Whitney Crouse '80 Founder
The Club at Las Campanas Brad Lardon '88 Director of Golf
The Factory in Deep Ellum Bailey Douglas '19 Box Office Manager
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Alexa Davidson '19 Social Media Coordinator
Hulencourt Golf Club Anastasia Smirnova '22 Assistant Manager
Insperity Invitational Tia Grippo '21 Tournament Coordinator
JCB Golf and Country Club Jake Benson '22 Golf Club Administrator
Live Nation Casey Marchbanks '09 Senior Attorney
Live Nation Clara Tse '10 Privacy Manager
Machete Group Georgina Woodworth '23 Project Coordinator
Music City Bowl Scott McGilberry '96 (MBA) Vice President of Finance and Administration
Next Level Sports Maddie Fowler '23 Marketing Associate
Palisades Tahoe Blair Lewis '19 Mountain Product Sales Manager
Pokatok Lawson Gow '13 Founder and CEO
SHF Enterprisees Sparky Frost '07 Owner
Shanghai Juss Event Management Wendy Zhang '18 Sponsorship Services
Straz Center for the Performing Arts Lindsey Douglas '21 Special Events Coordinator

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College Athletic Administration

Organization Alumnus Position
Boston University Athletics Scott Ellis '04 Associate Media Relations Director
Campbell University Athletics Peter Chung '23 Director of Player Personnel, Football
Cleveland State Athletics Haywood Cochrane '22 GA-Athletic Equipment and Events
Marshall University Athletics David Steele '82 Associate Athletics Director of Finance
Ono Academic College (Israeli) Adi Bichman '05 Director of Sports Studies
Rice University Athletics Chance Allshouse '22 Development Assistant
Rice University Athletics Brandon Deskins '21 Account Executive
Rice University Athletics Ashton Smith '22 Coordinator, Athletic Events and Rentals
Rice University - Department of Sport Management Adam Gurin '21 Baseball Analytics Coordinator
Sam Houston State University Athletics Bobby Williams '82 Athletic Director
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Athletics Mary Wallace '89 Associate Athletics Director for Business & Finance / Senior Woman Administrator
University of Texas-El Paso Athletics Nate Poss '78 Assistant Athletic Director of Operations - Football
Wake Forest Athletics Carol Anne Sowell '92 Compliance Coordinator
Western New England University Dr. Sejin Kim '15 Assistant Professor of Sport Management

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College Coaching

Organization Alumnus Position
Azusa Pacific University Andrea Blackett ‘97 Assistant Coach, Women’s Track and Field
Baylor University Athletics Ryan Pollard '16 Special Teams Analyst
George Fox University Athletics Carol Laube '88 Assistant Coach
Grambling State Athletics Everett Todd '84 Defensive Coordinator
Grinnell College Athletics Brent Barnes '75 Head Football Coach
Houston Christian University Athletics Lance Berkman '15 Head Baseball Coach
Houston Christian University Athletics Lo (Hughes) Rivas '16 Assistant Coach - Women's Soccer
Lesley University Athletics Martin Rather '18 Interim Head Women's Basketball Coach
Liberty University Athletics Shelby Livingstone '18 Assistant Women's Volleyball Coach
Middlebury College Athletics Nicole Wilkerson '93 Head Coach - Women's Track / Cross Country
North Carolina State Athletics Kurt Roper '95 Assistant Coach - Quarterbacks
Penn State University Athletics Brent Scott '93 Assistant Coach, Men's Basketball
Purdue University Athletics Preston Gordon '18 Pass Rush Specialist / Analyst (Football)
Rice University Athletics Jose Cruz, Jr. '13 Head Baseball Coach
Rice University Athletics Van Green Jr. (M.Ed '17) Assistant Coach, Men's Basketball
Rice University Athletics Ryan Kapustka '20 (Masters) Director of Men's Basketball Operations
Rice University Athletics Haylee Swayze Green '22 Graduate Assistant, Women's Basketball
Rice University Athletics James Lee '16 Assistant Golf Coach
Rice University Athletics Efe Ustundag '99 Head Tennis Coach
Trevecca Nazarene Omar Mance '03 Head Basketball Coach
University of Incarnate Word Athletics Amber Cunningham '06 Women's Basketball Assistant Coach
University of Oregon Athletics Drew Mehringer '10 Tight Ends Coach
University of Pennsylvania Athletics Meredith Schamun '11 Head Volleyball Coach
University of St. Thomas Hanna Houston '19 Head Coach - Women's Swimming
University of Tennessee Athletics Aston Walter '19 Graduate Assistant - Running Backs
University of Texas Athletics Mike Smith '12 Football Analyst
University of Texas San Antonio Athletics Pat Hallmark '02 Head Baseball Coach
University of Texas San Antonio Athletics Kareem Streete-Thompson '95 Associate Head Coach, Men's Track & Field
University of Texas San Antonio Athletics Luke Turner '15 Analyst

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High School Sports Administration & Coaching

Organization Alumnus Position
Alief ISD Marla Brumfield Lewis '00 Assistant Athletic Director
Caney Creek High School Xavier Webb '12 Defensive Backs Coach
Conroe ISD Chris Feris '91 Athletic Director
Episcopal High School Matt Fox '01 Head Baseball Coach
Episcopal School of Dallas Richard Williams '91 Head Football Coach
Fort Bend Christian Academy Bert Emanuel, Sr. '94 Defensive Backs Coach
Glenda Dawson High School Kevin Pool '11 Running Backs Coach
Joshua ISD Mike Burt '84 Athletic Director
Killeen Ellison High School Jeff Sowells '96 Head Football Coach
Langham Creek High School Todd Thompson '92 Head Football Coach
The Kinkaid School Bobby Eggleston '85 Head Baseball Coach
The Kinkaid School Everett Coleman Strength & Conditioning Coach
Pontiac Township High School Buck Casson '07 Head Football Coach
Reedy High School Malcolm Hill '15 Assistant Football Coach
Ridge Point High School Donald Allen '93 Assistant Baseball Coach
Ridge Point High School Clint Welch '83 Head Baseball Coach
Sharpstown High School Carlos Quintero '98 Head Coach, Girls Basketball
Shepherd High School Curtis Fox '86 Head Baseball Coach
Sidwell Friends Eric Singletary '98 Head Basketball Coach
Spring Branch ISD Paige Hershey '84 Executive Director of Athletics
St. Johns School Steve Gleaves '79 Head Football Coach
St. Thomas High School Tim Fitzpatrick '91 Head Football Coach
Strake Jesuit College Prep Michael Sam, Jr. '15 Defensive Line Coach
Westbury High School Greg Wilson '05 Head Football Coach

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Sport Performance Training & Instruction

Organization Alumnus Position
Alliance Tennis Academy Gonzalo Anderson '14 (MBA) Owner
Athlete Rising Cali Werner '17 Owner
Awareness Athletics Aaron Williams '11 Owner / Lead trainer
Buckley Performance Mark Quinn Co-Owner
Cap Elite Eddie Enriguez '91 Owner
College Golf Fellowship Joe Beck III '15 Central Texas Ambassador
EverybodyFights George Foreman III '06 Owner
Fairfield Sports Performance Jacob Grams '21 Sports Performance Specialist
Fellowship of Christian Athletes Daniella Arenas Tesch '14 Area Representative
Harold Solomon Tennis Harold Solomon Elite Tennis Athlete Instructor
Lynx Baseball Evan Rutter '15 Head Baseball Coach and Camp Director
Momentum Sports Academy Diego Seastrunk '10 Owner
Optimum Sports Performance Connor Teykl '16 Owner / Director
Positive Coaching Alliance Jason Skaer '99 Regional Executive Director
Positive Coaching Alliance Randy Youngling '78 Partnership Manager / Trainer
Prime Performance Willy Amador '18 Owner
Quantum Performance Consulting Nir Moriah '10 Owner
Spring Spirit Baseball Michael Kidd '17 Assistant Athletic Director
The Kenyan Way Sean Wade '89 Owner
Top Velocity Pro David Aardsma President
TrueStrength Tanner Shuck '11 Owner
Waite Performance Strategies Lennie Waite '08 Owner
Whitehead Fitness Austin Escamilla '22 Personal Trainer
Whitehead Fitness Michael Whitehead ‘11 Co-Owner and Strength and Conditioning Coach

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