Alumni

At least 250 graduates of Rice University are employed full time in the sports and entertainment industry.

As of Fall 2022, these graduates include:

Pro Sports Teams

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Aston Martin Team Tal Moriah '10 Global Business Development
Baltimore Orioles Chad Tatum '17 Scouting Analyst
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
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 Midwest Area Scout
Dallas Cowboys
Will McClay '89
Vice President of Player Personnel
Evil Geniuses Jesse Roberts '20 Marketing Product Manager
Friedkin Group (AC Roma) Brian Walker (MBA '12) VP, Sport Investment Strategy and Development
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
Scouting Coordinator / GM of RGV Vipers
Los Angeles Dodgers
Danny Lehmann '15
Game Planning and Communications Coach
Maine Celtics
Dajuan Eubanks '94
President
Minnesota Timberwolves Somak Sarkar '13 Basketball Operations Coaching Analyst
MSG (NY Knicks, NY Rangers, etc.) Matthew Weingast '10 Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs
New York Knicks Nick Fleder '17 Manager, Basketball Analytics
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 Assistant Coach - Special Teams
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 Scout
Wisconsin Herd Arte Culver '06 President of Basketball Operations

Sports Apparel and Manufacturers

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Academy Sports + Outdoors Jason Bozic '13 (MBA) Senior Community Relations Manager
Academy Sports + Outdoors Hy Hoang ‘09 Manager, Webspace Commerce Development
Academy Sports + Outdoors
Mary Mikell Lampton '14
Replenishment Analyst
Academy Sports + Outdoors
Lilly Marrow '14
Space Planner Camo Apparel Department
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
Deckers Brand
Wendy Yang '86
President, Performance Group (Hoka, Teva, Sanuk)
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
Director of Operations
Johnson Outdoors
Cherry Rafferty (MEE '99)
Senior Software Engineer
Kettlebell Kings
Chad Price ’07
Co-Founder/Managing Partner
Luke's Locker
Jerry Fuqua '82
Footwear Specialist
Markwort Sporting Goods
Glenn Markwort '75
Vice President
Nike Alex Cameron '04 Strategy Director: Footwear Innovation
Nike Grace Chialiva '22 Training Content Developer
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
Florence Hahn ‘91
Senior Business Process Manager
Nike Christine Jeon '12 Director of APLA Innovation and Strategy
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 Jarvis Sam '13 Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Nike Jesse Tsu '11 Nike Sportswear Integrated Marketplace Director - Japan
Nike Reuben Uy '03 Senior Software Engineer
PXG (Parsons Extreme Golf) Grace Wilson '21 Club Design 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
Under Armour
Sr. Professional Marketing Operations
Under Armour
Daniel Pessing '05
Merchandising Lead - Sport Performance Footware
Wilson Sporting Goods Lindsey Hodge '18 National Account Manager

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
Combate Global Diego Perez '22 Analytics and Operations Coordinator
International Yacht Racing Federation
Michael Bond (Vuitton) '97
Associate Director
MLB Justin Wolin '15 Manager, Club Business Operations and Strategy
MLB Ben Jedlovec '08 Sr. Director of Baseball Data Platform Product
MLB Player's Association
Ian Penny '85
General Counsel
National Football Foundation
Matthew Sign '92
Chief Operation Officer
NBA Derek Liang '16 (MBA) Marketing Director, NBA China
NCAA Ashton Smith '22 Post-Grad Rotational Intern
NFL Ryan Glassman '13 Event Operations Manager
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
UFC Louis Alvares '21 Business Development Coordinator
UFC Kristian Stengel '21 Global Partnerships
United States Equestrian Team Foundation Sparky Frost '07 Strategy Officer
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Evangeline Rivera '10 Associate General Counsel, Operations & Ethics
USA Swimming Ellery Parrish '21 Assoc. Advisor, Central Zone in Team Services
United States Tennis Association Ellen Miller '85 National Faculty Coach, 10 and Under

Sport and 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
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
Shels Sports Network Kristin Gambetta '05 President
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

Sport and Entertainment Analytics Firms

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Betfred Owen Wright '22 Junior Trader
Big League Advance Jason Gardner '21 Data Analyst
Blue Crow Sports Group Veronica Fereday (MBA '19) Futbol Business Operations
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 Account Analyst
Eventellect Max Cunningham '23 Data Scientist
Eventellect Asad Lalani '19 Account Analyst
Eventellect Michael Larimore (MBA '19) Director of Operations
Eventellect Bailey Litwin '22 Operations Coordinator
Eventellect Manav Kabra '22 Analyst NBA/MLB
Eventellect Kevin Reilly '17 Sr. Account Analyst
Eventellect David Zhou '19 Data Science Software Developer
The Power Rank Edward Feng '99 Founder
SeatZ Aaron Knape (MBA '08) CEO
Second Spectrum Heaven Chen '13 Software Engineer
Sport Info Solutions Connor Ayubi '22 Basketball Research Analyst
Sport Info Solutions Sergio Santamaria '18 Basketball Strategy Lead
SponsorUnited Trevor Vinklarek '20 Houston Market Manager
SportsTrace Alex Gardner '18 Chief Technology Officer
Swish Analytics Senthil Natarajan '17 Data Scientist
WIN Reality Ben Schragger '19 Director of Customer Experience

Sport and Entertainment Marketing / Sponsorship Activation Firms

Organization
Alumnus
Position
CAA Frank Fu '21 Brand Consultant
College Sports Consultants
Drew Scott '98
Founder
Columbia Records
Darren Defreeuw '08
Developer, Music Analytics
DocUssist Marsha Frese '94 CEO
Gatorade
Jeramy Goodson '10
Market Development Manager - Athletic Channel
Kilowatt Events Laurel Smith '20 Operations Coordinator
Learfield - Gator Sports Properties Ashten Gholson '11 Senior Manager, Business Development
LEARFIELD Amplify Brandon Evans '08 GM of Ticket Solutions, University of Houston
LEARFIELD Morgan Laaksonen '20 Associate Recruiter, Talent Acquisition
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 Account Executive, The Home Depot and ESPN College GameDay
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
Signing Day Sports Adam Oscislawski '22 Business Development Specialist
Sorare Satoshi Mitzutani '13 Marketplace Operations Manager
SponsorUnited Trevor Vinklarek '20 Houston Market Manager
Teall Sports Properties Jeremy Reiskind '17 Business Development Manager

Sport Agencies / Sport Law Firms / Athlete Foundations

Organization
Alumnus
Position
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
Endeavour Addison Owen '20 Assistant to CEO
Independent Sports & Entertainment Filip Zivojinovic '09 Sports Agent
Priority Sports & Entertainment
Matt Baldwin '00
Agent - Coaches, Broadcasters, Front Office
Trauber Sports Group JT Trauber ‘18 Owner
United Talent Agency Marcus Thompson '22 Agent Trainee
Wesport Adam Gustaffson '16 Client and Sales Manager
William Morris Endeavor (WME) Joe Branch (MBA '04) Head of On-Court Basketball Strategy

Sport and Entertainment Facilities, Events and Event Management

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Bobby Jones Links Whitney Crouse '80 Founder
The Factory in Deep Ellum Bailey Douglas '19 Box Office Manager
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Alexa Davidson '19 Social Media Coordinator
Insperity Invitational Tia Grippo '21 Tournament Coordinator
JCB Golf and Country Club Jake Benson '22 Golf Operations Assistant
Live Nation Casey Marchbanks '09 Senior Attorney
Live Nation Clara Tse '10 Privacy Manager
Music City Bowl Scott McGilberry '96 (MBA) Vice President of Finance and Administration
Palisades Tahoe Blair Lewis '19 Group Sales Assistant
Pokatok Austin Escamilla '22 Sales Manager
Shanghai Juss Event Management Wendy Zhang '18 Sponsorship Services
Vahalla Lounge Carlos Tafur '21 Event Coordinator
WarnerMedia Callye D. Emmons '07 Event Management and Production

College Athletic Administration

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Boston University Athletics
Scott Ellis '04
Associate Media Relations Director
Cleveland State Athletics Haywood Cochrane '22 GA-Athletic Equipment and Events
Houston Christian University Peter Chung '23 Director of Player Personnel-Football
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 Brandon Deskins '21 Account Executive
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

College Coaching

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Azusa Pacific University Andrea Blackett ‘97 Assistant Coach, Women’s Track and Field
Florida Atlantic University Athletics Drew Mehringer '10 Co-Offensive Coordinator
Grambling State Athletics Everett Todd '84 Defensive Coordinator
Grinnell College Athletics Brent Barnes '75 Head Football Coach
Houston Baptist University Athletics Lance Berkman '15 Head Baseball Coach
Houston Baptist University Athletics Lo (Hughes) Rivas '16 Assistant Coach - Women's Soccer
Middlebury College Athletics Nicole Wilkerson '93 Head Coach - Women's Track / Cross Country
North Carolina State Athletics Kurt Roper '95 Assistant Coach - Quaterbacks
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 Paul Janish '18 Assistant Baseball Coach
Rice University Athletics Ryan Kapustka '20 (Masters) Director of Men's Basketball Operations
Rice University Athletics
Efe Ustundag '99
Head Tennis Coach
Trevecca Nazarene Omar Mance '03 Head Basketball Coach
University of Illinois - Football Preston Gordon '18 Offensive Line Graduate Assistant
University of Incarnate Word Athletics Amber Cunningham '06 Women's Basketball Assistant Coach
University of Pennsylvania Athletics Meredith Schamun '11 Head Volleyball Coach
University of North Texas Athletics Ryan Pollard '16 Assistant Defensive Backs 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
VCU Athletics
Brent Scott '93
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

High School Sports Administration and Coaching

Organization
Alumnus
Position
Alief ISD
Marla Brumfield Lewis '00
Assistant Athletic Director
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
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
New Caney High School Garret Grammer '21 Linebackers 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
New Caney High School Garrett Grammer '21 Assistant Football 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

Sport Performance Training and 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 Michael Whitehead ‘11 Co-Owner and Strength and Conditioning Coach