Last week nine students of the Rice University Sport Management department met with Chris Dacey, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Houston Rockets. The students were offered this opportunity through the first of this years’ “Meal with an Executive” put on by the Rice University Sport Business Alliance. Rice University Sport Business Alliance, or RUSBA, is a student run organization whose mission is to create awareness and valuable opportunities for students of the Sport Management Program at Rice University.
Chris Dacey spoke with the members of RUSBA and a select group of invited sport management majors over breakfast to discuss his role in the sport management community of Houston. Dacey has been with the Houston Rockets for three and a half years, joining the sports industry after working on Wall Street for Goldman Sachs.
To the students in attendance, Dacey explained that his job as Chief Strategy Officer is regulating the statistical analysis of every aspect of every game through such methods as post-game surveys to the fans. However, he did recognize that sometimes the people with the best opinions are the employees working the games. He commented on the fact that because sports are entertainment, the real question for any team should be “Would you recommend your family/friend/etc. to buy tickets to the game.”
Most importantly, Dacey stressed to the students that by following your passions you can find an entry point into sports and excel; “Find a function for your passion.” As he acknowledged, he did not begin in sport, however he found his niche there, and because of this, he enjoys going to work.