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Brown relishes YSU duties
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
As the newest, non-coaching member of Youngstown State University’s athletics department, John Brown says returning home to work for his alma mater has been a dream come true.
YSU’s assistant athletic director in charge of sales and event management spoke at Monday’s weekly Curbstone Coaches luncheon.
He chuckled that if his future was to be in sports, he knew it was going to be in a secondary role.
“I started out as a bat boy for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers when I was just 13 years old and knew as I approached high school that I wasn’t athletic enough to be a collegiate athlete,” Brown said. “I was able to work my way up to clubhouse assistant and also served as public address announcer.
“For me, it was an invaluable experience.”
Brown said that being a graduate of Ohio University with the nation’s top sports administration program helped prepare him.
An internship at YSU under Rick Love, a fellow YSU and OU sports administration alum, helped pave the way for the Warren native.
“I applied for that internship while still in high school,” Brown said. “I proceeded to learn about college athletic marketing and was also introduced to corporate sponsorships.
“I learned that generating revenue is the key to college athletics while refining my talking and listening skills when dealing with the public was also essential if I expected a long career in this business.”
After graduating, Brown earned his master’s degree from a program that admits just 25 students each year. Love, former YSU athletics marketing director Bruce Burge and current head football coach Bo Pelini are graduates of the program.
“I was fortunate to be one of those 25 students accepted,” Brown said. ”I met and worked with some of the top sports administration professionals from all over the country.
“Diversifying my resume, however, was a necessity.”
Serving an internship with the Big South Conference prior to taking graduate classes proved beneficial.
“I was told that all the experience listed on my resume dealt with the Youngstown area and YSU, and was encouraged to find an internship elsewhere before starting classes,” Brown said. “While working at the Big South Conference I was exposed to all 11 member schools and had an opportunity to learn how a college conference works.
“The fun part was working the NCAA men’s basketball tournament regional as media coordinator because I got to work with coaches like Roy Williams of North Carolina, Lorenzo Romar of Washington, Michigan’s John Beilein and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.”
Brown is in charge of the YSU basketball game-day experience, utilizing its new video-board to enhance fan involvement as well as for revenue generation through corporate sponsorships.
He’ll be working with both basketball teams, also strumming up interest and sponsorships for a potential women’s basketball postseason run. In the spring he will work with baseball and women’s softball and has already begun promotion for baseball’s game with Ohio State at Eastwood Field on May 12.