Name: Hannah Martin
Current Position: Assistant Director for Marketing at Xavier University
Number of Years in Current Position: 7 months
Conference: BIG EAST
Alma Mater(s): Miami University (’13)
Twitter Handle: @mc_hanner29
LinkedIn Address: www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmartin4
When/why did you decide to pursue a career in college athletics?
I had the opportunity to be a part of the Sports Marketing Academy (SMA) at Miami and fell in love on day one. Everyone involved with SMA, from fellow interns to coaches to staff, was a blast to work with and really opened up my eyes to the world of college athletics. I knew from then on that this was my career path.
What is one thing that has surprised you about working in this profession?
How great of a community NACMA is! Everyone is ready and willing to share ideas, introduce you to someone or teach you something new.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Two come to mind. 1) Don’t be afraid to move for a job. After graduating, I took a huge leap of faith and moved out to Arizona to work for the Fiesta Bowl. It was an incredible opportunity and I’m glad I didn’t let the terrifying idea of moving across the country stop me. 2) Be a lifelong learner, stay relevant in your profession. Don’t stop reading and learning new things just because you are done with school.
Who is your role model in this industry and why?
First up would have to be Ellie Witter (Zabielski), who is no longer in the sports world, but she gave me my start, so to speak. She taught me a lot during my time at Miami and acted as my sounding board as I started the job hunt, encouraging me all the way to Arizona. More recently, Patrick Dillon and Brian Hicks – they have made my time at Xavier a wonderful experience and I am fortunate to have two people that are willing to go up to bat for me. And every day, I’m learning from professionals all over the industry through NACMA and Twitter (looking at you #YPSportsChat and #MNMChat peeps). There’s no shortage of people to look up to and learn from in this industry, that’s for sure.
What are your career aspirations?
At this stage in my life, I see myself staying within college athletics. I think I would like to eventually be an Associate Athletic Director for External Relations.
What has been your most memorable moment on the job?
When the giant flag was unveiled for the national anthem at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. After months of 60-70 hour weeks, we finally made it. Two bowl games were complete (we also handled the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl). All of the gift bags filled with Tostitos chips and queso made it into the hands of each fan, all of our suite holders were happy and all four teams had a fantastic bowl experience. It was a great feeling seeing all of our hard work come together. Same can be said for the 2015-16 Crosstown Shootout. It was a white out, which involved placing t-shirts on every single seat in Cintas Center. It was a huge team effort that took a couple of days, but I’ll never forget how electric Cintas Center was at tip-off with 10,617 fans dressed in white.
Share one funny moment or story from game day.
At our men’s basketball exhibition game earlier this year, our microphones weren’t on for the national anthem. Awkward silence. I take off running (and I’m sure I looked ridiculous running with a bulky headset, radio and clipboard) to center court to turn the singer’s microphone on. The crowd cheered and we proceeded with our intro sequence as normal. What are exhibition games for, right? Thankfully, the microphones have been turned on at every game since then. J
If you weren’t working in college athletics, what would you be doing?
Honestly, I have no idea. Probably working in consumer marketing or branding.