Issue 5 | Volume 1 | 2018

2018 Alumni
N ewsletter
Spotlight : Justin Wolf M arch
Wh at advice w ou ld you of f er cu r r en t SBC m em ber s t r yin g t o
br eak in t o t h e spor t s in du st r y?
I think it's to get experience and not to be too proud. Certainly
not to get too proud, when I interviewed at a career fair, I
thought, ?I'm going to be a college graduate, I'm not going to
make $6.50 an hour and get free lunch and free parking, I'm
going to be somebody really big and important.?But four months
later, I started out doing that exact same job I had harshly
criticized earlier. Part of it was getting experience through
working in the athletic department at UW and having an
internship with the Brewers that also helped me get that job.
While that was the first ever sales job I had, since then, I parlayed
that into a variety of roles. Basically, don't be too proud to take a
job that's not your end goal necessarily, but one that may help
get you there. Ju st in Wolf
If you w er e t o go back in t im e an d h ave t w o t ick et s t o an y
Corporate Sales Manager,
spor t in g even t in h ist or y, w h at w ou ld it be an d w h o w ou ld
you t ak e w it h you ? Green Bay Packers
Part of me wants to say Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956
World Series, but I feel like the Bulls at Utah when Jordan hit the
SBC Posit ion : Honorary Alumnus
game-winner in the 1998 NBA Finals is also a contender. So, I?d
have to say the 1998 NBA Finals, Jordan's final shot as a Bull, the UW Class of : 2005
one with the game-winner to give him his sixth and final ring.
M ajor : B.A., Legal Studies
And I'd probably take my grandfather, because he was always
into sports, and he wasn't a huge basketball fan, per se, but I Residen ce: Green Bay, WI
think just for us to see the greatest player ever would be cool.
Wh at st eps did you t ak e bet w een gr adu at in g UW-M adison an d t h en lan din g t h at f ir st pr of ession al
posit ion as a t ick et r epr esen t at ive f or t h e Ch icago Bu lls?
I didn't know what I wanted to do after graduation, and there were a few potential things, but nothing that
really excited me, it just didn't get me pumped. The Bulls?full-time position came across my radar in that
February to March time frame when I went down there for the career fair. I threw my name in the pile, and ...
 Issue 15 || Volume
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2017

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M arch
Spotlight Interview: Justin Wolf 2018
St eps t ak en bet w een gr adu at ion an d f ir st pr of ession al spor t s posit ion w it h t h e Bu lls (Con t in u ed)
... they called me back, and then saw my experience, and said they'd be interested in talking with me. I had no sales
experience prior to that, but went down to Chicago, interviewed, and the reality was, it was kind of my chance to get in
and work full-time in sports and I took it. I took everything and realized that everything I had read up to that point told me
there were the most opportunities in sales because the goal of most professional organizations is revenue generation.
The goal of most corporations is revenue generation, and I was looking at it saying this is my way in the door. I didn?t
necessarily want to be in ticket sales forever, but I started there, and it was about 6-7 weeks after my graduation before
finishing up a few things in the athletic department back in Madison.

Advice on pu r su in g oppor t u n it ies aw ay f r om h om e or acr oss t h e cou n t r y, specif ically t h ose t h at

r equ ir e a com plet e r elocat ion t o a n ew an d u n f am iliar cit y or n et w or k ?
I think it's just being open to that [kind of opportunity], and just realizing that you have to be willing to move on to move
up. You need to be willing to move on to another organization if the opportunity for growth presents itself. You're going
to limit your opportunities, especially in professional sports if you don?t. Even in a major city like Chicago, you've got two
baseball teams, a basketball team, a hockey team, a soccer team, etc. But even then, in a city of approximately 11 million
people, you only have 5-6 companies that you can work for as far as professional sports team opportunities go. Those
aren?t very good odds. And the further you work your way up, it?s a pyramid, there's less of those jobs the higher up you
go. You have to do what is right for you, and you learn a lot about yourself too. I moved to California and I didn't know a
single soul. You learn to either sink or swim in the beginning, and I think you grow that way too.

How did you k n ow it w as t h e r igh t t im e in you r car eer t o m ove on f r om Calif or n ia an d t h e San Diego
Padr es an d back t o Wiscon sin f or you r cu r r en t posit ion w it h t h e Gr een Bay Pack er s?
For me it was the opportunity to work in the NFL. A chance to move home definitely played into it as well. As great as San
Diego is, and I love my experience at the Padres, the Green Bay Packers are the team I grew up rooting for, and the brand
they carry across the globe played into it as well. They're one of the premier franchises in the nation's most popular sport,
and for doing what we do in sponsorship sales, that was too good to pass up.

If Wiscon sin sold t h e n am in g r igh t s t o Cam p Ran dall st adiu m , or a f oot ball jer sey k it spon sor sh ip, w h at
com pan y w ou ld be t h e best f it an d w h y?
I think it would be either Epic or American Family Insurance based on totally different reasoning. If Wisconsin renamed
Camp Randall to Epic stadium, a lot of people would probably think, ?Yeah, that works!? because it?s natural and not
overdone. So, maybe Epic is a really unique company that does some stuff locally here in Madison, but they are a national
brand. Otherwise, it?s American Family Insurance to me because they are a fabric of the community, it just makes sense
for that reason. I'm a big fan of having the local community pride, so for me, it would be AmFam that would probably buy
it. They are a big community player, with community pride for their workforce and customers, maybe that?s obvious, but I
also think they would activate the partnership in the right way. It means so much to their employees, I could see them
hosting their all-employee meeting at Camp Randall and they already do so much with the athletic department. I always
like it when there's a company that just calls Madison, or whatever city, home where there is an authentic connection and
civic pride. Similar to what Target does in Minneapolis for multiple venues.
 Issue 5 | Volume 1 | 2018

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http: / / sbcuw.weebly.com/
251.401.6300

M arch Club Events

Gu est Speaker Even t Gu est Speaker Even t M ilw au kee Bu ck s Gu est Speaker Even t
GM R M ar ket in g Pan el Ian Ken yon Gam e & Ar en a Tou r UW At h let ics Pan el
Madison, WI - March 1st Madison, WI - March 8th Milwaukee, WI - Mar. 17 Madison, WI - March 20

Pictured: Former Badger
Jon Scolaro (right) and
SBCUW alumni Daniel
Silber (left) and Ben
Tauer (middle) discuss
GMR Marketing
Pictured: NFL Associate
Editor, Ian Kenyon
discusses his role at
Bleacher Report and
answers every football
question imaginable
Pictured: Various SBC Pictured (Left to Right): Guest
Services Coord. Brandon
members pose Vallina, Dir. of Ext.
court-side prior to the Engagement Daron Jones, Live
Bucks' 122-117 victory Production Coord. Justin Helm
over the Atlanta Hawks & Asst. Director of Comms.
Paul Capobianco
on St. Patrick's Day

2018 SBCUW Annual Alumni Weekend