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The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) has begun discussions with key leaders of the sports travel world. At a recent meeting at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, a group of 11 travel leaders met to discuss the business of sports travel management. The group was formed to address the unique travel concerns inherent in the sports industry, specifically as they relate to the various leagues, jurisdictions, championships, sporting events and teams represented on the task force. Representatives were in attendance from Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL), the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), The University of Texas at Austin (Division I), Anderson University, SC (Division II), and DePauw University (Division III), as well as members of the NBTA leadership.
The group will work on sharing best practices, forming an NBTA community of sports travel leaders, and developing specific educational and certification programs in sports travel management and purchasing.
Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, President & CEO of NBTA, and Manager of Travel for Athletics for the University of Texas at Austin, said, “I’m so pleased to see the great turnout for our initial meeting. Sports travel management is a major sector of travel spend in this country, and we are happy to have such a high level of interest from this community of travel managers in joining the NBTA family.”
The group is being chaired by Nikki Watson of the NCAA who hosted the first meeting. “I see great potential for the exchange of best practices and the creation of educational resources for our group,” said Watson.
NBTA Executive Director & COO, Bill Connors, CTC, added, “NBTA has added corporate meeting managers and government travel managers to compliment our traditional corporate travel buyers over the past few years; bringing on sports travel management is a natural and exciting next step for the association.”
The task force is scheduled to meet again in June at NFL headquarters in New York and again in August at NBTA’s annual convention in San Diego. Task force members include (as pictured above L to R); Kevin Maguire, CCTE (NBTA), Lee Palmer-Turner (NBA), Darla Montalto (MLB), Nancy Simpson (Anderson Univ.), Bill Connors (NBTA), Scott Solombrino (Dav El), Page Cotton (DePauw Univ.), Ed Goble (Univ. of Texas), Nikki Watson (NCAA), Kerry Cosover, CTE (NFLPA), not pictured; Brian Califano (NHL), John Buzzeo (NFL) and Eileen Buser (MLB Special Events).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
