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Assessing Revenue Opportunities With Ole Miss’ Wesley Owen

Guest Wesley Owen, Ole Miss
23:39 min watch

Summary

“I need to find a certain amount of money over the next five years. Come back to me and tell me how we’re going to do it.” That’s the directive Ole Miss AD Keith Carter recently tasked Rebels Chief Revenue Officer Wesley Owen with, leading Owen to take on a wide-ranging assessment of all areas of potential revenue generation. In his research, Owen looked into all aspects of the game day experience: from annual seat donation amounts and parking fees to season ticket costs and operational expenses, Owen returned to Carter with a “menu” of options that would accomplish the AD’s goal without drastically impacting the bottom line for fans. Additionally, Owen and the Rebels have leaned into “blended use experiences” by hosting concerts at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and have partnered with RevelXP to enhance the premium experience on game day.

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

  • - You’ve been at Ole Miss your whole career… over the past five years, that Deputy AD position has changed a few times. Tell me about adapting to those changes in personalities and leadership styles.
  • - That seems like an excellent group of people to learn from; they’ve all been ADs. You said it helped you understand what leadership style works best for you - tell me about that.
  • - So how do you lead your staff? How do you run your meetings?
  • - How long is the process for understanding how a new Deputy AD likes to receive information?
  • - Resource development and Chief Revenue Officer… if you were to write your job description, what does that mean?
  • - What have been some of the biggest projects over the last few years that you’ve had a direct impact on? Tell me about your specific impact.
  • - So you look at everything - all points where a dollar is being spent.
  • - Did he take all of your suggestions?
  • - So knowing how to communicate with the boss…
  • - But what’s interesting is you have this menu of things and some of the things he looks at and says no, some of the things he looks at and you hit your goal and now there are things that maybe you revisit in a couple of years…
  • - We’re here with Paciolan and Deana [Barnes] mentioned “blended use experiences” for athletic facilities. Tell me about that at Ole Miss.
  • - When you’re looking to make a big impact and generate serious revenue from a concert, how do you decide on who to bring in?
  • - Coming into the contract negotiation with a lack of experience doing contracts of this size and nature - tell me about that.
  • - As you’re assessing potential revenue or cost savings opportunities, do you ever think, “I don’t think we can get more juice out of that orange”? Does that ever creep in and how do you offset that concern?
  • - When you think about the various ways to make the fan experience easier and seamless through data and digital means… what has gotten easier with the help of companies like Paciolan?
  • - Is there a benefit for Ole Miss on the back end?

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