Florida A&M Athletic Department Hosts January 2022 Sports Industry Roundtable
It was a big day for the Florida Sports Tourism Industry at the Partner Roundtable in Tallahassee, on Tuesday, January 18. Over 25 in attendance at the Alfred Lawson Center, on the campus of Florida A&M University, and 50 more were present online.
Those in attendance had a bird’s eye view of the home of the Florida A&M Rattlers Basketball teams.
To welcome the Florida Sports Industry professionals to Florida A&M, Vice President of Athletics, Kortne Gosha (pictured at right) informed the crowd about “Expanding the FAMU Footprint.” One way of accomplishing the expansion was the 2021 change of conference affiliation to the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC). During the 2021 football season, the Rattlers football team was featured in national “Why Not Us?” documentary and a deal with Nike to be the first university to wear a Lebron James line of apparel.
“More people are taking a look at Florida A&M, Tallahassee and Florida through these programs,” he said.
The Tallahassee Office of Economic Vitality Deputy Director, Darryl Jones, explained how Leon County is supporting Tallahassee’s three university Athletics department and the economic impact they return to the community. Between Tallahassee Community College, Florida A&M and Florida State University, the programs combine to bring more than $90 million to Tallahassee annually through its sporting event. The County also assists the programs financially through the BluePrint Tallahassee program.
Bob McKee, the Deputy Director of Public Policy for the Florida Association of Counties, and Atlanta Braves fan, discussed bills currently being moved through the legislative session, affecting the sports industry.
To wrap up the day’s festivities, Corry Locke, from the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau, and Rick Hatcher, from Play Treasure Coast Sports Tourism, facilitated a round table discussion.
The Roundtable also provided the current FSF Interns, Alexis Baez, Tia Huie and Langston Farmer an introduction to those in attendance and how the Florida Sports Industry Partners work together to promote the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry.
To see more photos and learn more about the Florida Sports Foundation, follow the FSF on Facebook on Twitter and Instagram, @playinflorida.