Fantasy Sports: Where Does It Go from Here?
Fantasy sports began in the 1960s as a way for sports junkies to "interact" more with their favorite sports by selecting their own rosters and competing against like minded sports junkies. Until the mid-1990s, distribution of the game was limited to newspapers and magazines and league scoring was done by hand, thus limiting the number of participants. Improvements in technology, specifically the Internet, led to unprecedented growth and it also helped spawn the first real online "social networks", as fantasy players went online to talk smack with one other, trade players and review expert opinions. Today, every major media company and every professional sports league operates some type of fantasy league. There are cable programs and entire satellite TV packages dedicated to serving the fantasy audience--NFL Red Zone on Direct TV. Updates come to mobile devices and there are hundreds of iPhone, Android and Facebook fantasy sports apps and games. Given the continued growth of fantasy sports, where does it go from here?
Presenters
Clay Walker is the Executive Vice President & Chief Affiliate Officer of Big Lead Sports, the largest independent digital sports media and marketing company in the U.S. Big Lead Sports develops custom social media and marketing program for clients such as Coke, McDonalds, Sprint, P&G, Coors and Ford. He is responsible for managing the strategic direction of BLS’s affiliate network. With more than 250+ affiliates and 20 million monthly unique visitors, Big Lead Sports is now the 5th largest online sports property in the U.S., according to comScore. He also founded the Fantasy Sports Association, a trade organization that was dedicated to growing the fantasy sports industry. Prior to joining Big Lead Sports in 2006, he served as the senior vice president of the NFL Players Association’s licensing and marketing arm (PLAYERS INC) for 13 years. Clay earned a B.A. in English from East Carolina University, an M.B.A. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Labor Relations from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Off The Field
Greg is the consummate “good guy”, positive role model, and family man. He and his wife spend most of their free time hanging out together with their three daughters. Greg still lives in his hometown of Kalamazoo, MI where he’s very active at the church in which his father is a pastor, in the community through the Greg Jennings Foundation focusing on youth education, and with his alma mater, Western Michigan University. Greg recently had guest roles in hit TV shows Criminal Minds (CBS) and Royal Pains (USA). He has aspirations of expanding his acting career and becoming a producer/director.
On The Field
o Member of NFL Network’s Top 100 Players
o Super Bowl XLV Champion (scored two touchdowns in Super Bowl)
o Pro Bowl Selection in 2010 and 2011
o 2006 All-Rookie Team
Saturday, March 10
