NASSM Conference in South Carolina
I landed safely last night and am attending the North American Society of Sports Management (NASSM) conference in Columbia, South Carolina. My first time visiting South Carolina and I am happy to be here. I have no idea what to expect as some 500 people are gathering in this college town. When I mentioned this to another sports executive, I was told by this person “those people are dinosaurs. They live in the past.”
Since this is my first time here, I cannot and will not judge. The local folks have been extremely friendly and hospitable. I loved the white rocking chairs placed throughout the airport as I arrived and waited for the shuttle to take me to the hotel. The local airport had not only the University of South Carolina licensed college gear for sale, but Clemson University clothing as well.
The only time I felt I stepped back in time so far was by sitting in the Columbia Hilton business center. There are four computers here and I feel like I am working off an dial up account, circa 1996.
The nice college student who picked me up from the airport, game me a quick tour of the University of South Carolina’s new $36 million dollar baseball stadium that seats almost 9,000 people. What a facility. Better than many minor league baseball stadiums. When I asked my escort, a USC alum about Clemson, about the Clemson gear being sold int he airport, she only referred to it as “that other school” and was quite unhappy its gear was being sold there. Though she did admit there were quite a few Clemson grads that lived in the area.
The is the first time the NASSM conference is being held in South Carolina. The content and the people, officially gets under way today. I will write an updated blog about the conference and will Tweet about it as well on Twitter. You can follow me there at http://www.twitter/sportsinfo101
Over the last couple of years I have noticed a marked improvement at some of the sport management related conferences I have attended. However, I really think community level sport and recreation organizations need a lot more support from organizations like NAASM. Looking forward to your updates.