Matt Gay, SPM ’09 and former treasurer of the Sport Management Club, works for the Cleveland Indians as an account executive in their Group Sales Department. His focus is on selling group tickets and suites from both a new business perspective and maintaining established relationships; from large corporate events to smaller niche markets.
Gay began his career with Octagon Sports Marketing in Atlanta. He completed his senior capstone project with Octagon the summer after his senior year and was immediately hired on for six months as an event coordinator on Octagon’s Home Depot account, handling the onsite activation for ESPN College GameDay.
“It was the best job I could have had right out of college, being able to travel throughout the country and learn constantly,” he said. Through this experience, Gay was able secure a marketing traineeship with the Atlanta Braves in 2010, managing their mobile marketing activation and working on a season-long trainee ticket sales project.
After the 2010 season, he acquired an inside sales position with the San Diego Padres before accepting a promotion to his current role with the Cleveland Indians in 2012.
“It is very important in the sport industry to get outside your comfort zone, take on new experiences, build your own network and not be afraid to relocate,” Gay said.
While working with the Padres, he met his future wife, Joanna Halls, a 2011 graduate of Indiana University. After Gay proposed October 2012, Halls was able to secure a position with the Cleveland Cavaliers in their Premium Service Department. They got married on October 12, 2013, in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
