Cole Gahagan

Hey team @Learfield..........let’s go!

@LandryBurdine @BrooksBurdine28 Let’s go!

1st Career 💣 @BrooksBurdine28

Absolute 🔥 !

Dr. King once said “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”. While it feels more challenging than ever, my hope is that we heed this guidance and continue striving for brotherhood over foolishness.

Giants, every single one. In this day and age, we don't give enough credit to the voices of our programs. Find any great moment in college sports, and I'll play you a goose-bump-filled call from the play-by-play and color commentary duo. Congrats to these legends...

Today marks my 6th anniversary with Learfield. To commemorate this thrilling ride, I thought I’d share 6 learnings (and a few reminders) from my first 6 years with the company:  1. There are not enough words to describe the level of grind, complexity and hard work that AD’s and their staffs face on an every-day basis. No other executive in sports and ent. works 7 days / week, spanning 20+ sports, with practically zero breaks over 10 months - to say nothing about the never-ending deluge of change and uncertainty. If you’re looking to enter the business of college athletics, have a clear-eyed view of this reality, and be prepared to work harder than you’ve ever worked before.  2. Culture is the most important factor to (a) overcoming obstacles; and (b) maintaining long-term success. Learfield has the best culture of any company I’ve encountered, and it’s not even close. More than any factor, our culture has driven our success, and allowed us to overcome some pretty unique obstacles. Speaking of which… 3. Hard things are hard, and they’re guaranteed in any business. Many in our space are quick to reference Learfield’s journey over the last 6 years, but our journey is just that - it’s ours. It’s unique to our circumstances. Every company - in every industry - faces their own set of challenges and obstacles, and in my experience, three C’s are key to navigating those obstacles, regardless of how unique: culture, conviction and commitment. The first gives leaders a solid foundation. The second and third are up to those leaders to establish and maintain. If they do, anything is possible.  4. College athletics is not broken - far from it. According to SBJ and Neilson data, College Sports as a holistic sports property is second only to the NFL in US viewership and first in aggregate attendance. Demand has never been higher. Yes, there are many challenges that still need to be managed and addressed, but those challenges do not translate to a “broken” state. To lead, you can’t be broken - but you can certainly be flawed. We need to work in the months and years ahead to simultaneously optimize value (as the market leader in US sports), and eliminate the flaws. This won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.  5. Beyond the flaws, there’s also been a commercial paradox in college sports for years: highest in demand, lower-ranked in commercial revenue (media deals, commercial deals, etc.). This has largely been a function of four things: (a) the independent conferences and rights arrangements; (b) broadly speaking, a lack of modern commercial tools (data-driven sales solutions, at-scale content and media platform, etc.); (c) a true national offering to brands and agencies; and (d) historical prohibitions by the NCAA on certain assets and opportunities. But here’s the good news: those of us at Learfield have solved for (b) and (c), and the NCAA is making big strides on (d) - ie on-field / on-court assets approved last year, jersey patches on the way, etc. This translates to big growth in the years ahead.  6. I’ve had the good fortune of seeing the business of sports and entertainment from every major angle, and I’m convinced there’s nothing on the planet quite like college sports. The history, the students, the generational fandom, the field rushes, the court rushes (sorry conferences) - all of it is unrivaled.  It’s been a remarkable 6 years at Learfield, and I can’t wait to see what’s next…

@brianestridge @LandryBurdine My guy getting everyone fired up - love it, @LandryBurdine!

Look at our man @LandryBurdine delivering the message!! Preach it!!

At the backdrop of constant change & uncertainty, clarity of mission & purpose matter more than ever. And that’s precisely what’s on display here. Solly & his team have built the most robust & trusted NIL deal-making organization in sports, & they’re only getting started…

We are heartbroken over yesterday’s events at Brown University. Each time one of these senseless tragedies occur, we’re filled with sadness and rage and utter bewilderment. But this one hits a bit closer to home. My thoughts are with those most gravely impacted by this nightmare, along with our Brown Sports Properties and Athletics family members. May they each find peace in the days ahead.

Cool. Any availability on 1/19?

This kid hustles, rakes, studies, cares, and just gets dudes out. We might be a tad biased but he’s pretty special. Congrats, @HenryGahagan - go do great things!

To my Army Capt / JAG father, to our family of Learfield veterans, to every veteran who selflessly served our country...thank you.

Beyond proud of my good buddy, @PreacherClay, for penning such a much-needed read. Cant wait to dig in. Keep leading us down the right path, my friend - putting smiles on faces and making the world a better place!

Huge congrats to our long-time friends and partners at @TexasLonghorns for securing another Learfield Directors Cup!

@arose1284 No sir, I love the Tide

@ColeG13 I know you loved seeing Bama go down yesterday!

College football is undefeated. Y’all find me better environments and deeper traditions in all of global sports. I’ll wait…

College football is officially back! To every fan and every administrator and every hard-working employee behind the scenes making this possible, have a great season. Let’s go!

Thank you, Coach Corso.

@DarylJasper @Learfield Goes both ways DJ! 👊

Leaders lead…..thankful for your leadership @ColeG13 - well earned recognition here. Thankful every day to be a part of @Learfield And to think we are just getting warmed 🆙 Let’s GO! #OneLearfield

Honored to be included, but the power belongs to the @Learfield team. Hardest working, most innovative crew in all of sports and entertainment, powering the future of college sports. #OneLearfield