ABOUT THE INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION (ITA)
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body of college tennis and a coaches’ association, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. The ITA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) service organization dedicated to the growth and promotion of collegiate tennis. The ITA membership is comprised of men’s and women’s college tennis coaches and programs from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, and Junior and Community Colleges as well as Wheelchair members, NCAA Division I Conferences, juniors (18 and under), corporate affiliates, and college tennis alumni. Total membership today consists of nearly 1,800 collegiate tennis programs, 3,000 coaches, approximately 20,000 varsity student-athletes, and 1,400 college tennis officials.
- Tournaments – run championships, including the ITA Regional Championships, the ITA All-Americans, the National Fall Championships, and the ITA Team Indoor Championships.
- Awards – present competitive, academic, and leadership awards for coaches and players in all seven divisions, as well as distinguished alums of college tennis.
- ITA Tour – provide year-round playing opportunities for college players, as well as summer events which include junior players and competitive adults.
- Results – administer college tennis results, sanction tournaments, and aggregate all match data.
- Rankings – official rankings provider for the NCAA.
- Rules & Governance – work with ITA operating committees and the NCAA to determine rules and regulations.
- Coach Education – run the ITA Coaches Convention and provide year-round education and professional development services to our sport’s leaders, the coaches.
POSITION SUMMARY
The new Chief Executive Officer will provide leadership to the ITA and college tennis, including the articulation of the Association’s vision, mission, transformative purpose, goals, and accomplishments to its many constituencies. The CEO is responsible for organizational development, fundraising, and promoting national and international visibility of the Association and intercollegiate varsity tennis.
The CEO is highly visible and accessible to the membership, allied partners, and the overall tennis community and must be able to interact with them effectively. The CEO has ultimate oversight of the administration and management of the organization, the staff (currently thirteen staff members), and is responsible for managing activities according to the budget, policies, and procedures established by the ITA Board of Directors.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
As the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) embarks on the most pivotal point in the Association’s history and in college athletics generally, the ITA Board of Directors is looking to partner with an engaging, compassionate, energetic, and visionary leader as the new Chief Executive Officer. This individual will take on the strategic mission to grow the Association and usher its members, employees, and stakeholders into a new era, delivering a sense of pride and excitement both within the tennis community and intercollegiate athletics. The new Chief Executive Officer will be an be an elite-communicator and relationship builder who possesses significant experience in the areas of marketing, fundraising, and sponsorships. Imperative to success will be the ability of the Chief Executive Officer to understand the ITA’s place within the intercollegiate and tennis framework and possess the wherewithal to successfully navigate a multitude of ongoing and future threats to and opportunities for intercollegiate tennis.
Reporting to the ITA Board Chair and Board of Directors, the new Chief Executive Officer will inherit a tradition-rich association with aspirations of elevating tennis to the preeminent Olympic (i.e., non-revenue) sport on college campuses across the country. Parallel to continued sport growth is the unwavering commitment the ITA must provide student-athletes and coaches: a haven for their development as players, coaches, and human beings, accentuating their tennis growth, and providing an opportunity for professional tennis beyond graduation. As the voice of college tennis, the ITA must be steadfast in reflecting this belief and must influence the future of intercollegiate athletics by partnering in the ever-changing landscape of the NCAA. The ITA must also remain open to exploring a new world where gambling is increasingly embraced as a potentially important source of revenue. The new Chief Executive Officer will be expected to execute a strategic vision for the ITA, ensure the stability of the Association, and work with the Board of Directors to grow the prestige and footprint of the ITA at large.
The Chief Executive Officer will also be integral to the advancing needs of the ITA and be able to orchestrate the financial security of the Association. The ideal person will raise awareness, increase fundraising opportunities, and grow revenue from media and sponsorships. He or she will explore and capitalize upon new avenues of revenue growth in an ethical manner while optimizing current streams and managing the budget in a sustainable manner.
The ITA Board of Directors is a committed advocate of the ITA. Maintaining an open, honest, and transparent relationship between the Board Chair, the Board of Directors, and the new Chief Executive Officer will be of the utmost importance. The new CEO will also serve as the face of the ITA, possessing the intellect, stature, gravitas, humility, and presence to command respect and build meaningful relationships across all stakeholders.
These stakeholders include coaches, players, college presidents, athletic directors, employees, donors, sponsors, media and other allied partners, and other leaders in intercollegiate athletics, tennis-centric governing bodies, and tennis communities. He or she will need to have the charisma and consensus-building aptitude to unite and rally all levels of constituents towards a common goal along with a polished level of media savviness to spread the vision of the ITA.
Equally important will be the new leader’s credibility with the coaches and their ability to identify new opportunities, emerging threats and opportunities, provide necessary resources, and build rapport and strong relationships with them. Buy-in and respect from the coaches and, by extension, the student-athletes, for the new CEO will be critically reflected in their ultimate success at the ITA.
Internally, the new Chief Executive Officer will be expected to evaluate all segments of the Association, be steadfast in sustaining a collaborative and inclusive culture that holds personnel accountable and accentuates the ITA’s values and vision for excellence. In short, the new CEO will need to be tough on standards and tender-hearted with people. He or she will need to continue building momentum with a tested and unified staff while carrying on a culture of transparency, accountability, and approachability on a daily basis.
YEAR THREE SUCCESS FACTORS
- Established a strong relationship with the Board of Directors with an aligned vision for the Association.
- Positioned the Association in a manner that further elevated tennis to one of the premier intercollegiate Olympic sport offerings.
- Successfully navigated new and emerging threats and opportunities to the Association in a skillful, progressive, and diplomatic way to ensure the long-term health of intercollegiate tennis.
- Capitalized on new and emerging verticals in the sports landscape including, but not limited to, gambling/sports wagering, media opportunities, and new and evolving technology.
- Pursued advances in technology to impact the growth of the game, Association, and engagement of fans, including electronic line calling. The CEO made sure that the ITA website is “the place” that people visit for all things college tennis.
- Exercised strategic leadership in establishing and implementing short- and long term organizational goals, objectives, policies, and operating procedures; monitored and evaluated operational effectiveness; and effected changes required for improvements.
- Secured TV/broadcast and media exposure for intercollegiate tennis through new and existing partnerships.
- Elevated intercollegiate tennis as an attractive, meaningful, and productive partnership for corporations and, therefore, increased sponsorship revenue to the Association.
- Continue to energize relationships with existing donors while extending reach to new donors, new alumni, and expanding outreach initiatives.
- Built trust, accountability and transparency with other tennis-centric organizations and stakeholders such as coaches, student-athletes, senior leaders, alumni, and other tennis organizations.
- Provided the culture and resources necessary to retain high-performing employees.
CORE RESPONSIBILTIES
Inspirational and Courageous Leadership:
- Serves as the face and spokesperson of the ITA and provides a positive representation of the Association within and outside the tennis community.
- Provides energetic and enthusiastic leadership for the ITA and tennis in higher education.
- Oversees standards of performance and evaluation of the staff and leads the staff in achieving annual goals and objectives.
- Supports the success of current and future ITA programs and provides leadership and oversight of all programs within the ITA.
- Fosters collaboration and communication with leaders across the intercollegiate landscape to develop a productive partnership between the ITA and its higher education counterparts.
- Serves as a leader and key representative in intercollegiate athletics to preserve the ITA’s place in a continually shifting higher education landscape.
- Ultimate oversight of all aspects of the Association including its activities and the relationships between the staff, Board, committees, members, conferences, and other allied partners in tennis and the world of college athletics (including, but not limited to the USTA, ITF, ATP Tour, WTA, NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA, and ICAC).
- Ensures that the ITA is a leading example and voice within the tennis world for equal opportunities and inclusiveness for coaches, student athletes, board members, special advisors, suppliers, sponsors, and other ITA constituents. Embraces and celebrates diversity of thought, perspective, and experience so that the best minds are working on behalf of college tennis and addressing issues from a variety of vantage points.
- Provides inspirational leadership to the ITA staff and fosters a level of trust allowing them to approach the Chief Executive Officer in a manner that builds strong, professional, and transparent relationships.
- Executes upon the strategic plan for the organization that accomplishes the Association’s priorities, long-term strategic goals, and tactical objectives (which include, but are not limited to, college tennis competition, coach education, ITA Halls of Fame, awards, advocacy, governance, technology, community engagement, and administration).
- Embodies the ITA by rallying all constituents in a unified vision for the program that stays true to the Association and its sports mission.
- Earns the faith and confidence from stakeholders that the Association is moving in the right direction and that the ITA brand remains focused on excellence, character, and integrity.
- Makes effective personnel decisions in an environment that is subject to strong media scrutiny and opinionated stakeholders.
- Builds, stewards, and retains an effective and enthusiastic leadership team.
- Demands accountability and utilizes best-in-class executive practices to set the ITA as an industry leader in the coaches’ association space.
Relationship Developer and Communication Style:
- Invests the personal commitment, passion, and energy into all ITA sponsored programming, including, but not limited to, attending tennis events, conferences and meetings, developing relationships with the coaches on and off the court.
- Advocates for the sport of college tennis and the ITA, especially in the realm of intercollegiate athletics, tennis in America, and tennis globally.
- Establishes productive relationships with coaches, student-athletes, college presidents, athletic directors, alumni, donors, fans, partners, sponsors, and other key revenue stakeholders.
- Displays appropriate humility with the highest personal integrity and ethics.
- Projects genuine optimism and enthusiasm for what the ITA has achieved and what it can achieve in the global sport of tennis.
- Leads with a composed and even-keeled presence characterized by openness, approachability, and confidence.
- Communicates in an open, honest, and thoughtful manner.
- Works with the Chairman of the Board to maximize the effectiveness of the Board of Directors.
Strong Business and Fundraising Acumen:
- Understands the critical financial factors that drive intercollegiate athletics, the sport of tennis, and the sports industry.
- Develops a strong strategic plan for generating greater resources and works to enhance and optimize all avenues of growth.
- Further establishes sustainability for the ITA, focusing significant efforts on fundraising and exploring new partnership and sponsorship opportunities.
- Directs the preparation of an annual budget and all fiscal management of the organization. Monitors results against the budget and annual audit.
- Supervises and guides the strategy and the content for ITA publications, website, and social media.
- Drives marketing and fan engagement strategies through all available channels to increase the popularity of intercollegiate tennis.
- Advances technology to maximize the ITA’s business functions and influence the growth of tennis.
- Manages the budget and oversees all partnerships while implementing innovative avenues to grow revenue across all categories.
- Builds strong relationships with existing donors while strategically reaching out to potential donors.
- Works collaboratively with all sponsors and media partners to develop innovative programs, campaigns, and partner activations that enhance revenue and heighten the fan experience.
Interested candidates who meet the established criteria are encouraged to contact: Bowlsby Sports Advisors.
Kyle Bowlsby
President
(619) 993-1298 cell
[email protected]
Kaity McKittrick
Vice President
(570) 575-7466 cell
[email protected]
