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GLMV Business Marketing Roundtable Discussion
Date and Time
Wednesday Jun 7, 2017
11:30 AM - 1:15 PM CDT1st Wed. Monthly, 11:30-1:15 pm
Fees/Admission
Purchase your own lunch
GLMV Business Marketing Roundtable Di...Description
The GLMV Marketing Roundtable provides an opportunity for members to discuss their marketing challenges and successes with other GLMV members and Chamber staff. Share ideas for creative marketing initiatives.
Special Guest: Connie Kowal,
Director, Libertyville Sports Complex & Recreation, Village of Libertyville
Biographical Information
Libertyville resident Conrad “Connie” Kowal has been a Chicago sports executive for over 36 years. Since September of 2010, Kowal has served as the Director of the Libertyville Sports Complex & Recreation Department (www.LibertyvilleSportsComplex.com). The Libertyville Sports Complex is one of the largest sports, recreational, and events venues in the Midwest. Kowal oversees the Sports Complex campus which includes the 160,000 square foot multi-purpose indoor sports & events facility, Fitness Center, outdoor Golf Driving Range and Softball Field, along with the Recreational programs and other sports properties for the Village of Libertyville.
Kowal has served in many key front office executive positions with various professional sports organizations, including 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs and 3 seasons with the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He has also worked in front office leadership positions in Professional Soccer, Motorsports, Professional Indoor Lacrosse and XFL Football.
Kowal has also served as a Consultant providing marketing, sales, PR and management expertise to businesses, organizations, sports teams, and event promoters. Kowal is also a frequently requested sports, business and motivational speaker sharing his numerous sports, business and life experiences.
Kowal’s sports executive career includes 14 seasons with the Chicago Cubs (1985-1998) handling marketing, business operations, special events, sponsorships, promotions and community relations for the Cubs at the major league level. During his tenure, the Cubs branding and marketing led to new heights in attendance and promotion at Wrigley Field, including historic events such as the ‘8-8-88’ First Night Game, the 1990 MLB All-Star Game, post-season MLB Divisional Playoff games, several Legends Old-Timer Games, Player Tribute Games and hundreds of game-day promotions & events days. He also directed many Cubs Special Events including the annual Cubs Fan Conventions, Cubs Care charitable events and the Cubs All-Star Kids Clinics. Kowal also directed the Business Operations, as Executive Vice President and ownership Director, for two minor league teams (Rockford Cubbies-Class A, Midwest League and Orlando Cubs-Class AA, Southern League) both owned and operated by the Chicago Cubs and Tribune Company.
Kowal was Senior Director of Marketing & Business Development, and business Chief of Staff, for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints for three seasons (2003-2005). The Saints “You Gotta Have Faith” marketing campaign received national recognition. He directed all aspects of the Saints efforts in marketing, corporate sponsorships, advertising, promotions, ticket sales, Suite sales, entertainment, stadium operations, website, youth programs, merchandise sales, special events and broadcasting. In 2003, the Saints set a record for the most season tickets sold at the Louisiana Superdome in the then 37-year history of the franchise jumping from 37,000 to over 53,500 season tickets sold. The Saints advertising efforts won numerous local and regional ADDY awards, as well as national recognition for the Best TV Campaign in Sports and received the national EDDY award for marketing and advertising excellence. Kowal also displayed key leadership and crisis management skills in 2005 when the destruction of Hurricane Katrina forced the Saints organization to relocate from New Orleans to San Antonio, Texas and implement a quick rebuilding of operations and strategy for the 2005 NFL season. Saints ‘home’ games took place at the Alamodome, LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.
His other sports business experience includes Director of Public Relations with the Chicago Sting professional soccer team for 5 years, during their indoor and outdoor seasons, including the 1981 & 1984 Soccer Bowl Championships. Kowal also was the Vice President of Marketing & Broadcasting with the Chicago Motor Speedway for CART & NASCAR sanctioned races, the Vice President & General Manager of the Chicago Enforcers football team of the XFL owned by the WWF and NBC, and the President of the Chicago Shamrox professional indoor lacrosse team of the National Lacrosse League. He also served as a Consultant to the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League in their championship year of 2006 and as a Consultant to clients of Edelman Sports-Chicago..
A graduate of Western Illinois University with a B.A. in Political Science pre-law, Kowal played baseball at Western earning multiple NCAA post-season honors his senior year. He was the starting 3rd baseman and helped lead the WIU baseball team to the NCAA Mid-East Regional Finals, one game from the Division II College World Series. The 1974 WIU Baseball team is considered one of the greatest teams in WIU history setting or shattering 22 school records, many of which still are ranked #1 or in the top 10 in the WIU baseball record book. After graduating from WIU, he became an Assistant Baseball Coach in 1974-1975 for the legendary Hall of Fame Western Illinois Head Baseball Coach Dick Pawlow. In 1992, Kowal received the prestigious Western Illinois University “Alumni Achievement Award”. Kowal is still involved with the WIU Athletic Department to coordinate the WIU Baseball Alumni reunion weekends that take place each Spring at WIU. Kowal annually returns to WIU as a guest lecturer for the business school marketing classes as well as graduate school sports management students.
Prior to becoming a sports executive, Kowal was a high school Government teacher and 3-sport coach from 1976-1980 at Mundelein High School, in Chicago’s northern suburbs. He also taught two semesters of Sports Management as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia College in Chicago in 2000.
An avid golfer, Kowal reached the 90-man State Finals in the 2009 Illinois State Senior Amateur Championships, advancing from the Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) qualifying events. In 2010, he was the 1st Place Net Champion of the 40th Annual Lake County (IL) Amateur Championship. Kowal won the 1st Place Net Championship in his division in the CDGA Mid-Amateur in 2014. He achieved his second career “Hole-in-One” in 2011. In July of 2017, he will host the 33rd Annual “Connie Kowal Golf Classic”.
Kowal is a frequent guest on radio and sports talk radio shows sharing his experiences and knowledge of sports management on relevant and newsworthy topics. Kowal was the Chicago Daily Herald newspaper “Guest Columnist” for their coverage of the Chicago Cubs World Series Game 3 preview edition on October 28, 2016.
Kowal is currently writing a book on his real-life experiences in sports as a front-office executive.
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