Guest Speaker – Steve Becvar, XFL

Remember when the XFL unapologetically introduced itself in 2000? Well, after a successful first week that produced large TV ratings on NBC, as well as an air of excitement, the XFL quickly lost its momentum. In fact, after only one season, the XFL shut down operations.

Today, Steve Becvar, who was VP of Corporate Sales and Marketing for one of the Memphis XFL team, discussed that one crazy year. Currently, Becvar is the Associate Athletic Director at the University of San Diego and he has spoken to past SMBA classes during the IMC class.

Becvar worked for the Memphis Maniax and moved his family for the opportunity to head the marketing department for a new League that was generating a lot of excitement. Even though Memphis averaged 21,000 fans per game and had 9,000 season ticket holders, Becvar admitted that there were some growing pains.

Becvar discussed those growing pains, the XFL corporation, working at the team level, the day he found out the League was shutting down, and shared some stories about his experience. He admitted that he was “intrigued by the unknown” and, unfortunately, the unknown ended up not working.