South Carolina's Stahl Named IMG Learfield General Manager of the Year
March 9, 2015
South Carolina has had many honorees as conference coaches or players of the year. The Gamecocks have had a Heisman Trophy winner and MVPs at the College World Series. The folks behind the scenes don’t always get such accolades, even when it is deserved. That is changing as South Carolina’s Dan Stahl has been named the IMG Learfield General Manager of the Year.
“Dan has done a tremendous job leading our South Carolina property,” said A.J. Arem, Regional Manager-Southeast for IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions. “He has built a great partnership with administration that has resulted in several collaboratively successful revenue generating ideas. He’s surrounded himself with an excellent sales team that are bought into our MVP best sales practices. He’s a tireless worker that demands excellence and results from his staff. Most importantly, Dan exemplifies strong character, capacity and commitment, which can be seen in the relationships he’s established and initiatives he has helped to execute. He was very deserving of this honor.”
Not to be confused with the broadcasting and advertising arm for Gamecock Athletics, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions provides a professional sales force to increase ticket sales and enhance customer service. Stahl came to South Carolina in July of 2013 and manages the Gamecocks ticket sales team for all new business in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.
“One of the biggest thing he does is help us greatly with customer service,” said Patrick McFarland, Executive Director of the Gamecock Club. “He improves communication by calling our new members and helps them purchase season tickets. It’s a very big impact. He calls a lot of our non-renewing members and helps get them back on board by just speaking with them. He brings a lot of people back into the fold. He’s also really innovative. Looking at some of our social media sites and how to communicate with companies to show them some of the opportunities that we have here; he does a very good job with that too.”
This is the second time he’s been recognized in his role after being honored as the 2013 IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions Rookie of the Year Property.
“The success we have had at the gate in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, and football would not have been accomplished without his group and their involvement.”
Lance Grantham, Assistant A.D. Ticket Operations
Stahl beat out 29 other general managers around the country for this year’s prestigious award. Criteria for the award includes the ability to excel in teaching, motivating and training sales staff as well as maximizing revenue generation by advancing sales timelines.
“I think he acts in the best interest of our department without fail,” said Lance Grantham, Assistant Athletics Director for Ticket Operations. “He is an important part of our structure, providing service to our members and ticket buyers that we have not been able to do before. To be successful, he has to sell and articulate our vision to potential customers and convince them to make a sometimes emotional and financial investment. He and his crew are great at this. He has basically created a group sales plan that is communicated effectively and proactively, resulting in thousands of tickets being sold, along with his and the IMGL Sales group’s main effort towards season tickets. The success we have had at the gate in women’s basketball, men’s basketball, and football would not have been accomplished without his group and their involvement.”
