Herring Named Van Wagner General Manager

OXFORD, Ohio – Greg Herring, a 1999 Miami University graduate, has returned to Oxford as General Manager of Miami's corporate partnership with Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment.

Herring returns to his alma mater following one season in the Alliance of American Football, where he served as the Vice President of Marketing with the Memphis Express. During the inaugural season, Herring orchestrated the brand launch in the local market and was responsible for the day-to-day marketing, advertising, digital media and public relations strategies. Prospective companies looking for sponsorship opportunities with Miami athletics can contact Greg at (513) 529-0322 or gherring@vanwagner.com.

"We are elated with our choice to partner with Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment," Associate AD for Revenue Generation D'Angelo Solomon said. "We are equally excited to have an alum of Mother Miami at the helm as the new General Manager for Van Wagner. Greg's experience and depth of knowledge will prove to be invaluable as Miami Athletics re-positions for long-term success building stronger relationships with our business community."

Before his AAF stint, Herring spent nearly 18 years working in intercollegiate athletics. He served at East Carolina University for five years and left as the Associate Athletics Director for Marketing and Engagement. During his tenure, Herring was responsible for all marketing, promotions and advertising for the athletic teams and events; strategic outbound ticket sales; fan engagement initiatives, digital/social media; and game day experience and atmosphere. Over that five-year time span, Herring and his team regularly achieved an average football attendance of over 40,000, ranking in the top half of FBS and was highest among the "Group of 5" in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Other attendance achievements were also seen as women's basketball saw a 400% increase, over 200% increase for volleyball and women's soccer, 23% increase at Pirate baseball, and the marketing team set eight (8) stadium attendance records. Further, @ECUAthletics social media accounts achieved an over 200% increase in followers and engagement across all four platforms, due in part to outstanding content creation which was recognized in 2017 with the winning of an SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Award.

"It is an honor to return to my alma mater and serve in this leadership capacity on behalf of Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment," Herring said. "I'm excited to work alongside the Miami athletics administration and our corporate partners to provide highly impactful experiences to all of our constituents in support of our outstanding student-athletes at this world-class institution."

Prior to arriving in Greenville, Herring spent one-year in a similar role at Northern Illinois University where he developed a comprehensive marketing and ticket sales plan that had record-breaking results in 2013 with an all-time high in football season ticket sales with a 24% increase along with the first "sold out" home football game in more than decade. Additionally, the marketing and sales efforts in 2012 resulted in a 15-percent total increase in both football ticket revenue and men's basketball season ticket sales, along with a 200-percent increase in student attendance at men's basketball. Olympic sport attendance improved by double-digit percentages as well. Among his many duties also included serving as point-of-contact with both multi-media rights and licensing partners.

Herring joined the staff at NIU from York College of Pennsylvania, where he served two years as a sports management-visiting instructor, creating and instructing a curriculum on ticket operations, sales and negotiations. This followed a stint as Assistant Athletics Director for External Affairs at Radford University. Herring established RU's sponsorship program generating nearly a half-million dollars in revenue and was appointed as the University Brand and Graphic Standards Manager by the University President. During his tenure, the Highlander men's basketball program more than doubled its season ticket sales while volleyball, men's soccer, softball and women's basketball also saw attendance increase by double-digit percentages.

Before joining the staff at Radford, Herring spent five years at Southern Miss, the last two as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Sales. While at Southern Miss, Herring oversaw season ticket sales increases in football, men's basketball and baseball. He also improved student football attendance to over 7,000 per game.

Herring began his career in collegiate athletics at the University of Missouri, where he was the Assistant Director of Sports Marketing and Promotions for two years. Herring also spent time as an intern with the University of Florida Athletic Association immediately after college.

A native of Eaton, Ohio, Herring graduated from Miami University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Sports Studies before obtaining a Master of Science in Sport Management; Sports Event Security Management from Southern Mississippi in 2008. He is also a past president of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA).

Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment and Miami University Athletics announced an agreement granting Van Wagner exclusive rights to represent Miami University Athletics in negotiating corporate sponsorships and media sales back in August. In addition to selling and managing Miami's broadcast and digital media assets, Van Wagner will execute sponsorships that include such marketing assets as athletic facility signage, social media content, rights to athletic marks and in-game promotional features.

Since 2014, Van Wagner has become a leader in college sports marketing and was developed to represent the sponsorship or multimedia rights for multiple schools and athletic conferences, including the America East Conference, Big South Conference, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Colonial Athletic Association, Western Athletic Conference, and the West Coast Conference, as well as Arizona State National Sales, Canisius College, East Tennessee State University, Furman University, Florida International University, Georgia State University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Liberty University, Longwood University, Loyola University Maryland, Loyola Marymount University, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Niagara University, Pepperdine University, Samford University, University of San Francisco, Rider University, Siena College, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Peter's University, Santa Clara University, Southern Utah University, Southland Conference, Stony Brook University, The University of Texas at El Paso, Towson University, Valparaiso University and The College of William & Mary.

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