From National Championship winning coaches to sports tech strategists, we’ve curated a group of experts and visionaries excited to take the stage at the Future of Sport Summit. They bring a range of knowledge, skills, and experiences that will help attendees better understand the various forces impacting college sports. Grow your knowledge, connect with sport executives, and learn how to create the future of college of sports! Here are our confirmed speakers!
Keynote - 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Lunch / Keynote
Luke Fedlam - Partner, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
A self-proclaimed Protector of Possibilities, Luke Fedlam is a partner and head of the Sports Law Practice Group at Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP. As a sports attorney, he regularly advises and counsels professional athletes and sports related businesses. He is also a highly sought after speaker and thought leader on the changes impacting college sports, most specifically, changes to Name, Image and Likeness laws and regulations. Luke is also the Managing Partner of Advance – an educational consulting firm focused on educating teams of athletes, coaches and athletic administrators and the professional, college and high school levels.
Paul Archey – President, JMI Sports Properties
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Paul is responsible for leading strategic partnerships across JMI Sports’ expanding portfolio, working with sales leadership to increase revenue through innovative opportunities for the company and its partners. He is engaged in day-to-day strategy and lends crucial direction and creative solutions to multimedia properties across the nation.
Paul previously served as President of the UK Sports & Campus Marketing team and as a Senior Vice President of International Business for Major League Baseball. Leading MLB’s international division from 1999 to 2014, he developed and executed a business plan that expanded MLB’s presence globally by opening offices in Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, and London, resulting in transformational growth that positioned MLB as the leader among international sports properties.
A native of Greenup, Kentucky, Paul earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Finance from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, where he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He also holds a Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he was awarded the Harold J. VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumnus Award. Paul has won numerous other awards, including Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” and Baseball America’s “10 to Watch.
Lyric Brennan – University of Kentucky Graduate Student, Former Sprinter Minnesota State Mankato
Lyric Brennen is an incoming first year Sport and Exercise Psychology graduate student at the University of Kentucky. Originally from The Bahamas, Lyric completed her student athlete career at Minnesota State University majoring in Psychology, while competing in track and field at the Division II level from 2020-2023. As a former Maverick student athlete, Lyric ranked top 10 all time at MSU in the 100 hurdles, recorded a five-time NSIC all-academic team, three-time All-conference team and an NCAA All-American award. In 2023, Lyric received the NSIC comeback athlete of the year award to close her career.
Lyric has been actively involved in the athletic community where she has served in player development, coaching, and teaching. Her dedication to life on and off the track led her to discover sport psychology as someone who is passionate about athlete development, fellowship, and mental health. She aims to take her motto “think, learn, develop” to pursue research and a career in collegiate and professional football.
Curtis Burch – Director, Digital Media UK Sports & Campus Marketing, JMI Sports Properties
Originally from Walton Kentucky. Curtis Burch moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky in 2006 and never left. The son of Carolyn and Will Burch, Curtis and his wife Kelly are proud parents of their son Theodore.
His current role, Director of Digital Media, is focused on creating media for the Big Blue Nation and helping tell the stories of UK Athletics.
Curtis was promoted to Director of Digital Media after three years as a content creator and Network Manager of the UK Sports Network. Prior to joining JMI Sports he worked for iHeart Media and the Cats Pause.
Joe Castiglione - Director of Athletics, University of Oklahoma
Joe Castiglione is in his 26th year as the University of Oklahoma’s Director of Athletics. Thanks to Castiglione, OU Athletics offers a world-class experience for student-athletes by creating a positive culture based on core values and a collaborative spirit. Under his leadership, the Sooners have won 24 national championships, earned 110 conference titles, and finished in the top 25 of the Learfield Director’s Cup 20 times. The 2023 fall semester marked the 24th consecutive that OU's student-athletes recorded a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA. And during his tenure, OU’s graduation success rate has increased by nearly 20%, highlighted by a record-tying 89% figure in 2023-24.
Johan Cedergren – Head Coach, University of Kentucky Men's Soccer
Lyndsey Gough – Sports Anchor/Reporter, WKYT
Lyndsey Gough is an award-winning Sports Anchor/Reporter at WKYT-TV.
Previously, she spent nearly four years in Savannah, Georgia at WKYT’s sister station, WTOC-TV, where she was the first woman to serve as a Sports Director in the Savannah TV market.
After graduating from the UK in 2015 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Lyndsey began her career at WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, Kentucky as a Multi-Media Journalist, and was later promoted to weekend producer and anchor. From there, Lyndsey became a sports journalist in Louisville, KY. covering sports across the state as a reporter, producer, and anchor at Spectrum News Kentucky.
Katelyn Hutchison – Graduate Student and Track & Field Student-Athlete, University of Kentucky
Katelyn Hutchison is a student-athlete at the University of Kentucky. When she is not competing for the track and field team, she is using her free time to promote the sport in as many ways as possible. Katelyn works for several media outlets including Forbes, Citius Mag, and World Athletics which is the international governing body for track and field. While working for these companies she’s had the opportunity to travel the country and world covering the sport she loves most. Her hope is to change the sport as a competitor and media personality that can use her voice for good.
Dr. Ajhanai Keaton – Assistant Professor, University of Louisville
Dr. Ajhanai “AJ” Keaton is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville and studies how race and gender (in)equity shape organizational structures, norms, and experiences. Keaton’s scholarship is interdisciplinary, as her examination of sports phenomena intersects with management and sociological communities. As an interdisciplinary scholar, she has published in the following peer-reviewed academic outlets: Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, Journal of Sport Management, Sociology of Sport Journal, to name a few. She draws upon and advances the theoretical prescriptions Black feminism, institutional theory, and critical theory to address the experiences of varying organizational actors, specifically women, girls, and historically marginalized racial groups in sport.
Rachel Lawson – Head Coach, University of Kentucky Softball
Kentucky Softball head coach Rachel Lawson is in her 17th season as the head coach of the Wildcats. She is the program’s all-time winningest head coach and has guided Kentucky to 14-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, eight NCAA Super Regionals appearances and the 2014 Women’s College World Series. During her tenure at Kentucky, the Wildcats have finished second in the Southeastern Conference two times (2016, 2019) and she has coached six different National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association All-Americans, including Abbey Cheek, the 2019 NFCA National Player of the Year. Lawson was an All-Conference player at UMass and started her head coaching career at Western Kentucky University from 2005-07 before coming to Lexington.
Susan Lax – Director of Athletics Communications and Public Relations, University of Kentucky
Susan Lax is in her 27th season with Kentucky Athletics, her eighth as the director of the communications and public relations and primary contact for the Wildcats’ football team.Lax has publicized the Wildcats’ football team through a school-record eight straight bowl games and numerous Wildcats have been named All-America and all-conference while winning national awards.Several of Lax’s publications have won awards from the College Sports Communicators and in 2023, she earned the 2023 CSC Achievement Award and received her 25-year award.Prior to serving in her current role, Lax spearheaded the publicity efforts for UK’s women’s basketball team for 18 seasons.Lax was promoted to associate director in 2002 after serving as the department’s assistant director for four years. The Murray, Kentucky, native joined the UK staff in 1997 after spending two years as the assistant media relations director at Murray State.Lax graduated from Freed-Hardeman University in 1995 where she was a three-year letter winner for the Lady Lions tennis team. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.
Patrick Maneval – University of Kentucky Graduate Student, Former Distance Runner, Shenandoah University
Patrick Maneval is a first-year graduate student at the University of Kentucky, studying Sport and Exercise Psychology and High Performance Coaching. Originally from Virginia, Patrick ran Division III Cross Country and Track for Shenandoah University from 2019-2023. During his time at Shenandoah, Patrick began volunteering with The Hidden Opponent, a non-profit organization working to break the stigma surrounding mental health in athletics. This helped him to find his passion for sport psychology through bringing mental health awareness initiatives to his campus. Patrick formerly worked as a High Performance Coaching Intern for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL and now serves as a Mental Performance Intern for Lexington Sporting Club. Patrick’s future ambitions include becoming a licensed sport psychologist, utilizing his experience with the mental and physical aspects of health and performance to provide holistic care for the clients and teams he supports. Patrick is a Life Fitness Teaching Assistant, a member of the UK Cheer team, and serves as the Intramural Chair for the Sport & Exercise Psychology club.
Brandon Monteith – Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategy, Infinite Athlete
Brandon currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at Infinite Athlete, a data technology company that provides a single technological foundation across all major sports, upon which innovative sports technology and media products can be built. Prior to Infinite Athlete, Brandon held roles in management consulting at McKinsey & Company, strategic planning at the Atlanta Hawks, and finance at PepsiCo. Brandon serves on the Board of Directors for Live2Create Foundation Network and the Advisory Board of CHRIS 180. Brandon earned a BA in Communication and an MS in Management from Wake Forest University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Olivia Ohlsen – Director of Recruiting Operations, University of Missouri Football
Olivia Ohlsen is currently the Director of Recruiting Operations for Mizzou Football. In her role, she organizes and directs all recruiting events for Mizzou Football, ensuring each one is a detailed, unique, and memorable on-campus experience. Staying at the forefront of industry trends, she implements recruiting strategies to meet the ever-changing landscape in college football.
Prior to her arrival at Mizzou, Ohlsen was the Coordinator of Recruiting Operations for LSU football (‘18-‘22) and a marketing assistant for the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (‘16-‘18).
Ohlsen is a Louisiana native and a 2016 graduate of LSU with a degree in sports administration.
Lauren Poole – University of Kentucky Graduate Student, Former Swimmer, University of Kentucky
Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, Lauren Poole is a current second-year graduate student at the University of Kentucky, specializing in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Lauren completed her undergraduate degree, majoring in sociology while competing as a Division 1 student-athlete on UK’s Swimming and Diving team between 2019-2023. A highly decorated swimmer, Lauren holds several school records, is an individual and team SEC champion, and six-time All-American, and Olympic Trials qualifier. In 2023, Lauren was recognized by the NCAA as an Elite 90 Award recipient, as an individual who has “reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among her peers”. Her involvement in athletics is what sparked her interest as an advocate for sport psychology, mental health, and community-based involvement. Lauren is heavily involved in the tutoring program at the Carnegie Center for Learning and Literacy and serves as the philanthropy chair for the UK’s Sport and Exercise Psychology Club.
Ben Portnoy – College Sports Reporter, Sports Business Journal
Ben Portnoy has covered college sports for Sports Business Journal since 2023. He joined the publication following nearly five years working in daily newspapers covering the SEC, including stints on the South Carolina and Mississippi State beats. A native of Washington, D.C., he's a graduate of Indiana University.
Craig Skinner – Head Coach, University of Kentucky Women’s Volleyball
Craig Skinner will be entering his 20th season as the head coach of the Kentucky Volleyball team in 2024, having won seven-straight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and the 2020 NCAA National Championship. Skinner was named the 2020-21 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association National Coach of the Year, the same year he led setter Madison Lilley to the SEC’s first-ever AVCA National Player of the Year award. Skinner has qualified for 19-straight NCAA Tournaments in his time as the head coach at UK and is currently the all-time winningest volleyball head coach at Kentucky. During his tenure, the Wildcats have amassed 29 All-America first, second or third team distinctions, while UK has hauled in 73 All-Southeastern Conference honors in his 19 seasons – including the 2008, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2021 and 2022 SEC Player of the Year.
Brett Rybak – Assistant to the Head Men’s Basketball Coach/Director of Player Development
Brett Rybak is in his first season as director of player development and assistant to the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. In his role, Rybak oversees public relations for the head coach, while also handling NIL, player branding and player welfare responsibilities.
Rybak initially joined the Kentucky athletic communications and public relations office in September 2022 and possesses more than 15 years of communications experience at The Ohio State University and Florida International University.
Rybak is a 2008 graduate of Otterbein University and resides in Lexington.
Tonia Witt – Owner/Founder, Rise Up Sports Media
Tonia Witt is founder/owner of Rise Up Sports Media and Tonia Witt Photo, is from Mt. Sterling, KY. LA photographer and published author who loves shooting sporting events, championships and athletes at the high school, college, and professional level. Tonia is a self-taught photographer, learning at the hands of Mike Hanson.
Her passion to cover female athletes sparked her creation of Rise Up Sports Media, which uniquely highlights female athletes in ways only men have enjoyed for years. Photography is a large piece of that coverage, but Rise Up has expanded to include magazines, a large social presence, a clothing brand and for the past three years bestowed awards on many female athletes to highlight their achievements and career accomplishments. The clothing and awards have also led to several NIL deals with high school and college female athletes which continues to push the bar forward for women and what is available and attainable for them as athletes and beyond.
Jamie Wood – Assistant Athletic Director NIL, Texas A&M Athletics
In May 2023, Jamie transitioned from his role in athletic compliance and sport administration at The Ohio State University and his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, to lead the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) unit at Texas A&M Athletics. Through the AMPLIFY NIL program, Jamie empowers student-athletes, staff, and supporters to navigate NIL opportunities effectively. His strategic guidance shapes Texas A&M Athletics' daily operations, providing proactive support to over 600 student-athletes in maximizing their NIL potential. Serving as the primary liaison for Athletics in all NIL-related matters, Jamie ensures ongoing education, governance, and seamless execution amidst the evolving landscape of NIL and college athletics. Jamie is a former football student-athlete at The Ohio State University (09-13’) and holds dual degrees in Strategic Communications and Masters of Sport Management. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor activities, fitness, travel, reading, and quality time with loved ones. Passionate about creating spaces for creativity, innovation, and growth, Jamie strives to teach and learn life through sport.
