Frank Micelotta
During the 2018 college football season, Wisconsin traveled to Michigan for a mid-October game. It was a marquee game for Fox Sports, which used it to anchor the Saturday noon window.
The move carried some risk at the time, since the biggest college football games typically were played later in the day. The Wolverines trounced the Badgers 38-13.
But Fox’s viewership impressed: 5.42 million viewers. And it launched a strategy where Fox put its best games in that noon window. The strategy, led by Derek Crocker, who handles college football scheduling for the group, has turned into one of Fox’s biggest success stories over the past five years.
Derek Crocker
Vice President, Collegiate Sports, Fox Sports
Age: 39
Born: Los Alamitos, Calif.
Education: Chapman University, B.S., business administration (marketing/finance)
Family: Spouse, Jennifer; children, Ezekiel (3) and Malachi (9 months)
Best “backyard BBQ” job description: I get paid to watch sports for a living.
First job: Youth soccer referee. Because of that experience, I’m determined to not be “that dad” at my kids’ sporting events in the future.
Favorite saying: Phillippians 4:13 — “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Causes supported: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America; Susan G. Komen Foundation; and Cru.
Mobile app I could not live without: Waze — I’m terrible with directions.
People in sports business I’d most like to meet: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Most pressing issue facing my generation is … : Addiction to technology and dependence on social media leading to mental health issues.
The sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Identifying and retaining top talent.
“It is a counter-punching strategy,” Crocker said. “There was this opening at noon where if we put a better game there, we could drive more viewership.”
The idea had a lot of pushback internally at first. Crocker did not rely on developing a deck or setting up a lot of meetings. Fox Sports doesn’t work that way. Instead, Crocker kept monitoring viewership in that window and consistently had informal conversations with Fox Sports brass.
Eventually, Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks bought into the idea. So, too, did Brad Zager, president of production and operations, who committed to creating a pregame show that led into that noon game.
“Everyone looks at the numbers, so it doesn’t take a lot of convincing once you saw the returns,” Crocker said. “From there, it was about how we can make this event look and feel even bigger.” — John Ourand
