Morrison said that the CSF job is more similar to a role with an athletic conference than a franchiseGETTY IMAGES
Former NFL Panthers President DANNY MORRISON is the new Exec Dir of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to acquire noteworthy sporting events for the city. A former AD at Wofford and professor at the Univ. of South Carolina, Morrison sat down for a Q&A with THE DAILY to dish on his first month on the job, including ACC/SEC meetings and his goals for the future.
Q: You’ve been at CSF for over a month now. How is this job different from others you’ve had in the past?
Morrison: I’m coming into an organization that is already well run. WILL WEBB, who’s staying on as a senior advisor, is an incredible resource because (as the former Exec Dir) he has institutional memory and he’s been wonderful with his advice and support. People ask me: "How does this job compare to the Panthers or TCU or the Southern Conference or Wofford?" This would be more of a parallel to a conference situation. When you’re at a franchise or you’re at a college or university, the emotion of who wins the game always plays into it. But with a conference or a bowl situation, you’re wanting to run fabulous championship events, fabulous bowl events, but the emotion of winning and losing is not in the equation.
Q: That goal of wanting to run “fabulous events” -- how have you hit the ground running?
Morrison: Any time you go into a new job, the first thing is to listen. During my first month, there was basically a week of ACC meetings, and there was a week of SEC meetings. Having been in intercollegiate athletics for a long time, I know both commissioners well. I know a lot of the ADs. And it was good to connect back with them. Again, spent most of the time listening. And what I continue to hear is, for instance, the ACC basketball championship: What I heard from the basketball coaches and the ADs is they had a phenomenal experience here in Charlotte. The convenience of the world-class airport; to be able to be in uptown Charlotte with so much to do; to be walking distance from the Spectrum Center for fans. The ACC/SEC meetings were a great affirmation.
Q: What else can you say on the conference dealings?
Morrison: This is the time for the next six years of bowl renewals. So, we’ve renewed with the SEC and we have the Big Ten for the Belk Bowl now also -- both through ‘25. On even years, we’ll have the Big Ten and on odd years, we’ll have the SEC. So, we’re excited about that. That should be great for Charlotte. In addition, we’ve been working on solidifying some game times. The Belk College Kickoff will be at 3:30 on August 31. We have also set a date and time for the Belk Bowl, which will be December 31 at noon.
Q: What all goes into running one of these premier events?
Morrison: What I already knew about and it continues to get affirmed is how well the different entities work together in Charlotte. Having been on this board when I was with the Panthers, you could feel that. But when you see it a little more up close and personal, the CRVA, the Charlotte Sports Foundation, the city, the county, the Panthers with Bank of America Stadium, the Hornets with the Spectrum Center, the raceway and now with the ACC baseball championship next year, the Knights and their leadership … we may take that for granted in Charlotte how everyone works together, but we shouldn’t. Because that doesn’t happen in a lot of places. That harmony lends itself to attract the very best events in sports.
Q: What goals do you have for the foundation moving forward?
Morrison: We’re doing some long-range planning with our staff and every staff member is involved in that planning. We’re looking to get feedback. We’re working on future events -- what future events may be out there. End of the day, all these entities just want what’s best for Charlotte. All we want: players, coaches and fans to have such a wonderful experience here that they end up loving this place.
