Charlotte 49ers Athletic Director Mike Hill believes coaches and senior administrators alike would benefit from more opportunities to mingle and go through mock interviews.
Hill should know. He met his first-year men’s basketball coach, Ron Sanchez, through a professional development event designed to make just such introductions between future ADs and coaches.
That networking event, formerly known as the Villa 7 Consortium, went on hiatus for the last three years, but with the help of Hill; his former employer, the University of Florida; and Atlanta agency CSE, Villa 7 is coming back, albeit with a new name — Next Chair.
UNC Charlotte’s campus will host the revived version of Villa 7 from May 14-16 with ESPN analyst Jay Bilas serving as the keynote speaker. The event will include a variety of sessions, including mock interviews and speed dating, intended to introduce upwardly mobile basketball coaches and senior administrators who will be making future hires. One of the primary differences with Next Chair is that women’s basketball coaches will be invited as well.
“The idea behind Villa 7 was to build relationships between the next wave of rising head coaches and administrators,” said CSE’s Mike Ellis, director of talent representation. “It really exceeded our expectations. On several occasions those relationships led directly to head coaching opportunities.”
Invitations to coaches and administrators will go out this month. The new Villa 7 will not be connected to any apparel companies this time.
