Brandon Sosna
Brandon Sosna
Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief of Staff, University of Southern California Athletics
Age: 27
Born: Cincinnati
Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., political science
about you
Could not go a day without: Twitter (for news).
Most common misperception of your generation: That we’re lazy. We’re not. The way we spend our leisure time has evolved, but there’s little evidence to support the suggestion that we’re lazy.
In 10 years I hope to be … : Because I’m going on my fourth job in less than five years (Cincinnati athletics, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati athletics, USC athletics) I’ve learned to avoid playing this game …
I think sports leagues should empower individual athletes to share their unique voice and perspective on social issues. There’s no right or wrong, but authenticity and relatability matter.
In the industry
Biggest surprise at career’s start: It seems like it should have been obvious in hindsight, but relationships are absolutely everything.
Most exciting aspect of sports business: All of it!
Questions for networking: I try to avoid the generic questions that yield cliché responses, but instead prefer to focus on the questions that get to the core of who they are as people and their personal success stories. For example, what’s one thing about you that if people knew about you, then they would understand you/who you are 100 times better?
Sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Connecting with younger demographics in such a competitive entertainment landscape, with a particular emphasis on the fan experience.
