Meet Pat McGregor.
Pat has spent the last five-plus years building a career across sports marketing, content and brand, most recently leading the marketing function through the formation of NSW Athletics.
Pat's first roles were in retail at Kingsgrove Sports Centre and Adidas, before an internship in the membership team at the St George Illawarra Dragons was cut short by COVID. Working a warehouse job through lockdown and buried under rejections, he came genuinely close to giving up on sport altogether. Instead, he resigned, leaned on the SportsGrad community, and three weeks later landed a marketing coordinator role at Little Athletics NSW.
From there, it snowballed to working alongside Olympians like Jess Fox and Sam Fricker at the NSW Institute of Sport, delivering a national-record membership campaign, and leading the rebrand through a merger.
Lots to look out for in this episode, including how to reframe non-sport experience so it actually lands against a job description, and how to keep progressing (and creating your own next move) once you're inside.
We cover:
(03:16) - Interview Begins
(05:00) - Quick Fire Questions
(11:00) - How Pat decided he wanted to work in the sport industry
(14:48) - How SportsGrad helped Pat early in his career
(16:27) - Why Pat almost gave up on a career in sport
(18:27) - Pat's role at New South Wales Institute of Sport
(22:34) - How Pat became a 'one-person marketing department' at Little Athletics NSW
(28:25) - How the Athletics NSW and Little Athletics NSW brands merged
(30:42) - What challenges and opportunities arose in marketing the brands merging
(33:14) - How SportsGrad has been helping Pat recently in his job hunt
(39:28) - How to land a role in sport marketing in the next 30 days
(41:25) - Biggest pinch-me moment working in sport
(44:12) - What would life look like if it wasn't for a career in sport
(44:42) - What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced, and how did it become successful
(46:17) - Pat's question for next guest
If you liked this ep, give these a go next:
#236: Sports Marketing Consultant career journey (so far!) with Danny Bowerin
#280: How to get a sports marketing job in the English Premier League with Alex King
#324: How to turn a Law and Comms degree into a marketing role at the AFL with Veronica Steer
Want a job in sport? Click here.
Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Thanks for listening, much love!
","author_name":"SportsGrad"}