A well-regarded civic leader who has helped propel Orlando鈥檚 trajectory as the fastest major metro area in the United States, Martins has spent 30 of his nearly 40 years in professional sports management as part of the Orlando Magic organization. For his many years of dedicated service and leadership, Martins became the 14th person inducted to the NBA franchise鈥檚 Hall of Fame.

The 麻豆原创听grad, who earned his听master鈥檚 in business administration听in 2001,听joins听the likes of听fellow Hall of Famers听Shaquille O鈥橬eil, Anfernee 鈥淧enny鈥� Hardaway and Dwight Howard.

鈥淗is decades of work with the Orlando Magic and his continued investment in our university reflect the character and commitment that define 麻豆原创.鈥� 鈥� 麻豆原创 President Alexander N. Cartwright

鈥淐hair Martins听leads with humility,听generosity听补苍诲 a deep sense of responsibility to this community,鈥� says听麻豆原创 President Alexander N. Cartwright. 鈥淗is decades of work with听the Orlando Magic and his continued investment in our university听reflect the character and听commitment听that听define听麻豆原创. As chair of our Board of Trustees, I see every day how deeply he believes in this institution and the听opportunities听we听create for听Central Florida. His induction into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame is a well-deserved recognition of a remarkable career听补苍诲听all of us at听麻豆原创听are听proud to celebrate this moment with him.鈥�

Man of the Hour

Martins听was听inducted on Monday, March听23,听at听Kia Center, near the Orlando Magic Fan Experience.

鈥淲e are excited to welcome Alex Martins into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame,鈥澨齭ays听Orlando Magic听chairman听Dan听DeVos. 鈥淗is innovative business acumen has transformed our organization, while working tirelessly to make the Magic an invested community partner. For his efforts that spanned three decades, this is truly a worthy recognition for Alex and his family, and we look forward to continuing to work with him in his role as vice chair.鈥�

Ties that Bind

Martins听was named听听in 2021 and听also听serves on the dean鈥檚 executive council for the听. Martins served on the developmental board of the globally acclaimed 听at 麻豆原创, which is funded through a $9 million endowment by Rich and Helen DeVos and awards dual master鈥檚 degrees in听sport management听补苍诲 business administration. Under Martins鈥� leadership, the Magic contributed $1.5 million to the construction of听麻豆原创 Downtown听in 2015, the first major private donation for the campus.

He听is a member of the College of Business鈥� Hall of Fame and recipient of the university鈥檚 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Magic Career

Martins听serves as vice chair of听the Orlando听Magic. In this position, he acts as a senior advisor to the Magic Board of Directors to advance long-term strategic initiatives and serve as a resource to Magic executives.

Martins also represents the Magic as the team鈥檚 alternate governor to the NBA Board of听Governors, and听oversees all operations of the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL and the Osceola Magic of the NBA G League.

Martins served as the Orlando Magic鈥檚听CEO听for 14 seasons (2011-25). He has held various senior-level management capacities with the Magic between 1989-98 and upon his return to the organization in 2005, including director of media relations, executive vice president of marketing and franchise relations,听president听补苍诲 chief operating officer.

During his tenure as CEO, the听Sports Business Journal听named the Magic as one of the 鈥淏est Places to Work in Sports,鈥� the only franchise in the four major professional sports leagues to receive the recognition听in 2024.

His effort and collaboration with local business and political leaders听helped to听secure the Kia Center as a sports and entertainment home, which opened in October 2010. The Kia Center was named the听Sports Business Journal鈥檚 Sports Facility of the Year in 2012.

Martins has also held senior executive positions with the New Orleans Hornets, the NFL鈥檚 Cleveland Browns and Tavistock Group. He started his career as a student assistant in the听Villanova sports information department,听assisted听in the Philadelphia 76ers public relations department and was also the assistant sports information director at Georgetown University.

Harold Mills, an Orlando entrepreneur who also has held executive positions in several companies, was unanimously chosen to continue serving as vice chair for two years. He was elected as the board鈥檚 vice chair in February.

Martins oversees all operations of the Orlando Magic and has spent more than three decades in professional sports management. A well-regarded civic leader, he earned his MBA from 麻豆原创, where he is a member of the College of Business鈥� Hall of Fame and recipient of the university鈥檚 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

He serves on the dean鈥檚 executive council for the 麻豆原创 College of Business. Martins served on the developmental board of the at 麻豆原创, which is funded through a $9 million endowment by Rich and Helen DeVos and awards dual master鈥檚 degrees in sport management and business administration. Under Martins鈥� leadership, the Magic contributed $1.5 million to the construction of 麻豆原创 Downtown in 2015, the first major private donation for the campus.

鈥淚 want to thank the board for their confidence and for the honor of serving as your chair for the next two years,鈥� Martins says. 鈥淚 look forward to working alongside you and working closely with President Cartwright and our faculty, staff and students to continue to help us become one of the great universities in this country.鈥�

Martins has previously chaired a number of community organizations, including the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission and The Central Florida Partnership. Martins serves or has served on the boards of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Central Florida Commission on Homeless and the Governor鈥檚 Council of the Orlando Economic Partnership.

Mills is the CEO of VMD Ventures, which invests in entrepreneurs in technology and service industries. He joined the 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees in 2019 and is the chair of the board鈥檚 Finance and Facilities Committee.

He previously served as chairman and CEO of ZeroChaos, a global workforce management company that he built into a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in over 53 countries.

Mills serves on the boards of Guidewell and Florida Blue, Rollins College, Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital, the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and LIFT Orlando, among others. He is a past board member for Florida Council of 100, Florida A&M University, and the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the former chairman of Florida Citrus Sports.

Mills earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Purdue University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to continue the great work of this university,鈥� Mills said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to have President Cartwright and the rest of his team lead us on this journey celebrating the enormous achievements of this institution and pursuing its grand aspirations. It鈥檚 rewarding and fulfilling work.鈥�

Martins and Mills thanked current board Chair Beverly Seay for her service. Seay will remain a Board of Trustees member, focusing the remainder of her term on the board on academic excellence, student success and strengthening 麻豆原创鈥檚 partnerships with the simulation and defense industries.

President Alexander N. Cartwright praised Seay for her leadership and for helping to convince him to come to 鈥渢his amazing place.鈥�

Addressing Martins and Mills, Cartwright said, 鈥淵ou have both been incredibly active as trustees, engaged and helpful. You鈥檝e asked all the right questions, and you continue to push for what we are looking for, which is to become an exceptional institution. I look forward to working with you to make that happen as quickly as possible.鈥�

The 13-member Board of Trustees consists of six members appointed by the governor and five appointed by the Board of Governors. The chair of the university鈥檚 Faculty Senate and the president of 麻豆原创 Student Government also are members.

I do not assess today鈥檚 changes as better or worse, just different. Society changes, generations evolve, and higher education looks like something else than it did a quarter of a century ago.

My goal has always been the same, with one question: How do I challenge today鈥檚 student to be prepared for a competitive and sometimes harsh world that lays people off and even fires employees for underperforming and/or not having an indispensable skill set that an organization values enough to keep one on at the job?

Here is a list of some things that we do in the sport business management minor program to hold our students accountable and hopefully prepare them to thrive for excellence in their future careers.

Reading. Fifty percent of students in higher education do not purchase required books for class, which is alarming. Further, the average American citizen reads up to only one book a year after graduating from college. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you鈥檒l go. That is not taken from Dr. Seuss; however, it is the same message. Feeding your brain and applying the information that you read to life is key.

Show up on time, be present and ready to engage at a high level. We require that our students be on time at the start of class and after the break halfway through class. We do this so that our students build habits of being a professional. Personally, I learned this value not only in my home but at UCLA Coach John Wooden鈥檚 basketball camp many years ago in La Jolla, California. Wooden stressed being on time at the camp and to be quick, but do not hurry.

Detach and maximize social media. Social media has allowed all of us to connect with so much content and other humans across the globe. However, social media has also become a major distraction to focusing, quietly studying, and critically thinking about various social, political, educational, etc. issues in society. We require that students keep their phones put up during class and the result is that more human interaction takes place in courses and that our students build more high-quality relationships with their peers, get to know one another, and even know each other鈥檚 first and last names in class. Our classrooms should be a place for community building after all, right?

Parental boundaries and respecting authority. We often have to remind students that due to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) that we can鈥檛 speak with parents about their children鈥檚 academic issues. Of course, there are exceptions to speaking with parents, but what we most enjoy is when parents visit our classrooms and observe the great learning environment that our students help us create. We also mentor our students that being autonomous and solving as many challenges that they can on their own will help them navigate the real workplace that awaits them soon after graduation. This is a much better approach than going over a faculty鈥檚 rank and running to the dean鈥檚 office with parents calling because of falling short with grades or not managing expectations while at the university.

In the final analysis we have many stories of students that grew by allowing themselves to embrace the mentoring and coaching that our team of full-time and adjunct faculty passionately displays. Empowering students over the years with non-cognitive attributes has helped many of them succeed and all of our students can embrace the 鈥渓ittle things鈥� that mean a lot. Body language, thank you notes to guest speakers that visit our classrooms, and dressing for success build habits that last a lifetime.

We in no way want to contribute to anxiety that students might have as we are empathetic about the realities of stress and mental health. Our goal is not to trigger but to enable our students to grow through accountability versus avoidance or entitlement. Go Knights!

Keith Harrison is a professor of business/hip-hop and sport in the 麻豆原创 College of Business and the chief academic officer of the DeVos Sport Business Program. He can be reached at Carlton.Harrison@ucf.edu.

The听麻豆原创 Forum听is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on 麻豆原创 Today and then broadcast on W麻豆原创-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the 麻豆原创.

Mike had an illustrious career in the sports industry as a senior executive with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns, Memphis Grizzlies, San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was a longtime member of the executive committee of the National Sports Forum and had a law degree and a master鈥檚 in sports management from Ohio University. As a marketer supreme, he generated income everywhere he worked. Distinguished all the way. He came to 麻豆原创 in 2013 and served as director of external affairs and partnership relations for the DeVos Sport Business Management Program.

When Mike saw the position at the 麻豆原创 he told me he felt a need to 鈥済ive back鈥� and help the next generation create their paths to success. He especially liked the program鈥檚 emphasis on both business and service to the community. He was all in when we took students to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans each August to rebuild homes in our Hope for Stanley Program. He mentored the students as they organized the 4.9K Rainbow CommUNITY Run on the first and second anniversaries of the PULSE Nightclub shooting. It benefitted the onePULSE Foundation and this year raised nearly $100,000.

In the two weeks after Mike鈥檚 passing, I received more than 200 emails, texts and phone calls from alumni showing their affection for him and their gratitude to him for the contributions he made to their lives. Another 100 from industry friends. More than 125 DeVos students and alumni attended the celebration-of-life church service. Also, more than 100 friends flew in from out of town.

The students and alumni talked about his encouraging them, his sense of humor, straightforwardness, the fact that he pushed them to try harder, to not allow their vision of work to be confined to a region of the country. Each talked about the specific thing Mike did for them.

‘The students and alumni talked about his encouraging them, his sense of humor, straightforwardness, the fact that he pushed them to try harder.’

But almost all of them talked about watching Mike be a great father. We all had the blessing of being with his children, Sawyer and Jadyn, as they came to the office when they were not in school. Such amazing children.

They were the main reason Mike left the glamour of the industry and took a huge salary cut to work at 麻豆原创. He felt that his moving around was disruptive to his family life and particularly for his children. The combination of his wanting to give back to the next generation and setting up his family in one location for the long-term were the two factors that made the DeVos team the big winner. As the director of the program, I was blessed to work closely with Mike. The students all called him 鈥淩ed.鈥� Among his responsibilities was to organize our DeVos Speakers Series. For the first speaker who came after he passed, the room was a sea of red shirts as all the students wore red in his honor.

I talked to Mike every day we were in the office together and, without exaggeration, most of the conversation was about Jadyn and Sawyer. It was often talk about the now 11-year-old Sawyer at practice or a game. I do not normally enjoy listening to sports fans talking numbingly about sports statistics. But it was different when Mike talked about Sawyer鈥榮 batting average or on-base percentage. He captured my imagination because I knew I was listening to a proud father talking about his boy. And Mike was his coach for several years.

I have a vivid memory of going with my wife, Ann, Mike and Jadyn to hear Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson, speak at Rollins College shortly after meeting them. Jaydn was 11 at the time.听There were 700 people in the room and when the host called for questions there was silence after the brilliant presentation by Sharon, who is a longtime friend, as is her mother, Rachel.

To this day I cannot remember what she asked, but Jadyn stood up and asked an insightful question regarding race, sports and Jackie Robinson. For an 11-year-old to be the only person to have the courage to stand up and then deliver something so meaningful showed me who Jadyn was. She still impresses me each time I see her. Mike took Jaydn on one of the Hope for Stanley trips to New Orleans. I will always have a picture in my head of them working shoulder-to-shoulder rebuilding someone鈥檚 home.

While losing Mike has been devastating to all of us at DeVos, we know that loss pales in comparison to the loss for his family. Mike鈥檚 wife, Danielle, organized a viewing and a celebration-of-life church service. Ann and I were at the funeral home early and spent time with Danielle, Jadyn and Sawyer, who were understandably very broken up. Then after 15 minutes, eight boys Sawyer鈥檚 age came in. Most were wearing the team jersey as they were all teammates and friends with Sawyer. They sat in a row on the side of the room. Ann said it looked like they were in a dugout. The room changed with uplifted spirits. Once again, a slice of sport brought people together. Then a similar number of Jadyn鈥檚 friends arrived, bringing out her beautiful smile.

I could not help but imagine Mike looking down on the room with his own brilliant smile. He always said Jadyn and Sawyer chose good friends.听 They were there for them that day and hopefully will give them strength in the future.

Mike loved life and living it to the fullest. But he loved his family and children the best.

That鈥檚 the premise of 鈥淚s This Really a Thing?鈥濃�� a new podcast from 麻豆原创 College of Business Dean Paul Jarley. The college’s first podcast launched today in the middle of Podcast Week and looks at a variety of current topics to determine if they are just hype or if they represent fundamental change that could alter how we do business.

鈥淎s a dean, it鈥檚 my job to think about what the college should look like five and 10 years from now and make sure we get there,鈥� says Jarley, who serves as the host for the interview-style podcast. 鈥淭his is tough. As Bill Gates famously noted, people tend to overestimate the amount of change that will happen in the next two years and underestimate the amount of change that will happen in the next 10 years.鈥�

The first three episodes debate whether eSports, ghosting in the workplace, and Bitcoin are really a thing.

Jarley doesn鈥檛 have to go far to find experts with something interesting to say about any of his topics.

鈥淲e鈥檙e big on engagement at the college, and the podcast gives us a new way to extend that culture of engagement to our alumni and community at large,鈥� Jarley says. 鈥淢any episodes will feature 麻豆原创 faculty, alums, board members and students.鈥�

For eSports, he tapped 麻豆原创 Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White, Richard Lapchick, director of the , and Ben Noel, executive director of the , 麻豆原创鈥檚 nationally renowned graduate video-gaming program. In the ghosting in the workplace episode, he talks to students, a career coach and a staffing-agency executive about job candidates who stop responding to employers that are trying to hire them. In Bitcoin, 麻豆原创 economist Sean Snaith weighs in on the viability of the cryptocurrency and whether to include it in your portfolio.

And while the topics are serious, Jarley promises that the podcast will not be a typical classroom lecture.

鈥淲e hope to make you laugh a little along the way and leave you with a new way to think about the topic at hand,鈥� he says.

鈥淚s This Really a Thing?鈥� is available through iTunes, Google Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify or by visiting .

Exhausted but elated, the siblings and their business plan to grow their Florida-based tea company had just taken the top prize at 麻豆原创鈥檚 annual Joust New Venture Competition. The Joust is one of the premier events of the 麻豆原创 College of Business鈥檚 Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership where students present their models for a viable business venture and compete to win money and other resources to pursue their venture. It is open to all 麻豆原创 students and all types of venture proposals.

Before an audience of more than 400 students, entrepreneurs, faculty, alumni and members of the community Friday, Kyle and Bryon pitched their Yaupon Brothers Tea business to local executives who served as judges.

Moments after the winning announcement, Kyle and Bryon already had plans for their winnings, which include more than $50,000 in essential business services.

鈥淲e need to bring our production facility back to Florida,鈥� said Bryon, a 2009 麻豆原创 graduate with a degree in legal studies and an interest in plants.

Having their pitch down pat from years of explaining Yaupon tea to everyone they met did little to calm their nerves on stage.

鈥淲e were nervous,鈥� said Kyle, who is a student in the 麻豆原创鈥檚 Rosen College of Hospitality Management. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of intimidating,鈥� added Bryon, a 2009 graduate with a degree in legal studies. That is saying something considering both brothers work for one of the busiest public safety organizations on the East Coast as members of Volusia County Surf Rescue.

When they鈥檙e not out rescuing swimmers or helping boaters, the brothers have been refining their tea growing and production business since 2012. A self-described plant nerd, Bryon noticed the Yaupon Holly seemed to be everywhere in Central Florida, even on 麻豆原创鈥檚 Rosen campus. A little research showed the Florida native plant was rich in anti-oxidants and North America鈥檚 only native caffeinated plant.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 being used in any drinks so I assumed it must taste awful,鈥� Bryon said, 鈥渂ut that wasn鈥檛 the case. It actually tasted really good.鈥�

In 2013,听they became the first processor, handler and grower of Yaupon to earn USDA Organic Certification. They grow the Yaupon in Volusia County and then ship it to South Carolina for processing. With their winnings, they plan to move the production facility back to Florida.

鈥淲e perfected it over time and built a supply chain,鈥� Bryon said.

Their polished presentation and in-depth knowledge on the market and production cycle left an impression with the judges.

鈥淭he consensus seems to be this was the best Joust ever, so Yaupon Brothers really needed to know their stuff to edge out the competition,鈥� said Cameron Ford, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at 麻豆原创. 鈥淭his Joust was indisputably the yummiest. The judges enjoyed delicious fruit snacks served by Earthy Creations and washed those down with our winner’s innovative Yaupon Tea.鈥�

Ford noted it was the first time a social venture, EsportsEDU, made the Joust finals and an education venture, Let’s C, inspired the crowd with their mission to teach English to students in Hong Kong.

鈥淭oday’s contestants are prime examples of how creativity and tireless research create impact by introducing innovations that enrich society,鈥� Ford said. 鈥淲e look forward to supporting their success and having them return to inspire future generations of entrepreneurial Knights.鈥�

The Joust runner-up was James Kozachuk鈥檚 pitch for EsportsEDU, competitive, community and academic programs aimed at high school youth who are passionate about video games. He took home $7,000. In the fall, Kozachuk鈥檚 pitch took first place in 麻豆原创鈥檚 first Social Venture Competition.

Jasmine Yamini placed third and earned $4,000 with her Earthy Creations business, which offers juicy, nutrient-dense dried fruit snacks as a healthy alternative to candy fruit chews and dried fruit.

Let鈥檚 C: Learning English and the team of Mei Wang, Tze Fung Wong and Lauren Polson finished fourth with $2,000 for their online platform for real-time English language tutoring between tutors from English-speaking universities and students in Hong Kong.

In the Joust, students鈥� business plans are assessed by a panel of expert professionals representing corporate partners, area businesses and alumni.听 This year鈥檚 judges included Sean Hayes, 鈥�95, principal and VP, Business Development, Voloridge Investment Management; Scott Keith, Regional President, North & Central Region, BB&T; Laurette Koellner, 鈥�77, former president, Boeing International; Terry McNew, 鈥�86, president and CEO, MasterCraft; Barry Miller, 鈥�95, President, Voloridge Investment Management; and Rick Walsh, 鈥�77, president, The Knob Hill Companies. This year鈥檚 presenting sponsors were听Steven Felkowitz, 鈥�79; DigiThinkIT, Inc.; Burr+Foreman; and Jim Balaschak, 鈥�86 & 鈥�92, and Debbie Balaschak,鈥�88. Additional sponsors include Anidea Engineering, Inc., BDO, Nperspective, LLC and William Hendrickson Consulting.

The Wharton Sports Business Academy is a program that provides an opportunity for talented rising high school juniors and seniors to study sports business leadership at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The program examines various academic disciplines as they apply to the sports industry with an overview of the business and legal aspects of various intercollegiate, Olympic and professional sports enterprises.

The workshops led by Harrison and Bukstein focus on sales and marketing, corporate partnerships, career and professional development, and innovation and analytics. This is the third year Harrison has been involved with the academy, and the second year for Bukstein.

“Scott and I enjoy teaching and learning from such a highly motivated group of aspiring sport business professionals. It is an honor to be a part of this exceptional program at the Wharton School.” said Harrison.

Sixty-five students and administrators from the program traveled to the Crescent City this summer to help rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward through the non-profit organization Hope For Stanley Alliance (created by alumni of the DeVos Sport Business Management Program) and in partnership with the St. Bernard Project. During the trip, the group toured the city, including where the levees broke, and worked throughout their orientation week on three different homes.

View students’ tweets, posts and photos from their trip to New Orleans.

鈥淓ven though years have passed and the city of New Orleans has been somewhat improved, there鈥檚 still a lot of work to do. This community is very strong and full of faith. Having the opportunity to be part of a program that brings hope to other people and being able to help them rebuild their homes is an amazing thing. There are not many feelings that compare to the one you get by being an essential piece of someone else鈥檚 future and I鈥檓 very grateful I got to experience it with my DeVos family,鈥� said Stephanie Rivera Casiano, DeVos Class of 2014.

Students from the program have volunteered to help the city rebuild since 2006. The New Orleans City Council passed a proclamation commending the work done by the Hope For Stanley Alliance, which it previously cited as the most active external group helping New Orleans in the recovery. As director of the DeVos Sport Business Management Program, Richard Lapchick was named an honorary citizen of New Orleans in 2007. A group from the program plans to go back to continue their efforts in December. For more information on the , please visit their website.

The team placed first for each of the two assigned case studies.

The case studies focused on developing a comprehensive social media strategy for Michael Waltrip Racing, creating a promotion for Michael Waltrip Racing that focuses on its relationship with Aaron鈥檚, and developing a retail, at-track, and digital promotion to promote the official partnership between Dodge and NASCAR.

The team was also planned and executed a NASCAR Race Viewing Party that attracted nearly 185 people.

NASCAR developed the program in 2009 with the mission of exposing college students to and educating them about the NASCAR brand.

This innovative, engaging program gives the teams an opportunity to work through real-world business challenges facing the motorsports industry.

Please visit the听NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion听听for more information on the program.