The University of South Carolina’s world-renowned Department of Sport and Entertainment Management is proud to welcome its newest faculty member, professor of practice Gary Sobba.

Sobba has a distinguished history in the sport industry, having most recently served for seven years as tournament director for the Wells Fargo Championship PGA TOUR stop in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sobba is well acquainted with the South Carolina program, having guest lectured on multiple occasions in classes taught by Danny Morrison. He also brings nearly three decades of experience in college athletics, joining Morrison and others as faculty members who are well known and respected industry leaders.

“I think in some respects you're talking theory versus reality. We've done this and we enjoy being able to share our experiences with students that strive to have careers in the industry,” Sobba says. “Hopefully we can teach them about specific disciplines that they may not have been aware of and open new pathways. They can learn about things they did not know were career possibilities and say ‘Wait a second, that sounds pretty interesting.”

Sobba earned his MBA from the University of Kansas. He served as assistant athletics director of marketing at Wichita State University, then assistant athletics director of marketing and broadcasting at the University of Houston.

I love giving back to students. I love sharing experiences that hopefully can help guide, mold and build their careers.

He then spent 15 years as general manager of Tar Heel Sports Marketing (part of sports marketing company Learfield) before moving to Learfield’s corporate office as senior vice president of the company’s university partnership group.

In that role, Sobba traveled from coast to coast, negotiating media rights with university athletic directors. He has seen 126 college football stadiums in his career, in addition to his recent experience with the PGA TOUR.

He will draw on his experience in his first classes at South Carolina, teaching both undergraduate and master’s students in a course in revenue generation in sport and another that will include a professional golf research and survey project with the PGA of America.

With a resume like his, Sobba could have chosen almost any job or path. His father was a teacher, however, and he had enjoyed his experience as a guest lecturer at South Carolina and elsewhere. All that put education on his radar, and this fall, the timing was right. His reason for making the move is simply explained, and echoes that of many of his new colleagues.

“I love giving back to students,” he says. “I love sharing experiences that hopefully can help guide, mold and build their careers.”