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Dr. Bernie Mullin is considered to be a leading expert in sport marketing and sport management with 28-plus years of experience in the sport and entertainment industry. He is a noted builder of outstanding start-up professional sports franchises and is equally adept at turning around and building back up, existing franchises that previously suffered from declining fan support, which he has accomplished in various markets throughout the United States.
Since 1986, Bernie has held executive positions with professional sports teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the International Hockey League (IHL) as well as NCAA Division 1 Athletics. Mullin came to Atlanta in April 2004 as Atlanta Spirit, LLC's President and Chief Executive Officer, where he was charged with structuring the parent company for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and the world-class Philips Arena.
In this role, Mullin is in charge of all facets of the Spirit's operations, including all team and business functions for the Hawks and Thrashers, and overseeing the management of Philips Arena. Under his leadership, Atlanta Spirit has significantly improved the economic stability and performance of both team brands. Attendance at Hawks and Thrashers games is steadily rising and the in-arena entertainment experience for fans at Philips Arena has been significantly upgraded, while maintaining the superb customer service and southern hospitality that the arena is famous for.
Prior to his arrival in Atlanta, Mullin served as the NBA's Senior Vice President, Marketing and Team Business Operations for four years. There, his responsibilities included managing and marketing the NBA, WNBA and NBDL brands. He also directed the Team Marketing and Business Operations group that provide management consulting services and strategic information to teams on all business and revenue generating initiatives, most specifically ticket sales, sponsorship sales, marketing, advertising, branding and promotional strategies.
Mullin began his professional sports team career in 1986, serving as Senior Vice President of Business for the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he quickly helped turn around a team that was losing multi-millions of dollars annually by taking the team's attendance and business revenues to all-time franchise record levels. In 1991, Mullin joined the expansion Colorado Rockies as Senior Vice President of Business Operations where he oversaw all business functions and developed the team's business and marketing plans, recruited and trained the business staff and directed the execution of the programs that produced MLB's all-time attendance record of just below 4.5 million fans in one season, a record that still stands today. Mullin also acted as the owner's representative on the design and construction of the award-winning Coors Field. At the end of 1993, Mullin became President and General Manager of the expansion Denver Grizzlies of the International Hockey League. There, he oversaw all business and team operations, won a Turner Cup Championship and created a model for successful expansion in the IHL with an average attendance of more than 14,000 fans per game and a 72-20-6 win/loss record.
Prior to and intertwined with his tenure in professional sports, Mullin spent more than a dozen years in intercollegiate athletics and higher education. He served as the Vice Chancellor of Athletics for the University of Denver in the mid-to-late 90's, where he directed the institution's move to NCAA Division I status and nearly $300 million in athletic and recreational facility construction. Mullin was a Professor of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts from 1977-86, where he helped build the academic program to international prominence and he also operated a thriving sport marketing and facility management consultancy business. Additionally, he published the best-selling text, Sport Marketing, which is now in its third edition.
The Liverpool, England native played semi-professional football (soccer) for the Oxford City Football Club from 1969-73, and captained his varsity team to back-to-back British Polytechnic Championship finals in 1972 and 1973. Mullin earned a Ph.D. in Business, an MBA and an MS in Marketing from the University of Kansas, where he was elected to membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honor society in business. He also graduated from Coventry University in England with a BA in Business Studies.
Mullin is active in the Atlanta community, serving on the boards of Central Atlanta Progress, the Atlanta Sports Council, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He resides with his wife, Valerie, in Chastain Park and has three children, Julie, Lara and Steven, a stepson Chad, and two grandchildren, Ian and Niame. |
