CHIP NAMIA
LAW SCHOOL LEFT ON THE SIDELINES FOR SPORTS PR CAREER
CHIP NAMIAS ’73 INTENDED ON
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GOING TO LAW SCHOOL — OR AT LEAST THAT WAS THE PLAN. “MY PARENTS TOLD ME AT A YOUNG AGE I SHOULD BE A LAWYER BECAUSE I WAS GOOD AT TALKING PEOPLE INTO THINGS,” HE RECALLED. Namias was headed to South Texas College of Law Houston after graduating from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. That summer, Namias stayed with his mother in Memphis, and looked for a job to make some extra money before heading off to law school. He reached out to the public relations director of the Memphis Rogues, a new franchise at the time in the North American Soccer League, for a job in the department. The Rogues hired Namias. It would only be temporary, he thought. Namias didn’t know much about soccer, so he went to a library and
the magazine of cheshire academy
started researching. The sport and the job grew on him. Then nine days before the start of law school, he changed his mind and decided to give public relations a try. “My parents weren’t happy,” he said. “I wanted to chase a sports public relations job and see where that led.” Well, needless to say it has worked out pretty well for Namias. He’s had a very successful career in the public relations industry. Namias worked for professional soccer teams and served as head of public relations for three NFL franchises before launching his own firm in 1988; the Los Angeles-based Athlete & Event Sports Public Relations. Along the way, Namias found a niche he didn’t know existed. He began doing public relations for sports-themed movies. “Studios know everything about the entertainment world and media, but not sports,” he said. “That’s where I come in.” Namias has promoted films like “The Blindside,” “Glory Road,” “Bad News Bears” and several others. He’s enjoyed working with celebrities such as Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Garner. The most recent film he worked on was “Battle of the Sexes,” a movie based on the legendary 1973 tennis match between former male Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs and female tennis star Billie Jean King in which King won. Emma Stone (King) and Steve Carell (Riggs) star in the movie, which has made more than $17 million since it opened in September. “It’s hard to explain what a big deal that was,” said Namias about the original match in 1973. “To see that made into a film 45 years later and to capture the personalities and those times, and what was going on in the country at that time, and having lived through it, it was really fun to be a part of that.” Namias’ biggest strength is his contacts in sports media. A savvy and proven media strategist, he promoted the movie to national and local media ranging from print and television to radio and tennis niche outlets. Los Angeles Times writer Glenn Whipp called the film a “crowd-pleasing Oscar contender.” “It’s game, set and match for “Battle of the Sexes”, a massively entertaining account of the momentous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s writer Todd McCarthy. Namias told the story about how he reached out to his contacts Jennifer Garner and Namias at a sporting event
