10 QUESTIONS WITH
MIKE NEALY
Executive director of Fiesta Bowl Charities
1. How did you become involved with the Fiesta Bowl Charities? When I was transitioning from working for traditional professional sports properties, the Fiesta Bowl organization was looking for an executive director to lead the Bowl in the new College Football Playoff era. As a nonprofit, the Fiesta Bowl has always had charitable efforts, so joining the Bowl meant becoming involved with Fiesta Bowl Charities. While the Fiesta Bowl always had a really rich history as a top-level college football organization, an early goal of ours was to increase our charitable efforts and make a meaningful impact on people’s lives all
6  FRONTDOORS MEDIA | NOVEMBER 2018
over the state. We continue to let the community know that we are more than just a game.
2. How has the Fiesta Bowl organization changed since you accepted the role of executive director? To be successful in this new era, we needed to become more of an internal sales and marketing organization, with dedicated leadership to build our sales efforts on a year-round basis. This was a major transition for the organization. I think the biggest
