On Nov 12, Associate commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Tiffany Daniels educated those interested in a career the sports industry for the Sports Management speaker series at the University of West Georgia Coliseum.
Daniels, a native of Atlanta, attended the University of Georgia as a student athlete and received a B.A. degree in management information and an M.S. degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts. While as a student athlete for UGA; Daniels lettered for the Lady Bulldogs from 1993-97 as part of two SEC Championship teams and two NCAA Final Four squads.
“I think that by having the perspective as student athlete has helped me tremendously in my career,” said Daniels. “Playing basketball I had to learn to focus in environment where people were making a lot of noise, and today that’s the world that I work in; making sure that I continue to environment and change beyond my work.”
As the Director of Business Development at the Georgia Dome, Daniels was responsible for seeking and negotiating new business ventures, while also working with corporate sales and activation.
“While working as the Director of Business Development for the Georgia Dome, my main objective was filling the event calendar for the dome nighty percent full throughout the year. We looked for concerts, graduations and anything other than Falcon events to keep business in the Dome. I thrive in an environment that ever changing.”
Currently, Daniels will serves as the Senior Woman Administrator for the SEC, will act as the primary conference mediator of the league’s 14 institutions, and will have administrative oversight of volleyball and an additional sport to be assigned.
Daniels is one of the few women that is a part of Southeastern Conference Staff, and expressed the difficulties as women in the business world by stating, “There times where as a female have to choose from your personal life and your career. Finding that balance between the two can be hard. How do you know when you have a balance in your personal life and your career?” Daniels also added, “It can be challenging as women to constantly have proving your-self time after time. But it also helped me understand the magnitude of what I can do, constantly bring the best out of me.”
“Take pride in representing myself but my family. I learned to rely that it’s about my brand and what is best for that brand.Growing up I was always taught to: Do your work do it with integrity; and I continue to have that mentality today.”
This integrity and hard work has put her in position that most women do not have the chance to experience. Daniels dedicated all her accomplishments by simply quoting” For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 21: 11) It’s up to us to take the skills God has equipped us with, and use them to the best of our abilities.
