JOURNAL SPORTS
The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is adding nearly 30 years of on-campus SEC experience to the staff, naming Matt Shanklin as Director of Partnership Development in an announcement Tuesday.
“I am very excited to join the Independence Bowl team and the Shreveport-Bossier City community,” said Shanklin. “It is a great opportunity to be a part of a bowl game that has been a mainstay of the college Bowl Season and a bowl that is so ingrained in the fabric of the community.”
Shanklin spent nine years at LSU, helping grow revenues by over $11 million through his dual role as general business manager of LSU Sports Properties and associate athletic director for marketing. Before his time at LSU, Shanklin spent 20 years at the University of Arkansas. He spent 12 years as the university licensing coordinator, while also being the Razorbacks’ first director of marketing.
His multi-media experience has seen Shanklin negotiate major partnerships with top brands such as Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, Capital One, AT&T/Cingular, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, Papa John’s, Anheuser-Busch, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, FujiFilm, Fanatics and Sodexho.
“We are very excited to add Matt Shanklin to our staff,” said 2023 Independence Bowl Foundation chairman Bryan Roppolo. “Matt brings extensive experience to this position and will be a great addition to our already excellent staff.”
At LSU, Shanklin was responsible for the launch of the SkyLine Club at Tiger Stadium, the creation of the first all-inclusive tailgate village at LSU Football and led the implementation of LSU logos on packaging and point of sale for the Bud Light and UPS Tiger programs. He also spearheaded all the marketing, ticket promotions and digital campaigns to drive attendance and increase revenues – resulting in attendance records for football, men’s basketball, gymnastics, softball and baseball.
In his time as director of marketing at Arkansas, he built the Razorback Marketing Office from the ground up with in-house multi-media sales, marketing and promotions, negotiating the school’s most significant partnerships – including, at the time, the largest single school sponsorship in college sports with an $11.3 million partnership with Southwestern Bell/Cingular.
As the Arkansas licensing coordinator, Shanklin grew the Razorback brand into a consistent top-15 CLC school. He was also responsible for creating one of the largest college baseball radio networks while at Arkansas and developed the school’s Hispanic radio network. During his tenure in Fayetteville, he also served as sport administrator for the highly successful Arkansas Razorback baseball program.
A 1988 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Shanklin earned his master’s degree from the highly regarded Ohio University Sports Administration program in 1989.
The 47th edition of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl is set for Saturday, December 16 at 8:15 p.m. between bowl-eligible teams from the Big 12 Conference and Pac-12 Conference.
