Peyton Stovall is the Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development at Purdue University. He leads all career advancement activities, including resume writing and interview technique seminars, and assists student-athletes with job and internship placement. He also builds relationships with businesses to provide experiential and employment opportunities while co-hosting career development events, educational career seminars and networking events.
Prior to working at Purdue, Peyton Stovall worked his way up the the high school athletics administrative ranks, beginning his professional career as a physical education specialist. He then worked as an assistant athletic director at his high school alma mater, and was then promoted to the role of athletics director.
Before starting his professional career in high school and collegiate athletics, Peyton was a four-year basketball letter winner at Ball State and served as team captain. He was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
Sports Industry Journey:
Education
D1 Student-Athlete: Basketball, Guard | Ball State University
Bachelor's Degree | Sport and Fitness Administration | Ball State University
Master's Degree | Sport and Fitness Administration | Ball State University
Career
Marketing and Promotions Grad Assistant | Ball State University
Intern | Indianapolis Indians
Intern | NCAA
Physical Education Specialist | Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
Assistant Athletics Director | Evansville North High School
Athletics Director | Evansville North High School
Athletics Director | Lafayette Jefferson High School
Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development | Purdue University
Twitter: @BoilerStov
LinkedIn: Peyton Stovall
How did you get started working in the sports industry?
I played basketball at Ball State, got my master's there, and while I was getting my master's I worked for the Indianapolis Indians. After finishing up my master's, I completed an internship with the NCAA for about 3 or 4 months. Having just finished playing basketball, I missed the team aspect and locker room feel and I needed that. So while I was at NCAA, I was coaching a high school basketball team. While I was coaching, I realized that every high school kid was soaking up every word I said. That's when I realized that my biggest impact would be at the high school level.
I coached for a little while, but I decided I wanted to get out of coaching and so I decided to pursue the high school athletic director route.
I always felt there was opportunity missed when I was a student-athlete. So when the job opened up (at Purdue) I knew I couldn’t pass it up.
What advice would you give to an undergrad student who is looking to become an AD at the high school level? What steps are necessary to get there?
It’s starting to evolve a little bit. The steps to become an AD in the state of Indiana used to be teacher 🡪 coach 🡪 Assistant AD 🡪 AD and you were in your 60’s by the time you got to that role. Now it’s starting to evolve with young professionals. Having experience in marketing, business or fundraising can translate to what the needs are currently at the high school level for an AD. The ability to talk about student-athlete development is incredibly important. In the Midwest it’s about developing the student-athlete and not all about winning. Getting some experience in different ways other than having a teaching degree is important too.
How were you taught how to fundraise?
I learned how to sell myself and I figured out how to debate myself. I go into a situation by doing a lot of research, and find out what [the potential donors] values are. How do they align with us? If I know they donated to an organization or something similar, I try to hit those soft points and then figure out are they “What's in it for me?” or if they truly are philanthropists.
How to make a big ask to a potential donor.
Be charismatic and truly care about the potential donor. Building a true relationship with the person is incredibly important.
As a former student-athlete, what advice would you give to student-athlete’s that maybe realize being a professional athlete isn’t in their future or want to one day get involved with collegiate athletics?
I continue to tell student-athletes you don’t want to be reactive, you want to be proactive. Not just student-athletes but anybody that has aspirations in any job they’re pursuing. You have to be proactive. For instance as a basketball player, if I don’t get shots up at the gym I won’t be able to shoot well. If you don’t work on your professional development, you won’t be able to better yourself along the way from freshman to senior year. You need to be patient and realize that everything you're doing will help your future self.
If you’re a basketball or football player, there are avenues at the professional level that will pay very well. People continue to tell student-athletes that only 1% will make it [playing professionally] and if you do, the lifespan is very short. The growth mindset we’re trying to instill is if you do want to play professionally and get to that point where you can play professionally, you’re going to end up sitting across from a CEO/President/high level executive. You'll need to know how to interview and how to have a clean resume and they want to know the investment they make is as safe as possible.
What is the book (or books you’ve given most as a gift) and why or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality - Being a basketball head, I’ve read Kobe's book. I relate that to everything I do. At work, home, personal life. Having the mentality that I never give up, I’m going to fight through adversity. A champion is being a good father, good husband. I relate to Mamba mentality in all aspects of life.
John C. Maxwell books - He does a great job of explaining leadership; how culture beats everything else.
Flow - I’m reading it now and its about tapping in to your optimal experience and putting it into your work and your life.
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere in the world with anything on it – and you could get a message out to millions or billions – what would it say and why?
It would probably say “Lift as you rise”. As you continue to rise in your career, lend a hand to those that are working to be where you are. It's so important to help those that want to be in your shoes.
How to approach a potential mentor.
Email a potential mentor and tell them your intentions about how you’d love to sit down with them and interview them and get to their position at some point. If you see an article, send it their way and tell them you were thinking of them, wish them well, etc. You obviously don’t want to annoy someone, but be intentional of what you want and reach out to folks and see what you get.
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