NORTHPORT, Alabama — Don Staley, past president of the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Association (TTS) and former University of Alabama football coach, will be launching a new podcast that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the sports tourism sector.
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“The Reckoning Sports Tourism Podcast” is what Staley describes as an “edgy, political and genuine” look into a growing sector, discussing the experts, how to do business at meetings and conventions and expert opinions on local politics in Alabama and Florida.
Staley is president and CEO of SNAP Sports Tourism Consulting, which was recently retained by the City of Northport as a consultant for a youth sports tournament complex proposed for construction near the current site of Kentuck Park.
As Patch previously reported, Staley left TTS and relocated to Leesburg, Fla., before founding SNAP Sports Tourism Consulting in June 2022. A little over a year later, Staley relocated again to Northport.
Staley said the podcast will be co-hosted by current UA sports media instructor Zach Tygart, who previously served as marketing manager for Visit College Station in Texas and assistant athletic director and weekend sports anchor for WVUA.
“Zach has extensive knowledge of the SEC, UA and sports in general, as well as an understanding of local politics, which will bring great insight to the program,” Staley said in a statement.
Aside from his illustrious time leading Tuscaloosa Tourism & Sports (now renamed the Tuscaloosa Tourism Bureau), Staley also spent 23 years as a college football coach, compiling a record of 324 wins, 257 losses and 38 ties, while receiving four Coach of the Year awards in two different leagues.
In fact, Staley became just the fifth coach in NCAA football history to win 300 games in 2004, after which he went on to work in the public sector at TTS.
The National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) named Staley “Sports Tourism Executive of the Year” in 2015.
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