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Ryan Smith joined the Big 12 in August 2025 as Senior Director – Partnerships. Smith is responsible for securing new sponsorship revenue and driving strategic commercial partnerships for the Conference and served as the Interim Chief Revenue Officer from May through August 2026, where he oversaw all commercial sales and operations. In addition, Smith manages relationships with internal and external stakeholders to align marketing and revenue-generating initiatives and oversees the Big 12’s commercial sales internship program, including recruitment, development and mentorship.
Prior to joining the Big 12, Smith served as General Manager for Chamber Door Sports at Georgetown University. In that role, he led sponsorship sales efforts for Georgetown Athletics. Smith worked closely with university and athletics leadership to develop strategic corporate partnerships and managed all aspects of the sales cycle.
Before his time at Chamber Door Sports, Smith spent more than four years with Boston College Sports Properties, a division of Learfield. Beginning as an independent contractor before being promoted to Manager of Business Development. During his tenure, Smith developed relationships with local, regional and national brands, consistently exceeded annual sales goals, and created a sponsorship sales training program for student interns.
Smith also held ticket sales roles with Boston College Athletics, where he was responsible for generating ticketing and fundraising revenue. He was the department’s leading salesperson during the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons and helped train and mentor new sales staff, interns, and volunteers. Earlier in his career, Smith worked with Fenway Sports Management, supporting the sponsorship sales team and assisting with partnership development and activation.
A native of East Setauket, New York, Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and History and a Master of Business Administration from Boston College. He and his wife, Kelsey McClear-Smith, reside in Texas.
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