About Us
About
CSMG is measuring, negotiating, and executing media rights from local to global working with emerging technology, OTT, linear, audio, and mobile. We offer a proprietary valuation methodology that helps our partners understand and maximize marketplace value for media rights and sponsorships and provide managed solutions for NIL and group licensing for agencies, brands, institutions, and student-athletes.
Meet Our Team
Michael Schreck
CEO / Co-Founder
Michael Schreck’s passion for college sports drove him to found Collegiate Sports Management Group, which he established with the vision to support all athletic programs helping to maximize exposure and revenue.
He has over 15 years of experience in Leadership, P&L Management, broadcast rights/business term negotiations with both professional and collegiate sports properties, sponsorship/media sales, and partnership marketing.
Michael has negotiated over $250 million in sports broadcast rights and business terms, including deals with properties, (NFL, NCAA, NHL, The Masters, Olympics, NASCAR, EPL, etc) and networks, (ESPN, CBS, NBC, FOX, Twitch, WW1, Tune-In Radio, Vox Media, Kiswe, Sidearm, etc) including groundbreaking OTT media rights agreements on behalf of Divisions I, II, III, and JUCO college conferences.
Prior to founding CSMG, Michael successfully ran and grew the Westwood One Sports group by tripling staff size and revenue during his tenure. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College teaching sports media and innovation.
Michael earned a BS in (Communications with a minor in Sports Marketing) from SUNY Oneonta.
Ray Katz
COO / Co-Founder
Ray Katz is a sports business, media, and marketing industry icon with over 25 years of experience, serving in leadership roles across many elite professional teams and leagues.
He has negotiated naming rights, sponsorship and media rights deals for multiple blue-chip clients across the college sports ecosystem, and engaged across all revenue elements of the sports business, including media, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing throughout his storied career.
Before CSMG, Ray held leadership roles working for leagues (NFL), networks (The Football Network), teams (New York Knicks, New York Rangers), and agencies (Young and Rubicam, OMD, Leverage Agency, Source Communications).
Ray has also been dedicated to imparting his industry expertise to students by serving as a professor at numerous colleges and universities for the past 25 years, including presently as an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School of Business after graduating Summa Cum Laude at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jim Connelly
CRO
Jim Connelly is an accomplished senior executive and marketing innovator with more than 25 years of success across the sports, entertainment, media, and licensing industries.
Jim leverages his extensive experience to drive industry innovation, business transformation, generate market dominance and recurring revenue streams.
Throughout his career, Jim has held leadership positions at IMG, World Wrestling Entertainment, the National Football League, and Cunard Line.
As Senior VP of Special Projects for IMG, his responsibilities included overseeing the company’s collegiate licensing operations, with retail sales of $4.5 billion for the collegiate market. Before that, Jim spent three years as Senior VP of Global Licensing, Home Entertainment, and Publishing with WWE, where he doubled retail toy sales to more than $250 million annually.
He previously spent more than two decades in senior executive positions with the NFL, where he was instrumental in catapulting the NFL Properties licensing business from $4 million to $250 million in global merchandise sales in less than two years.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University and an MBA from The Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary.
Angela Bernhard Thomas
Chief Esports Officer
Bernhard Thomas is an award-winning executive producer with 20 years of experience in the film and entertainment industry. Her work in esports has included co-founding multiple esports start-ups and “first in the industry” initiatives.
As Managing Partner of The Gamer Agency, she co-pioneered the first agency exclusively dedicated to esports. Her leadership included the development and management of executive operations for the Microsoft MIXER Studio in Manhattan and creative direction for 30+ pilots for original gaming shows.
She also co-founded the Esports Leadership Salon, a bi-monthly series of invitation-only events that unite senior-level peers in a private setting to foster the thoughtful exchange of ideas. As Co-Founder of Ingame Esports, she led the establishment of the first public/private partnership for esports in the nation. Her partnership in the Esports Entry Advisory along with Conventions, Sports and Leisure, Legend’s research and planning division, and SimplyNew helps drive the narrative around brick and mortar esports and gaming venues. Bernhard Thomas is currently co-executive producing a scripted series on gaming culture based upon the life story of Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel. Bernhard Thomas brings her signature style in leadership and complex project management to CSMG’s ESPORTSU platform in 2022.
Danyela Swidler
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff
Danyela Swidler is a sports marketing professional with a repeated track record of successfully devising and implementing effective marketing strategies, conducting metrics analyses, and executing campaigns.
At CSMG, Dany spearheads communication between CSMG’s executive team and key stakeholders, and serves as the primary point of contact for all internal and external constituencies. She also handles logistics, arranges company meetings, assists with a range of special projects and reports, and acts as a liaison to the Board of Directors.
Prior to CSMG, Dany served as Digital Marketing Coordinator for Pace University’s College of Health Professions, where she led marketing and communications efforts, including creating copy, graphics, and designs for monthly campaigns, and closely monitoring content engagement. She partnered closely with marketing, communications, and media relations leaders as well as academic stakeholders to bring impactful campaigns to life.
She built the foundation of her career interning at the athletic departments of both Iona College and Manhattanville College, where she was involved in communications and social media marketing initiatives.
She earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Business, Management & Communications and her Masters in Sports and Entertainment Business Management from Manhattanville College.
Dr. Harvey Schiller
Chairman Emeritus
Dr. Harvey Schiller currently serves as VP of Diversified Search and sits on the boards of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Mesa Air Group and Walker Innovation.
He previously served as Chairman and CEO of YankeeNets, an integrated sports-based media company with ownership of the New York Yankees, New York Nets, and New Jersey Devils.
Prior to that, Dr. Schiller held the roles of President of Turner Sports, Inc., President and Governor of the NHL franchise the Atlanta Thrashers, Executive Director/Secretary-General of the United States Olympic Committee, and Chairman of Global Option Group. He was the Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference from 1986 to 1990 and served as a member of the NCAA Executive Committee.
Dr. Schiller proudly served for more than 25 years in the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of Brigadier General. He graduated from Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, and holds a Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Michigan.