“I have been attending the Association of Luxury Seating Directors (ALSD) Conference since 2008. I was asked to join the board of advisors to represent the college/university contingency in 2018, and in 2023 was honored to be asked to become the ALSD Global Council Vice President.

This organization, this community, has changed my life. It gave me the confidence when I returned from each annual conference that I was on the right track, and I had ideas that worked at other venues, not just at the collegiate level but also at the professional level. At the conference and throughout the year, I was able to connect with professionals who shared similar challenges, took delight in the level of service that guests raved about, and created experiences for customers that genuinely “”had it all.””

In this industry, we often question the amount of service we provide to our customers and how we can keep them our customers with the ever-changing environment. From NIL to revenue sharing, there has always been something changing. We look at what others are doing and try to either replicate it or make it better. This conference provides us with an opportunity to gather in a room and discuss issues we are facing, allowing our colleagues who live and breathe these challenges every day to offer guidance and share their insights. The college-specific meeting provides us the ability to craft our own agenda and discuss topics that are relevant to us. From there, we’re off to join our colleagues in the professional markets and learn from them. It provides insight into what customers expect when they attend our games, if they are also premium seating members for a professional team as well. Even more important than that, I have contacts that I can reach out to via text or email at any point. In fact, you’ll often find yourself texting your on-the-field rival about advice and realize you have to play them the next week. That is what is fun about this industry: the more we help each other, the better we all become!

My career path has changed over the past seventeen years, when I first entered the premium seating industry, and I think ALSD, in large part, has had something to do with that. The service expectations that are prevalent throughout the premium industry have also spread to college athletics, manifesting in stewardship and principal gift donor service and experiences. I take what I learn at our conferences, in our newsletters, and conference calls, and can very easily apply them to what we are doing for our donors on a daily basis.

Like most things, you get out what you put in. This industry, this organization, this conference is no different. It can change you. It can change how your organization operates. It can change how your customers experience your venues and interact with your teams. It can change your trajectory in your career. “
Bobbi Busboom – Executive Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Development & Administration, University of Illinois Athletics