The Rising 25 class of 2019, presented by AB InBev, represents some of the brightest young professionals in the sports industry. Over the next several weeks, we’re proud to introduce you to this year’s winners and highlight some of their achievements to date.
Today, meet Austin Cox: Elite Account Executive at Hudl.
A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Cox spent roughly six years working in college athletics with Southern Miss as well as Texas Tech before joining the Hudl team in 2018. It was a natural career path for Cox, whose father is a college basketball coach. To this day, he credits his father for being his foremost mentor.
“My dad gave me the platform to be able to experience and be exposed to a lot of great opportunities and a lot of great people within sports,” Cox says. “He always challenged me to be able to do my best. He is probably my biggest mentor and friend. It’s a unique relationship that we have. Because of his experience, I can lean on him for advice not only personally but professionally.”
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An essential skill of Cox’s throughout all of his roles in sports to date has been building and maintaining quality relationships with athletes, coworkers, donors, and customers.
“I wasn’t a product of the student-athlete experience, as they like to say, but a beneficiary,” Cox says. “It’s always been a passion of mine to give back to coaches and athletes, and [I] felt the best avenue was a career in sports and living in that passion.”
That passion is a big part of why he was nominated to this year’s 2019 class. He also calls that achievement one of the proudest of his career so far.
“To be not only recognized for the work that I’ve accomplished but to be able to celebrate this moment with so many that have invested so much in me in my short career was very humbling,” he says. “I was honored to be able to represent many mentors and former colleagues and friends that have supported me and invested in me to get me to this point.”
Throughout his career to date, Cox has found that working hard during his student days and being able to take leaps of faith has benefited him greatly. He advises the next generation of sports professionals to try and utilize the same methods.
“You have to take advantage of opportunities that are given to you,” he says. “It’s so competitive out there that you have to have so much experience before you leave campus with that degree in hand to be able to compete for jobs. You also have to take calculated risks. People get so comfortable in their day-to-day lives that they’re unwilling to risk what they have for great opportunity. My advice is to take the opportunities that are given [and] awarded to you and be willing to take risks and fail.”
Meet the full class of 2019 here.
