ICQ, 2003/No. 4, From Bombers to Bobcats

One of Weiller's most important charges was to come up with a "brand"-- an overall concept and look for the franchise that included a name, colors, and a logo. It was a complicated process, made even more so by the decision to debut all three at one time during the 2003 NBA finals.

	This is the first NBA franchise--indeed, the first major sport franchise of any kind--owned by an African America

First, Weiller and his team sifted through 1,250 suggestions from the community. "There were three finalists," he says, "the Bobcats, the Flight, and the Dragons." Selecting those three finalists was a matter also of incorporating legal, branding, and merchandising factors; keeping in mind the community the team would represent; and making sure there were not too many letters in the name (so it would fit on a jersey). After playing around with a variety of logos and colors, the consensus was Bobcats. "What really carried the day," says Weiller, "were the colors--specially designed shades of orange and blue."

The man responsible for developing the Bobcats' new home is Barry Silberman. Silberman graduated with a degree in general studies; he earned a master's degree in sports administration and facility management from Ohio University. He began his career as an intern with the Washington Bullets, just as the team had moved to Washington from Baltimore. Part of moving a franchise involves the building of a new arena, and Silberman found that his early exposure to this aspect of the business had an impact on the career he wanted to pursue. "The Capital Centre was six months from opening when I started. It was the arena that introduced the concept of suites, and it really opened up my eyes, made me see that the key is to treat people as if they were guests in our home. That first job instilled in me that you treat your fans well."

Since those early days Silberman has had a hand in the development of arenas and stadiums such as the 10,000-seat Patriot Center at George Mason University, the 14,000-seat Baltimore Arena, and the Bob Carpenter Centre at the University of Delaware, among others, and has overseen feasibility studies for new facilities in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina. While the Bobcats will begin play in 2004, they will play in their old arena for the 2004-5 season. It's Silberman's job to make sure that the arena project, which broke ground this summer, will open its doors in November 2005.

The man who writes the words that convey the vision of the Bobcats to the Charlotte community is another IC alumnus. Scott Leightman began his studies at IC thinking that he would become a sports journalist. Inspired by a stint with the sports information office and its then director, Pete Moore, Leightman became one of the students whose passion for sports information as a career pushed along the establishment of a sports communication major (now sports information and communication). Like Silberman and Weiller, Leightman served an internship that later opened doors. His internship with the NBA league office between his junior and senior years altered his life. "It changed my focus," he says. "I developed some contacts [who inspired me to] use my senior year effectively. It was a really good growing experience."

	"Right now we're scouting NBA games, colleges, international players, and the minor leagues." -- Scott Leightman '92

After graduation Leightman served in various college sports information offices--Lafayette, Wagner, Bloomsbury, and LaSalle--before moving to Phoenix to work for the Suns, where he was senior assistant public relations director. Leightman knew that the competition for the Charlotte job would be stiff (there are two notebooks full of resumes for the position he now holds). "I started tracking the Charlotte job as soon as I heard talk that the NBA was going to award Charlotte a new franchise," Leightman explains. "I had my sights set. When I saw that Ed Tapscott had been hired by Bob Johnson, I knew that from the top down Char-lotte had high-quality people. I worked with good people in Phoenix, Jerry and Bryan Colangelo, and they had strong connections with Bob and Ed. "Charlotte was an opportunity to get in from the ground floor. There are only 30 public relations director positions in the NBA. This was unique; to start something from the beginning is truly exciting."

But how did three guys from IC all wind up in Charlotte helping start a basketball franchise? None of them knew each other while they were students or through an IC connection. It was entirely a coincidence that they landed in Charlotte at the same time. Executive vice president Tapscott hired Silberman and Weiller; Weiller in turn hired Leightman. What sold Weiller on hiring Leightman, however, was not the Bombers connection--that came later. It was that Phoenix, although loath to lose Leightman as its number-two guy in public relations, wanted him to get his chance to run a department and recommended him highly.

A. Ozolins, Ithaca College Office of Publications, 11 March, 2004