 | Position:
Senior Associate Commissioner/External Relations
|
| Twitter:
@sleykam
|
|
Scott Leykam was promoted to Senior Associate Commissioner for External Relations at the West Coast Conference in 2011, after previously serving as the conference's Associate Commissioner for External Relations for three years.
In his current role, Leykam oversees the conference's comprehensive national and regional television package, its annual basketball championship, and other strategic marketing and exposure-driven initiatives. He also manages championships, community service, marketing, corporate sponsorships, and scheduling, while serving as the conference liaison to the head coaches for baseball and men's and women's soccer. Leykam is also a member of the NCAA's Championships and Sports Management Cabinet.
In 2011, Leykam played a key role in successful negotiations with ESPN to command the highest television rights fee and create the most annual appearances in conference history. One year prior, he was integral in the WCC's efforts to bring BYU into the conference as the first membership change in 30 years.
Under Leykam's guidance, the WCC has enjoyed unprecedented marketing and media relations success at the conference's basketball championships in Las Vegas. Over the past four years, the WCC obtained a title sponsorship for its neutral site basketball tournament, launched a Hall of Honor, created the annual shoe and T-shirt drive in conjunction with partner Zappos.com, created a community service event around each conference championship, and started an initiative bringing student reporters from WCC campuses to WCC championships to provide video content for WCCsports.com.
Prior to joining the WCC, Leykam was the Media Relations Manager at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and served as the Director of Annual Giving and Co-Director of Media Relations during 13 years in the Stanford University Athletic Department. During his five-year tenure as the Director of Athletic Annual Giving at Stanford, Leykam managed the third largest annual fund on the Stanford campus, the Buck/Cardinal Club, and increased revenue by 157 percent in four years. Under his direction, the Buck/Cardinal Club saw its fundraising efforts go from $2.653 million in 2004 to a record $6.826 million in 2007.
Leykam was responsible for the development and governance of the athletic annual giving budget, and merging 35 Sports Improvement Funds and the football premium seating fund into the Buck/Cardinal Club. Additionally, Leykam served as the sport administrator for the nationally-ranked varsity softball program.
In addition, Leykam was the athletics department liaison to the 60-member Buck/Cardinal Board of Directors. He served as staff supervisor for the Stanford Stadium Seating Committee, a committee assembled by the athletic director to advise on seating and ticketing plans for the new Stanford Stadium. He also served as Chairman of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee and was the Stanford Athletics spokesman at advisory board meetings, Alumni Association functions, and local fundraising luncheons.
Leykam began his career at Stanford in the athletic media relations department, where he served for eight years, eventually earning the title of Co-Director of Media Relations. He supervised all media relations duties for women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, wrestling, and managed football media relations responsibilities for the Cardinal's Rose Bowl, Sun Bowl, Liberty Bowl and Seattle Bowl teams. He also served as the NCAA Tournament Media Relations Coordinator for several post-season events, including women's basketball, baseball, and women's volleyball.
While working in the Stanford athletic media relations department, Leykam was the recipient of three awards for "excellence in publications" by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Leykam also led the honors candidate promotion for 1999 Biletnikoff Award winner and First-Team All-American wide receiver Troy Walters (first Biletnikoff Award winner in Stanford history), 1998 Baseball America National Player of the Year, Jeff Austin, and 2002 & 2003 Kodak Women's Basketball First-Team-All-American Nicole Powell.
Leykam began his career in athletics in the West Coast Conference, as he received his bachelor's degree in communications from Saint Mary's College. As a student, Leykam served as the Assistant Sports Information Director at Saint Mary's and oversaw women's basketball and baseball, while assisting with football and men's basketball. Leykam has also served as a professor at his alma mater in the Department of Communication with a focus in News Writing and Reporting.
Prior to working in collegiate athletics, Leykam served a sports writer, section editor and desk editor at the Contra Costa Times, Antioch Daily Ledger, Pittsburg Post Dispatch and Brentwood News.
Leykam lives in Palo Alto with his wife Amy, sons Austin and Tyler, and daughter, Allison.