Join us for our third annual Sports Collective Symposium featuring discussions and break-out sessions with prominent sports media professionals. Check back for more information about next year’s event.

Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Reitz Union, Rion Ballroom, Level 3 

Schedule

9 a.m. | Check in and refreshments 

9:30 a.m. | Deans welcome

9:40 a.m. | Keynote Speaker

10 a.m. | Panel 1

10:50 a.m. | Panel 2

11:35 a.m. | Ring of Honor Induction 

12:05 – 1:30 p.m. | Networking with light lunch

Keynote Speaker

Patrick Smyth
Patrick Smyth

Patrick Smyth

Chief Communications Officer, Denver Broncos

Patrick Smyth enters his 16th year leading the Denver Broncos’ public relations and is the club’s Chief Communications Officer.

In his 22nd season with the Broncos, Smyth leads the franchise’s award-winning public relations and community impact departments with alignment across football and business operations. Serving on the Broncos’ senior leadership team and on the board of Denver Broncos Foundation, Smyth is the primary media contact and spokesperson for the Broncos and Empower Field at Mile High.

A University of Florida graduate, Smyth is responsible for football communications, corporate communications, issues/crisis management and internal communications for the Broncos while overseeing community, alumni and digital media messaging efforts. His role includes working closely with the Broncos’ ownership group, CEO, president, general manager, head coach, players and executives.

The Broncos’ PR efforts have consistently been recognized by the Pro Football Writers of America under Smyth’s leadership as a two-time winner—and eight-time finalist—for the prestigious Pete Rozelle Award. The franchise received the honor following its 2013 Super Bowl XLVIII appearance and 2015 Super Bowl 50 victory during the winningest four-year period (2012-15) in team history.

Smyth has overseen the Broncos’ community impact department since 2017, contributing to the organization earning national recognition as ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year in 2022 as a three-time finalist (2020-22) for the award. His work leading the Broncos’ digital media included Top-10 NFL rankings in engagement and social valuation (2020-22) along with a Webby Award (’22, sports social) and Heartland Emmy Award (’23, short form content).

Joining the Broncos in 2004 as a media relations graduate assistant, Smyth became one of the youngest PR directors in NFL history in 2010 at age 27. He began his NFL career as a PR intern with the Super Bowl XXXVII-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.

Smyth’s internship/part-time experience includes Florida’s athletic department (2001-04), the Philadelphia Flyers (2002) and gamedays with the Philadelphia Eagles (2002).

Graduating from Florida in 2004 with highest honors and a bachelor’s degree in public relations, Smyth received its “Outstanding Young Alumnus” award in 2011. He was recognized by the Denver Business Journal in 2012 as a “40 under 40” recipient for his business and community contributions.

Smyth is a Wilmington, Del., native and married to Leslie with sons Patrick and William.

Speakers

Rachel Bachman

Rachel Bachman

Senior Sports Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Rachel Bachman is a senior sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal. She focuses on the Olympics, college sports and women’s sports.

She has covered every Olympic Games since 2010, along with men’s and women’s Final Fours, the College Football Playoff, Women’s World Cup, World Athletics Championships and New York City Marathon. 

She has explained why one of the world’s richest men got involved in Michigan football recruiting, detailed how girls helped revive high school wrestling, exposed misconduct by a top MLB executive, broke the news of the NCAA withholding the “March Madness” brand from the women’s basketball tournament despite owning the trademark, told the backstory of the shoe-company chase to sign Caitlin Clark, and revealed a 40-year college basketball hoax.

Previously, she covered college sports for the (Portland) Oregonian. She grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from the University of Michigan, where she wrote for the Michigan Daily.