Associate Dean Matt Winkler has blended over 15 years of experience in the NCAA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, the Olympics, and the World Cup into developing a new sports industry education initiative for 2008 at Georgetown University as Associate Dean for Sports Industry Management.

Before coming to Georgetown in December, 2007, Winkler served as Regional Sales Manager for the Lincoln Holdings franchises of the Washington Capitals (NHL) and Washington Mystics (WNBA).

Winkler is also the Founder & Executive Director of the premier sports career conference known as the Sports Events Marketing Experience (SEME – East, West & Central). Developed originally as Octagon University in 2003, SEME was launched by Winkler and associates in Washington, D.C. in 2004 as SEME East and hosted by George Washington University. The brand, now run by Sports Industry Education LLC under Winkler, has since expanded to Los Angeles (SEME West / U.S.C.) and now Chicago (SEME Central/ Northwestern) this past April.

During the previous three years, launched two entrepreneurial consulting projects as SEME and founder of the former marketing communications and pubic relations firm, MW Marketing/Communications, with partner Chris Stockton. MW M/C clients included Octagon, NFL’s USA Football, USA Gymnastics Visa Cup, Fight For Children’s Fight Night and One Shot Racing.

With over ten years of leadership in the NCAA Athletics and Media Information business, Winkler recently served as the Assistant Athletics Director for Public Relations at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, after a six-year stint as Assistant Athletics Director for Communications, and Director of Athletic Communications and Sports Information at American University. He worked at Lehigh University prior to returning to his hometown to begin work at AU.

Winkler frequently served as an on-site game-day media operations consultant for U.S. Soccer and D.C. United as well as the NCAA and their championships for Men’s Basketball and Men’s Soccer. His external experiences have been extensive. He has served as a media operations coordinator for several national and international events such as: the 2003 World Cup, 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake City; the 1999 Women's World Cup in D.C, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments in 2002, 2001, 1998, 1996, and 1994; the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 1994 World Cup in Washington, D.C. and the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In eight years in the academic circles at the American University, Winkler developed and taught the course “Sports Communication & Media” and “Sports Marketing Management” in the Washington, D.C. metro area at American University, George Mason University and George Washington University.

Winkler, a native of West Bethesda, MD, who earned his M.A. in Public Communication at American University, was an N.C.A.A. student-athlete (soccer and basketball) in college (Curry College, Milton, MA). He is an active member of Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) and earned his strategic public relations accreditation, the APR, from that organization.