Digital Business Leader Jeff Cravens Joins Huddle Tickets as CEO
Front Runner in High School Event Ticketing Services Expands GoFan Platform to Support Digital Currency Transactions
ATLANTA, Sept. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Huddle Tickets, the leader in high school event ticketing, announced today the appointment of Jeff Cravens as the company's CEO. Cravens brings significant leadership to Huddle, with a background that includes leading digital strategy at Golf Channel and serving as senior digital advisor at NBC Sports.
Huddle Tickets provides ticketing and transaction services for the high school marketplace. The company, starting its 19th year, has relationships with over 10,000 schools and to date has saved high school and state associations more than $100 million in costs through its paper ticket program. Huddle is also the leader in digital ticketing through its GoFan property, helping more than 1,700 high schools issue digital tickets. GoFan has over 30 official state association relationships and is a national partner with the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Network.
Part of Cravens' role as CEO will be to drive expansion of the GoFan digital platform to support currency transaction services. The services deliver transparency, improved security, and accountability for financial transactions at the high school level, such as the purchase of tickets for athletic and other events.
"Taking money from the cashbox and putting it into a secure, digital architecture is not only safer, it also serves the average fan accustomed to convenience," said Cravens. "It's exciting to join a market leader at such a transformative time in its nearly twenty-year history. I look forward to helping Huddle Tickets and GoFan continue to expand their services to help high schools do business smarter and increase their engagement with fans."
In addition to tenures at Golf Channel and NBC Sports, Cravens also held a leadership role at ESPN, where he repositioned ESPN360 (now ESPN3) into a live events broadband platform in four months. He also helped to grow the FANSonly/Official College Sports Network from 43 partnerships to more than 150, increased its revenue from under $1 million to $13 million, and managed the business to acquisition by CSTV (now CBS Sports).
"Jeff is a leader in digital strategy with an extensive track record of business success," said Paul Iaffaldano, chief investment officer of venture investment firm BIP Capital. Huddle Tickets is in the firm's portfolio of companies. "Huddle is already the market leader in high school event ticketing, and we're excited to see Jeff lead the company into new territory. GoFan's support of digital currency transactions will be a market disruptor in terms of how high schools handle financial activities for sports and other events."
Cravens also served as senior director for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay in Atlanta. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas.
About Huddle Tickets
Huddle Tickets provides ticketing and transaction support for the high school marketplace. It has relationships with over 10,000 schools and to date has saved high school and state associations more than $100 million in costs through its paper ticket program. Huddle is also the leader in digital ticketing through its GoFan property, helping more than 1,700 high schools issue digital tickets. GoFan has over 30 official state association relationships and is a national partner with the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Network. For more information, go to www.huddletickets.com. Or, like the company on Facebook or follow it on Twitter @gofanHS or on LinkedIn.
Contact:
Kathy Berardi
Carabiner Communications
678.644.4122
[email protected]
SOURCE Huddle Tickets
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