Since graduating from UNC Greensboro in 2016, former Spartan baseball player Keaton Haack ’16 has been able to keep his love of the game in a successful career.
Haack, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Bryan School of Business and Economics, is now an account executive for corporate sponsorships with the Durham Bulls.
“UNCG molded me from the day I walked into my first job,” says Haack.
Haack is originally from Guilford County and attended Northwest Guilford High School, where he also played baseball. He racked up multiple accolades early in his career, being named the 2011 Most Valuable Pitcher for Northwest Guilford and the 2011 Perfect Game Preseason High School underclassmen All-American.
BACK TO HOME PLATE
When looking at universities, he wanted to continue his baseball career and decided to go out of state. But the draw of home brought him back.
“I decided to go home where I felt comfortable. I knew that the UNCG baseball team was on the rise so it was an easy choice,” he says.
Finding his way to UNCG was one choice, but finding the right major was something else.
“I started as a biology major, wanting to go the medical school route,” Haack says. “But then I realized I had this innate ability with business and sales. I think a lot of athletes are good with business because we command a room and can have a lot of leadership potential.”
Haack says he also wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who has been an influential business leader throughout his career.
“It was an easy choice for me to choose business,” he says. “I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do in the business world though.”
FOCUS IN THE FIELD
The Bryan School did help Haack narrow down what field of business he wanted to pursue and, after graduation, he knew sports needed to be part of his life.
“I started applying to a bunch of corporate jobs in the area and I had a couple of interviews, but I felt like it wasn’t for me,” he says. “I knew sports was my passion.”
In 2018 he landed a position working in sales for the Kansas City Chiefs, something he says UNCG uniquely prepared him for.
“One of the best experiences at UNCG was my professional selling class. It taught you about consumer behavior and how to shape your selling techniques,” he says. “UNCG pushes you to think outside of the box and create your own path, which I appreciated. There was always a drive to push me to become a better person, student, and an athlete.”
COACHING COMMUNICATION
It wasn’t just his classes in the Bryan School that prepared Haack for his career, but his baseball experience as well.
“My coaches helped me adapt my communication styles and to understand different leadership styles,” he says. “My teammates also pushed me, and they were very kind and accepting when I came to the University.”
In April 2022, Haack made another homecoming – returning to North Carolina to work for the Durham Bulls as he and his wife began to start a family. His advice for students who want to get into the sports marketing world: don’t take no for an answer.
“Sports is one of the harder industries to get into, but it’s very satisfying,” he says. “And if it’s what you want to do, if it’s a passion, then it will be rewarding in the end.”
Story by Avery Craine Powell, University Communications
Photography courtesy of Keaton Haack and UNCG Athletics
