For Brooke Robbins, sports have always been more than a game. They’re a language of connection.
Working in athletics marketing at the University of Illinois, she’s using that language to shape fan experiences and stronger athletic brands. Her journey from the sidelines to senior leadership is a testament to curiosity, collaboration, and the power of great storytelling.
Read on as Brooke shares how she built her career in collegiate athletics, what fuels her leadership philosophy, and how she helps others “stop guessing and start growing.”
You’ve built a career across college athletics, from coaching and fundraising to marketing and fan experience. Looking back, what drew you to the world of sports communication and strategy in the first place?
I was drawn to sports communication and strategy because I’ve always been fascinated by how connection drives performance - on the court, in the stands, and across a community. As a former student-athlete, I realized I never fully appreciated the brains behind the operation to pull off every single event - whether it was getting people to show up or how to efficiently get people in their seats and everything in between.
Once I knew my playing career was over, it became clear I wanted to make an impact on the experience of the next generation of athletes and the fans who show up to support them. Not only that, but I wanted to amplify the experience. My career began on the coaching side, where I saw firsthand how communication, motivation, and storytelling could unite a team around a shared goal. That perspective carried into my roles in fundraising, marketing, and fan experience, with each experience reinforcing how the right message, delivered in the right way, and at the right time, can influence behavior, build loyalty, and move an entire program forward.
Over time, I found that what I loved most was combining creativity and passion with data and insights. Even more so translating these insights into strategies that enhance both engagement and revenue while deepening the emotional connection fans and donors feel toward their team. That intersection of analytics, communication, and human experience is what continues to drive me in sports strategy today.
You’ve worked at some powerhouse programs — Marquette, Purdue, Clemson, and now Illinois. What have you learned about the different cultures and expectations at each athletic department, and how have those shaped your leadership style?
Each athletic department I’ve been part of has had its own personality, priorities, and pace. That variety has been invaluable in shaping how I lead.
At Marquette University, I learned the value of alignment. The collaboration across marketing, ticketing, communications, and development turned limited resources into meaningful impact. The opportunity to build needed connections across departments served as a strong foundation for my leadership style and overall approach to communication. Purdue taught me the importance of a data-driven approach and how to leverage analytics to both inform strategy and measure success. It was also my first experience outside the exclusive perspective of athletic development, providing additional insight on the external side of the overall operation of a college athletic department at a larger scale.
At Clemson, the passion of the IPTAY community reinforced the power of storytelling and brand consistency in cultivating lifelong donors and fans - stewarding the seasoned while cultivating the new. At Illinois, I’ve experienced how a forward-thinking, innovative environment can drive big-picture growth when you empower your team to think strategically and work cross-functionally. Illinois has also elevated my approach to being prepared for capitalizing on team success.
Each experience has made me an adaptive, collaborative leader. I try to be someone who listens first, learns the culture, and then builds strategy around it. I aim to lead with transparency and purpose, while encouraging creativity and ownership within my teams. Every stop has deepened my belief that culture is the foundation of success, and strong leadership starts with understanding and elevating that culture.
Your new role at Illinois focuses on marketing and fan experience. What makes creating those “game day moments” meaningful to you, and what’s one project or campaign that stands out so far?
For me, helping to create memorable game day moments is about connection. We aim to bring together thousands of people who share a sense of pride, history, and emotion around a common cause. We plan months in advance for a football season (for example) from the strategy, to gameday enhancements, to creative, to logistics - ultimately hoping to fuel that collective energy that helps fans feel like they’re part of something bigger - especially during those high intensity moments.
At Illinois, that’s what makes this role so meaningful. We’ve been intentional about elevating every touchpoint of the fan journey whether that’s through digital engagement, in-venue atmosphere, or how our brand story comes to life on a home game Saturday in the fall. One project that stands out is the implementation of our new priority seating model for football and men’s basketball, also known as Illini ERA, and the incredibly targeted marketing campaigns around it that extended into the year-long efforts to enhance our gameday experience.
It wasn’t just about revenue generation; it was about communicating value, evolving to a modern ticketing approach, building trust with stakeholders, and creating a more connected fan base. The result was not only record-setting digital ad performance but a stronger sense of excitement and investment among Illini fans. Illinois Athletics is lucky to have a fan base who rises to every occasion as we continue on the evolving journey of college athletics - and this was further evidence of that.
Seeing that kind of impact, where strategy translates into both tangible results and emotional connection, is what makes this work so rewarding.
What advice would you give to someone who’s trying to break into the industry or find their first big opportunity?
My biggest advice is to be curious, adaptable, proactive and willing to say “yes” early on. So much of my career has been shaped by raising my hand for opportunities that weren’t always glamorous but taught me something new - and I learned the most from the trial & error of figuring out a solution with projects that were operationally unclear. Whether that meant event operations, direct marketing, or communications strategy - there were a lot of self-taught skills along the way.
When in doubt, Google is your friend & resource, and don’t underestimate it! Every experience, big or small, helped me understand how different areas of an athletic department work together or impact one another, and helped build the foundation for how I lead today.
I’d also say relationships matter just as much as results. The sports industry is built on connection, and the people who succeed are the ones who are authentic, reliable, and team-oriented. Be proactive in learning from those around you, ask good questions, and don’t be afraid to share your ideas even if you’re the most junior person in the room.
Finally, stay grounded in your “why.” The long hours and fast pace are part of the job, but if you keep your focus on serving student-athletes, fans, and your team, the work always feels meaningful at the end of the day.
You also run your own consulting business helping brands “stop guessing and start growing.” What inspired you to launch that side of your career?
The consulting side of my career really grew out of my general passion for strategy and problem-solving. Over the years in college athletics, I’ve had the chance to build campaigns, analyze data, and lead cross-functional teams. As a result, I realized how much I enjoy helping others connect those same dots regardless of the end goal. There are so many organizations, especially smaller brands, that have great stories and loyal audiences but don’t always know how to turn that into growth.
Launching my consulting business was a way to share what I’ve learned when it comes to how to use data to inform decisions, how to craft messaging that drives engagement, and how to create systems that make marketing more intentional and less reactive. The “stop guessing and start growing” mindset is really about empowering brands to understand their audience and build with purpose.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to take the strategic frameworks I’ve used in athletics, where every campaign is measurable and performance-driven, and apply them in a way that helps other businesses find clarity and build momentum.
You’ve held roles that combine marketing, advancement, and donor engagement — areas that often live in separate silos. How do you think breaking down those walls improves storytelling and fan connection?
I’ve always believed that fans and donors don’t experience an athletic department in silos. When a fan or donor receives any form of communication from an institution, it is all “from” the same brand in the eyes of the recipient. With that notion, our strategy shouldn’t operate as if we are separate despite the day-to-day operation that makes it feel natural to do so. Marketing, advancement, and fan engagement are all telling different parts of the same story: pride in the program, belief in its future, and emotional connection to the student-athletes who represent it. When those areas work together, the message becomes more consistent, authentic, amplified, and powerful.
When departments share information and operate with a unified voice, fans feel seen, valued, and part of something bigger. That’s where true loyalty and long-term growth come from.
Sports marketing often involves high energy and fast turnarounds, but also deep emotional connections with fans. How do you keep creativity and strategy aligned under pressure?
The pace of sports marketing definitely demands both urgency and intentionality. What’s helped me most is building processes that protect space for strategy even when timelines are tight. I’ve learned that creativity thrives when there’s clarity. This sense of clarity is derived from clear goals, clear audiences, and clear measures of success. That allows any team to move fast without losing focus.
The analytics tell us what’s working, and the emotion (derived and improved upon through targeted fan feedback) is what makes it memorable. At Illinois, for example, our best campaigns have come from combining analytics insights with authentic, human storytelling that captures what it means to be part of the famILLy.
Under pressure, I lean on collaboration and trust. I empower our team to think big, move quickly, and take ownership. We are a collaborative team, knowing that great ideas can come from anywhere when everyone understands the “why” behind the work. That alignment keeps us both creative and strategic, no matter the deadline.
From your days coaching basketball to leading marketing teams, you’ve worked in environments built around teamwork and performance. What lessons from coaching translate most directly to leadership in marketing and communications?
Coaching was my first real lesson in leadership (and boy, did I have a lot to learn). So much of what I learned on the court - as an athlete and as a coach - still shapes how I lead today. Coaching teaches you to communicate clearly, motivate different personalities, and recognize that success depends on collective effort as opposed to individual talent. Those same principles apply directly to working in college athletics.
In both settings, you’re building a game plan, defining roles, and adjusting in real time based on performance although the metrics can be relatively unpredictable and may vary. You have to balance structure with creativity and find ways to hold people accountable while still giving them room to innovate in pursuit of the next “big idea”. Coaching also taught me the importance of preparation. Scouting an opponent draws many parallels to analyzing data or market trends before launching a specific campaign.
Most of all, coaching reinforced that people perform best when they feel valued and connected to a shared purpose. Whether it’s a team of athletes or a team of marketers, my role as a leader is to set the vision, create alignment, and help each person see how their contribution moves the whole group forward.
Leadership is a constant evolution with unlimited variables, and I believe a leader starts to lose their ability to make an impact when they begin thinking they are the smartest person in the room. Diversity of perspective and the ability to be heard no matter your role are both imperative on any team to be successful.
There are always inevitable ups and downs in sports. How do you maintain a sense of purpose and optimism during seasons of change?
Working in sports naturally comes with highs and lows, and it’s part of what makes the industry so dynamic. Over time, I’ve learned to maintain perspective on what truly matters. I pursued this career path to serve student-athletes, support our teams, and create meaningful experiences for fans. Wins and losses may change the mood, but the mission stays the same.
During seasons of change, I focus on communication, connection and efficiency. It is important, especially during the inevitable downs, to celebrate small wins and keep everyone aligned on our long-term goals. Control the controllables.
At Illinois, and in every program I’ve worked with, success has always come from resilience and collaboration. When challenges arise, our team tries to approach them with curiosity rather than frustration. What can we learn? How can we adapt? What can we do now to prepare for the best case scenario? How are we going to approach the worst case if we need to?
From my perspective, optimism comes from seeing the impact of the work every day from fans filling the stands, to donors investing in the future, to staff members growing into new leaders. Even in transition, those moments remind me why I love this field and why operating purposefully matters most.
Finally, what’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received — and what would you tell your younger self starting out in sports and marketing?
The best piece of career advice I’ve ever received is two-tiered. 1: Stay Curious. 2: Be an Effective Communicator.
Curiosity has pushed me to keep learning. Being curious means asking questions, taking on new challenges (other duties as assigned), and never assume you have it all figured out. Don’t shy away from things that intimidate you.
Effective communication means that relationships and integrity are just as important as results. Most importantly, the way you innately prefer to communicate is not necessarily the way it is best received by your intended audience. Thoughtfully tailor your approach to those who are on the receiving end. Take the time to understand what motivates who you are leading.
Those two values have shaped every step of my career, from coaching to fundraising to leading marketing and engagement strategy.
If I could talk to my younger self, I’d remind her that every role, even the ones that didn’t seem glamorous at the time, taught me something critical about leadership, communication, and collaboration. Yes - even learning how to scan 20 years of historical documents to create a digital archive. I’d also remind her that growth often happens quietly and in the moments you’re learning how to manage people, navigate change, or find your voice. You learn just as much from the bad as you learn from the good. Perspective matters.
Most of all, I’d tell her to keep leading with purpose. The work in sports and marketing is fast-paced, ever-changing, and oftentimes thankless… but when you stay anchored in why you started it always comes full circle.
Anything else to add?
Shameless plug for my consulting website 🙂
