It’s not unusual for Jordan Brown ’13 to find himself in rooms with NFL and MLB up-and-comers. Brown works at Code Eleven Agency (formerly known as Stack Sports), a grassroots experiential marketing agency that specializes in connecting brands with elite athletes through high-end, invite-only competition and showcases within the sports industry. Through his position as the strategic partnership lead for Code Eleven’s brand partnership division, the Bryant alum is connecting with high school- and college- aged athletes who are the next Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Clayton Kershaw, and Christian Yelichs of the world.
“Those are the kinds of athletes I get a chance to engage with and introduce a lot of brands to,” says Brown, noting that the division provides a strong authentic connection for brands to develop relationships with young athletes, which will hopefully grow in the future. "It's a unique job, and I love it.”
Brown’s sector operates premier high school competitions including Elite 11, the nation’s top high school quarterback showcase, and Area Code Baseball, America’s leading event for high school baseball talent. In this role, he attracts new brand partnerships, nurtures existing relationships, and handles strategic marketing efforts designed to engage fans while enhancing the company’s brand visibility for both events.
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Talking with clients about their ideas for collaboration opportunities, honing these concepts, and putting them on paper with more structure behind them are some of his favorite parts of the job. For instance, when it comes to the Elite 11 finals Brown says they have attracted brands such as Nike, VICIS, GLD Shop, and others to come in and explain the sports marketing strategy.
“Each partner has unique activations setup to capture athlete engagement and education with the goal to make our athletes better when they leave our experience,” Brown says.
Watching his work come to life at the Elite 11 and Area Code Baseball events is another rewarding aspect of the job.
“Seeing these athletes’ appreciation of the experience and almost wowed by it is really satisfying for me because it shows that we did everything we were supposed to do, and it executed at a high level,” Brown says.
As a former football player, Brown understands that small details and execution are everything.
“I try to equate a lot of the things I've learned in that game to my off-field life and my career now, and it's boded well for me so far,” says Brown, who today lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.
At Bryant, Brown earned his degree in Marketing. As a running back for the university’s football team, Brown set nine school football records and is the only running back in university history to rush over 4,000 yards in a career and sixth in the Northeast Conference to reach that mark. Named NEC Offensive Player of the Year as a junior, he was also a contender for the Walter Payton Award and earned All-American during his last two years in college. In 2019, he was inducted into the Bryant University Athletics Hall of Fame.
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Brown’s football career took him to Plano, Texas, after graduation, where he spent just under six years at Texas Revolution Professional Indoor Football. Eventually jumping into the sales industry, he went on to hold roles at CDW, Toast Inc., and Drizly.
“My ability to take my marketing degree and market myself by believing in a particular product to create relationships that generate revenue has boded well for me as well,” he says.
Staying connected to his alma mater, Brown returned to Bryant in September when the Navigant Credit Union Field House’s doors opened for the first time, and the university football team played its first at-home game of the season. The new 43,000-square-foot space was packed. Visiting the new football locker room, Brown was one of twelve former football players whose success was enshrined in the form of gameday photos from their glory days – all located on the endcaps of each row of football lockers.
“It's really nice to be able to see that legacy shown forever,” Brown says.