In the fast-paced world of athletics, maintaining accurate records of athletes, coaches, and staff is a daunting task due to constant turnover, creating significant challenges for equipment staff who work tirelessly to make sure the correct inventory is on hand. In the collegiate setting, this is further complicated by factors like the transfer portal, walk-ons, traditional signings, and daily roster changes. The intricate web of communication required to keep all relevant parties informed involves coordinating with multiple areas of an organization, such as Recruiting, Compliance, Operations, Athletic Training, and Equipment. When even a single link in this chain breaks, critical information is missed, leading to delays and confusion.
Equipment staff commonly see this communication breakdown in the instance of a coach sending a new team addition to the equipment room to be properly outfitted, but the equipment staff was never notified of that addition to the roster. Now, the equipment staff has to check that this athlete is properly cleared to receive equipment. Communication gaps hinder service to the athlete, creating confusion where clear answers are needed. In an industry where time is a luxury, relying on multiple departments to get incomplete information is not an efficient solution.
A Single Source of Truth: Accurate Roster Management
Solving these persistent challenges requires a transparent and timely method for tracking athlete and staff changes.
Now, with Teamworks’ Operating System™, you can close the communication gaps and streamline athlete and staff management for your team. Gone are the days of manually managing roster changes and outdated communication channels to stay up to date. Teamworks enables a cohesive and responsive environment, connecting your entire department to drive efficiency.
Boise State’s Game-Changer: Automation
As Matthew Sterling, Assistant AD of Equipment Operations & Branding at Boise State University, shares, “With the landscape of college athletics constantly evolving, the Inventory Management – Hub Roster Integration has been a game-changer.”
“Whenever a new athlete is added to Hub via our compliance team, they are automatically imported to Inventory Management. I then send the size chart collection link to the new athlete and have what I need. This is especially beneficial with late roster additions, transfers, spring semester newcomers, etc.”
Matthew Sterling, Boise State University Assistant AD of Equipment Operations & Branding
“It also helps when an athlete leaves the team,” Matthew said. “They are automatically moved to inactive in Inventory, and I can archive them if necessary.”
By integrating Teamworks Inventory Management with Teamworks Hub’s roster and profile database, all departments can collaborate on a single, flexible platform. Staff will receive notifications about any changes or updates, ensuring that rosters are always up-to-date and accurately reflect the current athletes and staff.
Matthew has seen this impact firsthand: “The integration benefits all of our athletes, coaches, and support staff by centralizing all size charts in one place and allowing everyone to update their sizes as needed. From a staff perspective, athletics has one of the highest turnover rates of any field; having the staff sync feature has greatly helped us keep on top of and ahead of new hires and departures.”
With these enhancements, managing rosters has never been easier, ensuring accuracy and efficiency across your department.
IMG Academy: Streamlining Communication Across Departments
The integration between Inventory Management and Hub helps our partners, like Teamworks Elite Partner IMG Academy, equip their 1,600+ athletes and staff with what they need, precisely when they need it, with fewer delays and less room for error.
Troy Bixler, Director of Equipment & Warehouse, Operations at IMG Academy, shared that this year, handing out 310 soccer uniforms in one day looked a bit more efficient.
“For us, Inventory Management has made a world of difference. It’s like night and day. Now, we have a proper system to connect all the dots.”
Troy Bixler, IMG Academy Director of Equipment & Warehouse, Operations
Until this year, when IMG Academy athletes came in to get their gear packages, it was all manual. “We had an inventory management system, but it wasn’t connected to the athletes themselves,» Bixler explained. When athletes came to get their gear, the team recorded what was given but couldn’t easily track specific details.
The introduction of the integrated system has changed all that. Now, Bixler and his team can see exactly what each athlete received, as well as what they didn’t get. «At IMG Academy, each sport has a program manager who handles rosters and communication through Hub. By the time the athletes come to get their gear, their program manager has shared the athlete’s information to be properly outfitted,» Bixler explained. This streamlined communication verifies that everything is in order when athletes arrive at the equipment room, minimizing delays or confusion.
«The integration with Hub and Inventory Management was seamless,» Bixler said. «Everything connected effortlessly.»
By embracing technology and integrating it into their workflow, Troy Bixler and his team have gained time back to focus on what they do best: servicing their athletes, coaches and staff.
