Chris Gallagher, executive in residence in the DeVos Sport Business Management Program and president of the Quantum Sports and Entertainment Group, secured a new stadium naming-rights partner with Exploria Resorts in June 2019 while working with Orlando City Soccer Club. It was renamed Inter&Co Stadium in 2024, according to the MLS website.
Sports business management is a side of sports most fans aren’t familiar with, but for Chris Gallagher, executive in residence in the DeVos Sport Business Management Program at UCF, the field has become a part of his life he loves.
Gallagher began his career in sports business management in a sales role with a minor league hockey team while completing his professional studies. He said he enjoyed the work, which helped set the path for what he does today.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in management from Florida State University, he began working in sales for teams such as the Florida Panthers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins.
Working across different sports can be complicated, as each has its own unique way of running a business, Gallagher said.
“Every sport has different goals, different ideas and different ways of running its business. Yes, there are certainly similarities, but they certainly have different end games in mind,” Gallagher said. “Take soccer, for example. Soccer has been growing like crazy in the United States, but they have unique challenges that some other leagues don’t have because they don’t have a massive media deal.”
Gallagher’s experience across professional sports teams in the United States led to one of his best career opportunities: serving as senior vice president of sales for Orlando City’s inaugural MLS season.
During a sports business management class presentation, he said he told the owner that the team would sell out its inaugural match — and they did, drawing 62,510 fans for the home opener, the third-highest inaugural home opener in MLS history, according to the Orlando City SC website. The club set a league attendance record for an expansion team, drawing an average of 32,847 per home match.
Executive in residence in the DeVos Sport Business Management Program and President of the Quantum Sports and Entertainment Group, Chris Gallagher, presents his work at a sports business management class on April 6 in the College of Business.
Gallagher then served as chief revenue officer for Orlando City Soccer Club from 2017 to 2019 and later joined Nashville SC as a sales and marketing consultant.
But he didn’t spend a long time away from Orlando. In 2022, along with his two business partners — Dennis Sprenkle, a UCF graduate in political science, and Rob Parker, a sports sponsorship executive — he founded Quantum Sports & Entertainment Group.
The company is dedicated to clients and focused on delivering measurable results, built on three principles: take pride in your work, do the right thing and treat people with respect — which they call “the Quantum Way.”
Gallagher started the company with the goal of helping clients succeed in their projects while having fun and gaining experience.
“We’ve really enjoyed working with our clients,” Gallagher said. “We’ve enjoyed working with one another and connecting with all these different teams on a regular basis. But we also know that you’ve got to just keep the pedal to the floor and make it happen. We’re always going to keep working hard to keep growing the business.”
Gallagher later joined the UCF DeVos Sport Business Management Program as executive in residence, a role he said stemmed from his relationship with DeVos leadership, including Adrien Bouchet, with whom he worked at the Miami Dolphins.
The company has also been a key contributor to the UCF DeVos Sport Business Management Program. Kendrick Robinson, a UCF graduate student in business administration, said Gallagher has provided advice as he began his career in the sports business world.
“Chris is very open with anything,” Robinson said. “He said if I have a question about anything — like it doesn’t have to be regarding my role that I’m working at at that point in time, but anything at all about the sports industry — don’t be afraid to ask and knock on people’s doors.”
