Episode Notes WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier and Detroit Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem sit with host Darrell Dawsey inside Wayne State University’s new basketball arena — which opens Nov. 5 — to explain how the university and the NBA team collaborated to make the new facility a reality.
About Rob Fournier is entering his 22nd year as WSU's director of athletics. Under his leadership, Wayne State University has enjoyed its top 18 NACDA finishes, with top three NACDA finishes occurring in 2009 (11th), 2014 (14th) and 2010 (21st). Meanwhile, the university has also had 50 Conference Coach of the Year recipients, and Wayne State teams have won 39 conference regular-season titles, 15 league tournament titles and 10 postseason regional, super regional or national titles. Fournier was named the 2008 NACDA Central Region Athletic Director of the Year.
In 2019, Fournier initiated and negotiated a contract with the Detroit Pistons for the new 3,000-seat, $28.3 million basketball arena on the Wayne State campus, which will also be the home to the Pistons’ G-League squad, the Motor City Cruise. The new facility is slated to open Nov. 5.
Prior to joining Wayne State, Fournier served as the senior associate commissioner and general counsel for the Mid-American Conference.
Arn Tellem is vice chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), which includes the Detroit Pistons basketball franchise. He joined PS&E in August 2015 following a distinguished career as one of the top player agents in sports. As a representative of ownership, Tellem has broad responsibility for business strategy, planning and development, and strengthening the connection between PS&E and the community. With respect to the Detroit Pistons, Tellem is responsible for league-related initiatives as one of the team’s alternate governors on the NBA Board of Governors.
Tellem has represented more than 500 professional athletes in his career. He joined PS&E following nine years at Wasserman Media Group, where he served as vice chairman and oversaw the Team Sports Division. In 1989, he founded Los Angeles-based Tellem & Associates, which was acquired in 1999 by SFX Entertainment, the world’s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment. Tellem served as CEO of SFX Sports until he joined Wasserman.
Additional Resources • Watch the promotional video for the new WSU basketball arena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru7e6L_OWYQ • Follow WSU Athletics on Twitter https://twitter.com/waynestwarriors • Follow WSU Athletics on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wsuwarriors • Follow WSU Athletics on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/waynestateathletics/ • Follow the Detroit Pistons on Twitter https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons • Follow the Pistons on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/detroitpistons • Follow the Pistons on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/detroitpistons/ • Watch the WXYZ-TV report on the new arena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Hy5yK_Vi0 • Read Arn Tellem’s Sports Illustrated interview about joining the Pistons https://www.si.com/nba/2015/06/05/arn-tellem-detroit-pistons-sports-agent-nba
This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm
Get new episodes of Today@Wayne Podcast automatically
