bold bison makes a mark in business

abby besson (mba ’21) joins the big leagues on the cincinnati reds events team.

janel shoun-smith | 615.966.7078 | 08/12/2022

starting as a sports fan and a baseball statistician in high school and progressing to become a master’s graduate in sports administration, abby besson joined the lipscomb events department in 2018 with great credentials to serve the bisons well as an event coordinator.

it was her work at lipscomb and her mba from the college of business, which she earned while working at lipscomb, that propelled her into the “big leagues” where she now works as an event service coordinator for the cincinnati reds.

today besson coordinates non-game day events from on-field weddings to corporate meetings to visits by the team mascots.

as a central kentucky native, bessan attended reds games while growing up and during her college studies, she had two internships with the major league team in their hall of fame and museum and in the promotional events department. 

once coming to work at lipscomb, “i knew i wanted to use my time working at lipscomb in the best way possible and gain as much experience as i could,” besson said. “i knew my weak link was the business side. i had taken a few sports marketing classes, but i wanted to be more well-rounded. as a female in sports, you really can’t know too much. you have to swing at every opportunity that comes across the plate.”

so she enrolled in lipscomb’s mba program, and upon earning her degree, was soon offered her dream job. 

“great american ball park is a large, very unique venue that anyone can rent,” she said. “we are always looking for new revenue streams and the fact that i have a finance background is valuable. with that and my experience on lipscomb’s event management team, i know how to generate the most revenue from our resources and how to serve our customers to the best of our ability.”