Excel Sports Management
Kevin Hopkins started at IMG as a green 20-year-old intern walking the same hallways as some of the most powerful agents in sports inside the company’s Cleveland headquarters. Now, nearly two decades later, he’s become one of those same powerful agents at Excel Sports Management alongside his longtime mentor, Mark Steinberg.
“It was impossible for me to grow up in that environment and not learn how things tick,” said Hopkins, who now heads up Excel’s women’s golf division and manages athletes such as Michelle Wie West, Rose Zhang and Lydia Ko.
He also leads Excel’s golf events division, managing out-of-the-box events, including “The Match” and “The Netflix Cup,” and works with the agency’s brand marketing group.
Over the years, Hopkins has leaned on Steinberg, who hired him at that intern level at the behest of one of his good buddies who happened to be Hopkins’ uncle.
“My buddy’s just like, ‘I need you to meet Kev,’” Steinberg said. “I said, ‘Sure.’ And he was very mature beyond his years, very buttoned up.”
“One of the things I like most about him is that he’s multidimensional,” Steinberg added. “He’s very good with the individual clients and very good with the entire events business. We didn’t have it when I came here.”
Through it all, Hopkins tries to keep an even keel and put a fun spin on things.
“I try to remind my team that the world we work in and what we’re doing is supposed to be fun,” Hopkins said. “Whatever is stressing us out at the moment, we’re lucky to be doing it.” — Josh Carpenter
Kevin Hopkins
Vice President, Excel Sports Management
Age: 39
Born: Morristown, N.J.
Education: Villanova University, B.S., management and international business
Family: Spouse, Erin; children, Kira (4), Hailey (2)
Advice to my 20-year-old self: Take golf lessons. Don’t book the red-eye flight.
What my friends/family think I do all day: Drive golf carts on TV.
Cause supported: Saving Grace.
App I use most: United Airlines.
First social media platform you signed up for: Does AIM count? If not, Myspace.
Social media platform I use/follow most today: X.
Person in sports business I’d most like to meet: Dana White.
Most pivotal decision in my career: Moving from IMG to Excel to run “The Match” with Tiger vs. Phil and starting up an events and LPGA client practice.
Sports business leaders should be more mindful of … : The impact they can make by providing the right platform for women’s sports.
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