Neil Hegde (BSBA ’11) is living his hoop dream

A basketball fanatic since the age of five, Neil Hegde’s dream was to make the big leagues as a player. While his life and career have taken some unexpected turns, Hegde ultimately found his way back to the game ― in a role that doesn’t require sneakers.

Today, Hegde channels what’s been a lifelong love for the sport as the senior director of player experience, innovation and strategy for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). The role, he says, is the culmination of a long journey.

“Basketball really shaped me as a person,” says Hegde (BSBA ’11). “I am a first-generation American and as the son of immigrants I was trying to figure out how to balance the multiple worlds I lived in. For me, basketball has always been a through line and connector in my life ― it was a place that I could be me and figure out who I was.”

He says growing up in Toledo, Ohio, and playing the game from a young age through high school and beyond taught him valuable life skills like resilience, leadership, decision making and emotional regulation that he has used throughout his life and career.

He applied these lessons when he decided to attend Fisher. While on his first-year orientation tour, he learned about Ohio State’s Men’s Basketball Club and decided to try out. During his time on the team, he enjoyed the opportunity to play against other club, Division III and junior college programs ― an experience that culminated with his being named captain and then the team’s most valuable player as a senior.

Hegde graduated in 2011 and played internationally in India for several months before returning to Columbus, Ohio, where a major injury ― a torn ACL suffered in a men’s league game ― ended his competitive playing days in 2018. Despite this setback, Neil never gave up on basketball.

An assist

As a playing career seemed less likely post-graduation, Hegde adjusted his professional focus, which meant embarking on a career path that, although full of turns, would eventually help him succeed in basketball.

“When I was first out of college, I applied to any and all sorts of sports organizations, but kept getting no’s to my applications,” Hegde says.

So Neil pivoted and used his finance degree to gain experience, first working as a financial analyst for JPMorgan Chase, then as a financial consultant for AXA Advisors and finally as a senior analyst of pricing strategy for Alliance Data.

But he couldn’t fully shake the desire to work in sports. Six years after graduating, he was introduced to an executive at the NBPA. But the labor organization, which supports all active NBA players on and off the basketball court, didn’t have any job openings at the time. The executive said they would call if something opened up.

In 2018, he received that phone call. The organization offered him the chance to interview to be its manager of finance and special projects. In this role he would also have the opportunity to support THINK450, the NBPA’s newly launched licensing, partnership and innovation division.

“My previous experience in banking and finance made me much more prepared for my career at the NBPA,” Hegde says. “My finance degree and experience allowed me to jump into the role and accelerate my career in sports.”

These skills initially helped him manage financial education projects and royalty revenue analysis for the NBPA’s global licensing business, with a specific focus on the group licensing rights of active NBA players. This led to eventual roles as director of business development, and director of player engagement and business development. In 2022, he was named senior director of player marketing and I.D.E.A.S. Lab and was also recognized as part of the Hashtag Sports Creators of Color Class for being a trailblazer in the sports entertainment creator economy.

Now, as senior director of player experience, innovation and strategy, Hegde leads the development and evaluation of strategic collaboration opportunities for the NBPA’s player experience vertical. He provides key insights related to potential athlete marketing opportunities with recognized brands such as Sprite, DoorDash, Chase Bank, Michelob ULTRA and American Express. And he is also helping drive the expansion of the organization’s athlete performance and longevity strategy through the integration of new platforms, partnerships and events.

“This job and my experiences at the NBPA have been a dream come true,” Hegde says. “Having the opportunity to work with some of my favorite athletes as a kid ― like Baron Davis and Allen Iverson ― has brought things full circle for me. My passion for basketball, my desire to have a professional career in sports and my drive for being successful in life have all come together.”

Setting an example

Helping others understand how to combine their passion and a career is important to Hegde. He is a frequent guest at Fisher, where he talks to college and high school students about his journey and the importance of patience. His aim is to help them to understand that that one big “thing” or dream may not happen right away, but it eventually will show up in some form.

“I want to inspire others with my journey,” Hegde says. “I want people to feel the passion I have about sports, my career and life. I want them to understand they can leverage their own unique individual experiences as vehicles that can drive the rest of their life forward.”