Cassie Enriquez

Senior Account Manager, Premium Services at Oklahoma City Thunder

“Thank you, Cassie Enriquez, Senior Account Manager, Premium Services at the Oklahoma City Thunder, for sharing your journey!Cassie manages a portfolio of 230 premium Season Ticket Members, customizing their game-night experiences through events, special requests, and exclusive opportunities — all with the goal of building long-term loyalty season after season.

With both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Sport Management, she understands the unique dynamics of the sports business, from how player performance impacts sales to the flexibility required on game days.Following her professors’ advice that ticket sales is the best way to break into pro sports, Cassie built her foundation there — and it opened doors for growth within premium services. While navigating a male-dominated industry hasn’t always been easy, she’s learned that pro sports organizations value the most qualified candidates and that resilience matters.

She loves being part of something that unites people from all walks of life, even knowing the career comes with long nights and missed holidays. Her advice? Build meaningful connections, stay motivated, and dress for the job you want.“

— Zara

Please describe your role & responsibilities at that position?

I manage a portfolio of about 230 Season Ticket Members spread across our most premium seated areas within the arena. I customize their game night experiences through event planning, special requests and season ticket member exclusive opportunities. The hope it to get all members to return/renew their season tickets season after season.

What did you study in college and how did your educational background shape your career in the sports industry?

I studied Sport Management with a minor in business and I also obtained my Master’s in Sport Management. Having both degrees tied to sports has allowed me to understand more of the nitty gritty than other day to day businesses don’t always experience. For example, player performance effects ticket sales, the variation of partnerships don’t always tie to the sports world, and being flexible with outdoor events/games when weather strikes.

Can you share the key milestones in your career that led you to your current position in the sports industry?

Every professor I had in undergrad and grad school would say “”ticket sales is the best way to get your foot in the door with professional sports”” so while I had all my internships and game day jobs in the sports industry, the advice taken from my professors are what got me into my career, and all of my internships and part time jobs prepared me to excel in other ways within ticket sales to assist with season ticket member events, gifting and behind the scene organizing for my member services team.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a woman in the sports business, & how have you overcome them?

Because this industry is so male-dominant, there are times where I felt the guys I was up against in entry level positions would beat me out of a full time role because they were men. Reflecting on that made me feel worthless and all the work I had done made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. Through time, I have learned that wasn’t the case everywhere, especially in pro sports. Pro Sports are genuine when they are looking for the best and most qualified candidates. The diversity is immaculate.

​Balancing a career is demanding. How do you manage a work-life balance? What strategies have worked well for you?

It is tough to manage a work life balance in this industry because many jobs expect you to work a 40 hour week on top of working games. For me, I’ve worked every holiday this year but my organization recognizes that and will give us different days off to celebrate with our families. Each year, we get a few additional days off in the off-season to use as rest, vacation or visiting family. It’s also nice having the ability to flex your hours when you have overtime for the week already. As far as the day to day, meal prepping is huge for me; I will meal prep on Sunday for the week then I only need to worry about dinner throughout the week.

How important is mentorship for women in the sports industry? Have you had mentors or role models who played a significant role in your career and can give some details?

Having a mentor is huge because you can open up to them about all the questions you have or ask for a genuine thought or opinion about something. The more regularly you meet with your mentor, the more you’ll get out of the relationship. I haven’t had a mentor outside of work recently, but when I did, she really helped me with my work life balance when I was first starting out in the industry. Now that I’m established in my career, I’ve been open to being a mentor but a lot of students or entry level people don’t understand the importance of maintaining the mentorship. Instead, they only want to meet once and then ask for a referral for a job…mentors don’t appreciate that as it comes across as being used and it’s hard to be a referral for someone you’ve only met with once for 30 min- 1 hour.

In a male-dominated industry, do you feel women are given equal opportunities? What steps do you think can be taken to promote gender equality in the sports industry?

It really depends on the organization. I’ve noticed collegiate sports gravitate more towards hiring men while pro sports is a good variety. Through time, I’ve seen more college athletic departments expanding their variation.

What aspects of your work in the sports industry do you enjoy the most? What parts do you find the most challenging ?

I really love being in the atmosphere where people are choosing to be part of something that brings the world together. Despite all differences in the world, sports is the best way to unify everyone so being part of that experience for season ticket members is truly rewarding. I feel the most challenging aspect of working in sports is understanding you will miss out on evenings and weekends with your family and friends for work. It get’s easier in time, but when it comes to missing holidays, it won’t ever get easier.

What advice do you have for young women aspiring to build a successful career in the sports industry?

Build meaningful connections, stay motivated, and always dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

What is your long-term personal goal that you still want to achieve both business wise and personal?

My long term goals often change, sometimes I aspire to switch over to the player side instead of the Front Office side of the business and other times, I have an interested in moving over to a Community Engagement role with a Pro Team. The ticket side of the industry was my foot in the door, now that I’ve been promoted a few times, I just don’t know if ticketing is what I see myself doing long-term. Personally, I am SO excited to be a wife and mother one day; family is super important to me so spending time with them will hold high importance in my life.

Any fun facts or interesting things you’d like the world to learn about you? Favorite food, hobbies, pet peeves, etc.?

I did competitive cheer for 12 years and competed at the Cheerleading Worlds. I have a dog named Sailor; she is my best friend! My love for cruising is why I named my dog, Sailor. I am an avid traveler, actively achieving to see a MLB game in every MLB Stadium, I have two championship rings (NFL and NBA).