Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
She Can Be… An Administrator
February 03, 2021 | Athletics, HailStateBEAT
STARKVILLE – One day the phone rang, and a young Leah Beasley answered it. The person on the other end asked for "Dr. Beasley," so she immediately ran to the other room and handed the phone to her father.
"My mom got so angry," Beasley said. "My dad didn't have his Ph.D. My mom did."
Beasley attributes much of her success to the strength and confidence her parents instilled in her as a young girl. She has applied her mom's advice in many aspects of her life, including in her career.
"My mom was an incredibly strong female," she said. "I was born in the 80s, so that was unheard of. She always taught me that there are no gender lines. She said, 'You walk into a room and you're confident and powerful, but you're caring. Love everybody. Care about everybody and show them. But at the same time, if there's somebody that needs to take the lead, that's going to be you.'"
Beasley enrolled at Louisiana Tech University in 2002, where she joined the Bulldogs softball team as an outfielder.
As a junior, she sat down with her academic advisor, Stacy Gilbert, to discuss her career goals after graduation. Not unlike other young students, Beasley wasn't quite sure where life after college would take her.
"When she was trying to choose a major, she truly couldn't decide because she knew she could do anything she set her mind to do, and she was genuinely interested in everything," Gilbert said.
With the guidance of Gilbert, Beasley decided to pursue a marketing degree because it was an opportunity to combine two of her favorite things – athletics and being surrounded by people. She went on to graduate from Louisiana Tech with her bachelor's in marketing in 2005.
"I knew the only thing I needed to do as her academic advisor was make her stop long enough to think about what was important to her, ask the right questions, then get out of her way," Gilbert stated. "That's exactly what I did and look at her now!"
Beasley decided to stick around Ruston, Louisiana, to continue her education. She worked toward a master's in business administration while serving as a graduate assistant in a marketing role for the athletic department, where she was the only woman in marketing.
With no prior experience in sports marketing, Beasley formed a game plan based on the knowledge she gained in her undergraduate classes.
"I didn't think about it how I think about it now," she said. "I thought, 'If I'm a customer, what do I want? If I keep getting what I want, then I'm going to keep coming back.' That was the most rudimentary way I could think about it as a 22-year-old graduate assistant. Just keep doing what people like and stop doing what they don't like. Then help relentlessly promote the sports."
Her thinking shifted as she transitioned to the other side of the foul line.
"Whenever I played, I was thankful for the fans that did come, and I was disappointed when nobody came," Beasley said. "I knew there was a team out there trying to help with that, and I was thankful to be a part of that team to help our student-athletes gain support. That's how I got into it."
Beasley's success landed her a full-time job as an assistant athletic director, leading the marketing, branding and game management departments at Tech after she graduated in 2006 – a year after finishing her bachelor's degree.
Her achievements at Louisiana Tech earned her recognition from former Mississippi State Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee. Beasley came across Wetherbee at a few Conference USA meetings while he served as the assistant athletic director at East Carolina. A few chats turned into a job offer and a discussion about the future of Mississippi State athletics.
When Wetherbee joined the Bulldogs as AD, it wasn't long before Beasley arrived in Starkville in 2013 as State's assistant athletic director for marketing.
"He had a vision," she said. "He told me what he wanted to do, and we were able to run with it. It was really fun."
Today, Beasley serves as deputy athletic director and executive senior associate athletic director for External Affairs. She oversees Mississippi State's five external areas of broadcast operations, communications, creative and digital strategy, fan experience and outbound sales and marketing and branding.
Despite collaborating with predominately male counterparts, Beasley said she has never felt like a part of a minority group.
"I've been very fortunate that the men around me have lifted me up, and I've never felt like it was because I'm a woman," she said. "I still thank my first AD, Jim Oakes to this day for giving me a shot. I could also speak the world of Wetherbee, Scott Stricklin and John Cohen."
Beasley has used her position to advocate for the organization of women's leadership, especially in athletics. She serves on the President's Commission on the Status of Women at Mississippi State and is an active member of Women Leaders in College Sports.
"It's a really cool sense of camaraderie when you get a group of women together that are all pulling on the same rope, but in different areas in collegiate athletics," she explained. "I love seeing the growth of female involvement in the industry. I want to see more of it. I think it's inspiring. Let's keep going."
Beasley uses the stereotypes that girls are more sensitive as motivation. She considers it a skillset that God gave her to be better in her role.
"Maybe women are softer or more sensitive," Beasley said. "Use that. Men are considered to be so powerful, strong and tough. Women can be both. I think of it as an advantage, rather than an offense. I think it is an asset because I can be one of the guys, but I can also use my softer side if I need to."
Beasley admired the characteristics that her mother and Gilbert possess.
"The ability to be both confident and powerful, but then caring," she said. "They were some of the strongest women I've ever known, and it was because they could command a room. They demanded respect just by their presence."
The junior who sat confused in her academic advisor's office wondering what she wanted to do with the rest of her life may not have expected to have the role she has today, but people like Gilbert knew what she was capable of all along.
"Leah is one of those people who could do or be anything she aspired to do or be," Gilbert said. "You just knew that nothing and no one could stop her. She had the intellect, the determination, the work ethic, all of it. It has been an absolute joy to watch her professional journey, and I know she is just getting started. One of her greatest assets is how deeply she cares. How deeply she cares for the program, the student-athletes and her colleagues. At the crux, I believe the people and the relationships are her why and her greatest source of motivation."
In her role now, Beasley is paving the way for today's generation of young women aspiring to navigate collegiate sports. Just as her mentors did for her, Beasley's hard work and strength will continue to inspire many women.
"I worked my butt off, and hopefully everybody around me can say that," Beasley said. "I will not be outworked. It's not because I'm a woman, nor is it because I felt I had to. I did it because I wanted to be the best in my field, not because I wanted to be the best woman in my field."
Although the plans she had for herself as a little girl to become a sky diving instructor or skilled koala farm owner didn't pan out, Beasley has made a name for herself as a nationally-recognized leader in the male-dominated sports industry.
"My mom got so angry," Beasley said. "My dad didn't have his Ph.D. My mom did."
Beasley attributes much of her success to the strength and confidence her parents instilled in her as a young girl. She has applied her mom's advice in many aspects of her life, including in her career.
"My mom was an incredibly strong female," she said. "I was born in the 80s, so that was unheard of. She always taught me that there are no gender lines. She said, 'You walk into a room and you're confident and powerful, but you're caring. Love everybody. Care about everybody and show them. But at the same time, if there's somebody that needs to take the lead, that's going to be you.'"
Beasley enrolled at Louisiana Tech University in 2002, where she joined the Bulldogs softball team as an outfielder.
As a junior, she sat down with her academic advisor, Stacy Gilbert, to discuss her career goals after graduation. Not unlike other young students, Beasley wasn't quite sure where life after college would take her.
"When she was trying to choose a major, she truly couldn't decide because she knew she could do anything she set her mind to do, and she was genuinely interested in everything," Gilbert said.
With the guidance of Gilbert, Beasley decided to pursue a marketing degree because it was an opportunity to combine two of her favorite things – athletics and being surrounded by people. She went on to graduate from Louisiana Tech with her bachelor's in marketing in 2005.
"I knew the only thing I needed to do as her academic advisor was make her stop long enough to think about what was important to her, ask the right questions, then get out of her way," Gilbert stated. "That's exactly what I did and look at her now!"
Beasley decided to stick around Ruston, Louisiana, to continue her education. She worked toward a master's in business administration while serving as a graduate assistant in a marketing role for the athletic department, where she was the only woman in marketing.
With no prior experience in sports marketing, Beasley formed a game plan based on the knowledge she gained in her undergraduate classes.
"I didn't think about it how I think about it now," she said. "I thought, 'If I'm a customer, what do I want? If I keep getting what I want, then I'm going to keep coming back.' That was the most rudimentary way I could think about it as a 22-year-old graduate assistant. Just keep doing what people like and stop doing what they don't like. Then help relentlessly promote the sports."
Her thinking shifted as she transitioned to the other side of the foul line.
"Whenever I played, I was thankful for the fans that did come, and I was disappointed when nobody came," Beasley said. "I knew there was a team out there trying to help with that, and I was thankful to be a part of that team to help our student-athletes gain support. That's how I got into it."
Beasley's success landed her a full-time job as an assistant athletic director, leading the marketing, branding and game management departments at Tech after she graduated in 2006 – a year after finishing her bachelor's degree.
Her achievements at Louisiana Tech earned her recognition from former Mississippi State Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee. Beasley came across Wetherbee at a few Conference USA meetings while he served as the assistant athletic director at East Carolina. A few chats turned into a job offer and a discussion about the future of Mississippi State athletics.
When Wetherbee joined the Bulldogs as AD, it wasn't long before Beasley arrived in Starkville in 2013 as State's assistant athletic director for marketing.
"He had a vision," she said. "He told me what he wanted to do, and we were able to run with it. It was really fun."
Today, Beasley serves as deputy athletic director and executive senior associate athletic director for External Affairs. She oversees Mississippi State's five external areas of broadcast operations, communications, creative and digital strategy, fan experience and outbound sales and marketing and branding.
Despite collaborating with predominately male counterparts, Beasley said she has never felt like a part of a minority group.
"I've been very fortunate that the men around me have lifted me up, and I've never felt like it was because I'm a woman," she said. "I still thank my first AD, Jim Oakes to this day for giving me a shot. I could also speak the world of Wetherbee, Scott Stricklin and John Cohen."
Beasley has used her position to advocate for the organization of women's leadership, especially in athletics. She serves on the President's Commission on the Status of Women at Mississippi State and is an active member of Women Leaders in College Sports.
"It's a really cool sense of camaraderie when you get a group of women together that are all pulling on the same rope, but in different areas in collegiate athletics," she explained. "I love seeing the growth of female involvement in the industry. I want to see more of it. I think it's inspiring. Let's keep going."
Beasley uses the stereotypes that girls are more sensitive as motivation. She considers it a skillset that God gave her to be better in her role.
"Maybe women are softer or more sensitive," Beasley said. "Use that. Men are considered to be so powerful, strong and tough. Women can be both. I think of it as an advantage, rather than an offense. I think it is an asset because I can be one of the guys, but I can also use my softer side if I need to."
Beasley admired the characteristics that her mother and Gilbert possess.
"The ability to be both confident and powerful, but then caring," she said. "They were some of the strongest women I've ever known, and it was because they could command a room. They demanded respect just by their presence."
The junior who sat confused in her academic advisor's office wondering what she wanted to do with the rest of her life may not have expected to have the role she has today, but people like Gilbert knew what she was capable of all along.
"Leah is one of those people who could do or be anything she aspired to do or be," Gilbert said. "You just knew that nothing and no one could stop her. She had the intellect, the determination, the work ethic, all of it. It has been an absolute joy to watch her professional journey, and I know she is just getting started. One of her greatest assets is how deeply she cares. How deeply she cares for the program, the student-athletes and her colleagues. At the crux, I believe the people and the relationships are her why and her greatest source of motivation."
In her role now, Beasley is paving the way for today's generation of young women aspiring to navigate collegiate sports. Just as her mentors did for her, Beasley's hard work and strength will continue to inspire many women.
"I worked my butt off, and hopefully everybody around me can say that," Beasley said. "I will not be outworked. It's not because I'm a woman, nor is it because I felt I had to. I did it because I wanted to be the best in my field, not because I wanted to be the best woman in my field."
Although the plans she had for herself as a little girl to become a sky diving instructor or skilled koala farm owner didn't pan out, Beasley has made a name for herself as a nationally-recognized leader in the male-dominated sports industry.
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