KENNESAW, Ga. – Van Wagner recently announced the appointment of
Justin Motley as General Manager for its partnership with Kennesaw State University Athletics. Motley, a Kennesaw State alumnus and former NCAA Division I baseball athlete, brings over eight years of proven success in sports marketing, digital advertising, and revenue generation to his new role.
In his new role, Motley will be responsible for managing and growing KSU Athletics spon
sorships, developing innovative sponsorship packages, and creating value-driven opportunities for corporate partners across all Owls sports programs.
"We are thrilled to welcome Justin back to Kennesaw State in this exciting capacity," said Director of Athletics Milton Overton. "His track record of exceeding sales goals, building meaningful client relationships, and driving revenue is important in the current landscape of college athletics and our growth at KSU. It is exciting to have a former athlete who understands how special this campus and community is, and I look forward to how Justin can help our ascent into Conference USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision."
In his most recent role as a media consultant at Cox Media Group, Motley demonstrated exceptional performance. He generated over $2.1 million in revenue sales in 2025 and $1.6 million in 2024. He contributed to the top-grossing revenue team in the company's Atlanta market and won the 2023 new business sales drive. His experience covers radio advertising and cutting-edge digital platforms, including TV, digital billboards, live sports streaming, IP targeting, and social media marketing.
"I am very excited for the opportunity to join the Van Wagner team and come back to campus to work for my alma mater," said Motley. "The growth of Kennesaw State has been incredible and I am looking forward to being a part of the continued success!"
Motley returns to the Owls alongside Sydney Barrett who has recently joined as an Account Executive. Barrett previously worked at Georgia State Athletics for two years as a marketing assistant before rising to the role of Director of Marketing. There, she worked with the Panther football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and soccer programs. Barrett graduated from Georgia State in May 2025.
Motley's career in sports marketing includes significant achievements with major sports networks and collegiate athletics. At Bally Sports South/Southeast, he successfully generated revenue for the regional sports network while producing seven new business clients across Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte markets. During tenure with Learfield's Vanderbilt Sports Properties, he surpassed sales goals by 150% in the 2021-22 fiscal year, bringing in $900,000 in personal sales revenue and finishing in the top three among over 200 managers in the south region.
Earlier in his career at Georgia Tech Sports Properties, Motley achieved 132% of his sales goal in 2019-20, earning recognition as a candidate for Rookie of the Year in the south region and achieving the second-highest sales goal percentage company-wide. Even during the challenging 2020-21 fiscal year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he successfully closed $450,000 in revenue.
A 2016 graduate of Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science in sport management and a minor in marketing, Motley was also a member of the baseball team. A Cobb County native who led Hillgrove High School in home runs as a junior and senior, Motley was
a force behind two Atlantic Sun championships (2014, 2016) under Hall of Fame coach Mike Sansing.
