Revenue
Commercial growth beyond the traditional model
Build stronger corporate partnership pipelines, philanthropic strategies, premium asset opportunities, and diversified revenue channels.
Executive Advisory & Sports Technology
The new era of sports demands a new operating model.
CK1 LLC partners with collegiate athletic departments, professional sports franchises, and sports business leaders to stabilize operations, unlock revenue, and deploy modern technology frameworks in a complex, data-driven landscape.
Built for leaders managing volatility, pressure, and transformation.
The old administrative playbook no longer matches the financial, commercial, regulatory, and technological realities facing modern sports organizations.
Operations
Fiscal discipline and departmental clarity
Identify structural deficits, outdated processes, inefficient spend, and asset allocation opportunities through executive-level operational review.
Technology
Practical AI and automation frameworks
Evaluate and deploy tools that simplify logistics, reporting, compliance workflows, executive decision-making, and internal coordination.
Why CK1
Advisory from someone who has sat in the chair.
CK1 was founded by Chris King, a 30-year Division I athletics executive and former Division I Director of Athletics. The firm was created for leaders who need grounded, confidential, operator-level guidance—not theory from outside the industry.
From revenue generation and budget stabilization to conference transitions, campus alignment, technology modernization, and high-stakes strategic decisions, CK1 helps sports enterprises move with discipline and confidence.
Meet the FounderCK1 helps organizations answer the questions leaders are being forced to confront now.
- How do we fund the modern cost structure of athletics?
- Where are we carrying legacy deficits or inefficient operations?
- Which revenue opportunities are underdeveloped or untapped?
- How should we use AI and technology without creating unnecessary risk?
- How do we align athletics, campus leadership, legal, donors, media, and corporate stakeholders?
Modern Sports Enterprise
Financial discipline. Commercial agility. Technology clarity.
CK1 helps leaders move from reactive management to enterprise-level strategy with practical advisory support across revenue, operations, technology, and institutional alignment.
Common engagement areas
- Enterprise athletics assessments
- Revenue generation and capital strategy
- Fiscal stewardship and operational audits
- AI and advanced technology integration
- Conference, brand, and institutional alignment
- Fractional executive advisory for high-stakes decisions
Endorsements
The voices behind the credibility.
Endorsed across the industry — by university presidents, professional sport executives, and sitting Division I Directors of Athletics.
Having hired and worked closely with Chris at the presidential level, I know firsthand his exceptional capacity for institutional alignment, fiscal discipline, and strategic vision. CK1 LLC offers university leaders the exact executive-level oversight and diagnostic insight needed to successfully navigate today’s modern sports enterprise.
Having sat across the table from Chris during our time in the WAC, I have always known him to be a unifying leader in the room who brings exceptional strategic clarity to complex governance issues. Chris understands that navigating today’s NIL landscape requires real, principle-centered solutions rather than unchecked escalation. Through CK1 LLC, he will provide higher education leaders with visionary oversight and protect the core mission of college athletics.
Facing a strategic reset?
CK1 provides confidential advisory support for presidents, athletic directors, sports executives, boards, conference leaders, and corporate partners navigating complex change.