Ben Hunt is the Director of Mavs Academy for the Dallas Mavericks. Hunt started with the Dallas Mavericks in June 2015 and has 10+ years of experience in professional sports. Hunt is from Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, and began his basketball college career as a two-year letterwinner for the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks (NCAA D1) in 2001-2003.
Following SFA, Hunt played his junior and senior seasons at Texas Wesleyan University in Ft. Worth, Texas. He led the Texan Wesleyan Rams to the 2006 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics D1 championship, scoring a career high 34 points and hitting the game winning shot for the Rams.
Hunt made his professional career debut with the Dallas Mavericks Summer League team in 2006 that competed in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, CA. He then went on to sign with the Perth Wildcats in the National Basketball League in Australia.
Following his playing career, Hunt moved back to Texas to become a Physical Education teacher and the Head Boys Varsity Basketball Coach at Uplift North Hills Preparatory in Irving, Texas. Hunt also spent two years as Athletic Director at Uplift North Hills Preparatory before transitioning into administration as Dean of Students from 2013-2015.Hunt’s responsibilities with the Mavericks include overseeing all the Mavs Academy’s Camps and Clinics, Jersey Program, Mavs Experiences and Ball Kid Program.
Prior to joining the Mavericks, Freeman spent 16 years as the Director of Basketball for Prestonwood Sports Organization and 25 years as a high school and college basketball coach. He most recently coached at Dallas Christian College where the team won a national championship in 2013. Prior to his stint at DCC, Freeman coached 21 years in secondary schools. His last high school position was the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano where he posted a 172-82 record with an impressive 71-9 district record and four Coach of the Year honors. His teams made it to the State title game in each of his last three seasons at PCA, winning the school’s first state championship in 2010. Freeman began his coaching career in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD before moving on to Krum High School where the team posted a 37-0 record and state championship in 1994. From there he moved on to be the head coach at Whitewright High School and then Allen High School before taking the position at Prestonwood.
Freeman played basketball at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX where he received a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. He also holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Baylor University with a concentration in Sport Administration. While coaching, Freeman was an active member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. He was also a founding board member of the North Texas Basketball Coaches Association where he served as the Treasurer for 10 years.
Freeman has been married to his high school sweetheart, Marthanne, for 34 years and they have three children, two daughter-in-laws and one grandchild on the way.
In addition to his Mavericks correspondence, his television experience included five years working as a sports reporter at ABC affiliate WFAA TV in Dallas. Chris’ work garnered an Emmy. Before going to WFAA, Chris worked on a tv show he wrote, produced, and hosted. “On The Beam” a syndicated African American entertainment television show that was seen by more than 20 million households in 46 cities across the US, Japan, the Caribbean, and in 17 countries in Africa. That show won an Ace award for Cable Television excellence in 1991.
Chris’s radio career is legendary in itself, starting his career at age 14 in Memphis Tennessee. He has worked nonstop in radio ever since.
In 2020 He was inducted to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. In 2019 Chris became the only journalist inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame.
Broadcasting for over 45yrs, including 30 consecutive yrs at K104 fm in Dallas serving as sports director and broadcasting the morning show with legends Tom Joyner and the award winning Skip Murphy & Company. That show was the number 1 morning show in DFW for 8 consecutive years. He has also hosted his own #1 sports talk show on 1310 the Ticket and at 105.3. the Fan, as part of the Gbag Nation, & as one of their stable of solid sports talk show hosts.
Chris has covered every major sporting event the world has to offer: 28 Super Bowls, 21 NBA Finals, 2 Olympics, 15 Final Fours, 8 World Series, 26 Championship Boxing Title Fights, 25 NBA All Star Games, 8 Baseball All Star Games, 5 Pro Bowls, 15 College Football Bowl Games and even the World Cup.
Chris is also a very popular speaker, host and emcee. He’s spoken at major corporate seminars, civic groups, schools, charities, churches, sports banquets, golf tournaments, and more.
From hosting events to providing career guidance to our youth, he truly enjoys reaching out and changing lives. Thus it was a natural fit to expand his Dallas Mavericks role by being an Inclusion Ambassador.
Prior to joining the Mavericks, Cooperstein’s extensive sports broadcasting experience included play-by-play stints for TCU and University of Texas football, as well as TCU, SMU, and Texas A&M, basketball. He also has worked nationally for Westwood One covering college football, college basketball and the NFL.
Cooperstein was named the 2022 Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. He has also earned a Katie Award from the Dallas Press Club for his play-by-play expertise.
The Long Island native has a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from the University of Florida. He married his wife, Karen, a PR/ marketing and philanthropy consultant in 2010. Together, they are both engaged in philanthropy, serving as active supporters of the Mavs Foundation, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Catholic Charities of Dallas. They founded their own non-profit, Coops’ Kids Foundation, in 2017. Chuck has one son, Jeffrey, who is a graduate of the University of North Texas.
Larson joined the regional network after working 1½ years as a sports reporter at Austin’s NBC affiliate KXAN-TV. She began her broadcasting career in April 2000 as a sports anchor/reporter for KWTX-TV in Waco, upon graduating from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Larson graduated Magna Cum Laude from SMU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. She resides in Plano with her husband, former SMU basketball standout Jay Poerner, and their daughters, Reese and Brooklynn.
After five amazing seasons in OKC, including a Finals run, Mansell was challenged to take on a new role with the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and the Prudential Center as Director of Client Service. Mansell and her team work tirelessly to improve the overall client service experience with a long-standing fan base and find new ways to connect with members.
Mansell completed three seasons in New Jersey before she was offered an opportunity to work with the OKC Energy (USL) team as Director of Ticket Sales and Service, a role that gave her the chance to not only take on the sales side of the business but also move closer to home and start a family with her husband, Joshua.
When the Dallas Mavericks offered her a chance to return to the NBA, Mansell and her family jumped at the opportunity and headed south. Since joining the team, Mansell and her staff have navigated an interesting client journey – from Covid and the Bubble to welcoming record numbers of MFFLs and a first-time ever Season Ticket Member waitlist! Mansell is passionate about what the Mavs organization brings to the community and their MFFLs, and continuing to customize member experiences.
When Mansell isn’t selling out tickets, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their 2 young kids, traveling and cooking! She is an active member of her community, including a proud alumna of Leadership Dallas ’23 and a member of Junior League of Dallas.
In 2018, her team launched the Mavs Influencer program, creating new MFFLs through social media.
Prior to her role at the Mavericks, Finegold led communications for Red Bull Media House in the mountain and south regions, promoting athletes, artists and events, including Red Bull Air Race, Flugtag, Cliff Diving and Sound Select. She has also held marketing and communications roles at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, including its Grand Opening in 2009, and Slingshot, an independent advertising agency.
Finegold has a B.A. in Mass Communications and minor in Leadership from the University of Denver and is the founder of BvB Dallas, a powderpuff football game and fundraiser that has raised over $6 million for Alzheimer’s research and patient care in North Texas.
She and her husband, Justin, reside in Dallas with their two (high-energy) kiddos.
Erin enjoys speaking about communications, event production, career guidance, leadership and women in sports, and has experience guest lecturing at various colleges and universities. She especially enjoys meeting and talking to high school, college and graduate students hoping to work in sports and entertainment.
Before joining the broadcast, Skin and his radio partner Ben Rogers hosted the Mavs Post game show for 6 season on the legendary KTCK 1310 the Ticket
Skin was born and raised in the DFW Metroplex and holds a B.A. in Radio/TV/Film from the University of North Texas. He’s been with his wife Tricia since 1996 and they have two teenaged children (Maya and Desmond). He’s also co-owner of Rollertown Beerworks, a local brewery based in Celina.
He’s an avid record collector and has been an integral part of the DFW music scene dating back to the early 90s. He’s worked on music productions with artists like Erykah Badu, D.O.C., Leon Bridges and Adrian Quesada (Black Pumas) and served as Music Supervisor for the 2020 award-winning indie film Sh#%house!
He’s partners in the DFW-based record label Skylark Soul Co, which is responsible for the 2021 non-profit endeavor The Truth to Power Project. That release featured several local and national recoding artists with support from the Dallas Mavericks as part of their Mavs Take ACTION initiative and raised over $70k for DFW-based non profits.
She leads a team that executes community programs and grant making that support core impact areas of: K-12 education, health and wellness initiatives, military and first responder support, racial equity and social justice, and environmental efforts. In 2020, she spearheaded the work to provide more than $3 million dollars of critical support during the COVID pandemic and led the expansion of programming for the Mavs Take ACTION! plan to address racial inequities and promote social justice in the DFW community. In her role as SVP of External Affairs, she also Co-Chairs the Dallas Mavericks Advisory Council and manages strategic partnerships and governmental relations for the organization.
Katie has 20+ years’ experience in the North Texas nonprofit and philanthropic community and previously served as Vice President of Community Engagement with the Center for Nonprofit Management, an organization providing best-practice education and management consulting to nonprofits. In her 14-year tenure with CNM, she also served as VP of Marketing and VP of Programs & Operations, building relationships with thousands of nonprofits and partners each year. She was part of the core planning team with Communities Foundation of Texas that launched North Texas Giving Day, the largest community-wide giving event in the nation, and led the work to write and distribute the first State of the Sector report demonstrating the size, scope and power of the nonprofit sector in North Texas.
Before joining CNM, Katie worked with a private firm for publicity and promotions of motion pictures and makes her way back to the NBA after first interning in sports marketing with the San Antonio Spurs during college.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Marketing & Communications from Trinity University in San Antonio and multiple certifications in Nonprofit Management and Nonprofit Leadership. Katie resides in the Lake Highlands area in Dallas with her husband Glen, their two young children, David and Maddie and their rescue dog Lucy.
At just 23 years old, she took on the challenge of building the first sustainable women’s basketball franchise in the Gateway City. Over a decade and two national championships later, The Surge has changed the game by redefining winning on and off the court playing in the Global Women’s Basketball Association (GWBA).
The St. Louis native took on the task of unifying communities through the power of sport with her previous role as Vice President of Community Relations for the St. Louis CITY SC, Major League Soccer franchise. On behalf of both organizations, Collier consistently focused on strengthening the region and developing our next generation.
Collier’s civic leadership is all about being connected through personal community service, serving on several boards, giving back to young people and growing the platform for women’s leadership. It was a natural transition to accept the opportunity to continue trailblazing once again with the Dallas Mavericks.
Collier has always loved sports and the business of the game. She started playing basketball at the age of five and continued into her high school and collegiate career where she was inducted into the hall of fame. Collier obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications from Missouri Baptist University.
She has received numerous honors, including the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 under 30 and 40 under 40 award, The YMCA’s MLK Human Dignity Award, Power 100 award, Glamour’s Missouri Woman of the Year award, the prestigious Jack Buck Award for community impact, and many others. Collier is frequently invited to deliver keynote addresses and share her success story
Previously, she worked for Bally Sports and Fox Sports since 2012. She covered Big 12 college football on Fox Sports for ten years. She was also the courtside reporter for the Oklahoma City Thunder for seven years and teams that included Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George.
In her not so spare time (ha!): she enjoys running, playing tennis and most importantly raising her three children: son Hunter, and daughters; Sullivan and Harrison.
In addition to his work with the Mavericks, Followill served for 11 seasons as the television voice of Major League Soccer franchise FC Dallas and is now among the play-by-play voices for Major League Soccer broadcasts on Apple TV. Followill also is a play-by-play announcer for national college football telecasts on the Big Ten Network. Followill has also recently been a play-by-play announcer on soccer broadcasts for the 2018 World Cup for Fox Sports and the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics for NBC Sports. Followill has also been a longtime contributor to popular Dallas radio station KTCK, Sports Radio 96.7/1310 The Ticket.
In his time as a play-by-play announcer with the Mavs, the team’s television broadcasts have been recognized for multiple Lone Star Emmys for Best Live Sporting Event and Followill has received six Lone Star Emmys for play-by-play. In 2018, Followill was selected as the National Sports Media Association’s Texas Sportscaster of the Year.
Followill holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from the University of North Texas, and a Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies from the University of Alabama.
Her duties involve creating processes and procedures that improve the fan experience from making their purchase online to scanning their ticket at the venue. In addition, Simone is an active member of Intix Community, a representative organization dedicated to advancing ticketing practices. As a proud mother of two, she displays dedication and enthusiasm for her job in every aspect.
Previously, Tarsha served as a Human Resources leader with AT&T, supporting six officers and more than 10,000 employees in the Technology Operations organization. She has held numerous management roles in Human Resources including diversity and affirmative action, human resource and payroll management systems, and human resource generalist functions. She has also held lead operations roles as chief of staff to the Chief Diversity Officer and chief of staff to the SVP of Architecture and Engineering.
Tarsha has a passion for people, and her natural ability to connect with and understand the needs of employees has positioned her as a trusted resource within the organizations she has supported. She leverages more than 25 years of Human Resources experience to positively impact employee engagement and employee satisfaction within these organizations. Employee engagement actions led by Tarsha have resulted in record low attrition rates over the last few years, a best-in-class compensation structure, employees developed to promotions, and back-to-back NBA Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Awards.
Not only is Tarsha leading in the world of sports and business, she also serves on the board of Community in Schools of the Dallas Region, addressing the basic needs of children and working to improve grades and test scores, behavioral issues, and a myriad of other services to eliminate barriers to success.
Tarsha graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Art in Political Science, and a Master of Legal Studies from Washington University School of Law. The third of four children, Tarsha grew up in Houston, TX and now lives in Frisco, TX. She has two girls, Sydney, 17 and Jordyn, 14. She is a volleyball, basketball, soccer and dance mom. Tarsha’s zeal for her work is superseded only by her devotion to cultivating strong values, confidence and perseverance within her own children, women and young girls across the nation.
Prior to joining the Mavs, Theo spent over 10 years driving ticket and premium sales revenue for various teams in the NHL, MLB, NBA, and MLS. Theo is a St. Louis, MO native, and a 2001 graduate of Indiana University, with a degree in Business Marketing through the Kelly School of Business.
Theo was also a batboy for the St. Louis Cardinals and a student manager for the Men’s Basketball team at Indiana University.
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