The 25th Annual Detroit Lions Kickoff Meeting!
2021-08-26 15:30 - 17:00 UTC | Ford Field, 2000 Brush Street, Detroit, Michigan, United States
PURCHASE TICKETS

MEDIA REGISTRATION

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About THIS MEETING

Detroit is ready for another unforgettable moment on the international stage. After capturing the attention of millions worldwide during the 2024 NFL Draft, Detroit is preparing to raise the bar once again as we host the NCAA Men’s Final Four in April 2027. Get an insider’s look at the exciting business engagement initiatives, economic impact, fan experiences, and volunteer opportunities that will transform downtown Detroit into the center of the college basketball world. From the excitement on the court to the extraordinary collaboration happening you’ll hear why every Detroiter and business has a role to play in making the Final Four in Detroit another huge success. Let’s show the world once again what Detroit can accomplish together.

PANELIST:

Dan Gavitt

Senior VP, Men’s BasketballNCAA

BIO

Dan Gavitt
Senior VP, Men's BasketballNCAA

Dan Gavitt joined the NCAA staff as vice president of men’s basketball in August 2012 after spending the previous seven years as the associate commissioner for men’s basketball at the Big East Conference. In his current role, Gavitt oversees the day-to-day operations of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship, as well as the NCAA’s 11-year, $10.6 billion contracts with broadcast partners CBS and Turner Broadcasting. He also supervises the Postseason NIT and NCAA Divisions II and III Men’s Basketball Championships and serves as the staff’s day-to-day contact to the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee.
Prior to his service at the Big East, Gavitt was director of athletics and recreation at Bryant, which has one of the largest Division II athletics departments in the country. Earlier in his career, Gavitt ran his own sports marketing and event management firm, Craigville Sports Associates; served as an assistant basketball coach at Providence College; and ran the Rick Barnes basketball camp.
Gavitt holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Dartmouth and a Master of Business Administration from Providence. Gavitt is a member of both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

BIO

PANELIST:

Tom Izzo

Men’s Basketball Head CoachMichigan State University

BIO

Tom Izzo
Men's Basketball Head CoachMichigan State University

Tom Izzo was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 9, 2016, cementing his status as one of the game’s all-time greats.
Now in his 32nd year, Izzo has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, including the 2000 NCAA National Championship, 11 regular-season Big Ten Championships, six Big Ten Tournament titles, eight Final Four appearances, eight National Coach of the Year awards and a Big Ten-record 28 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
When the Spartans were selected for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Izzo became the first men’s basketball head coach in history to lead his team to 25-straight appearances and he extended that streak to 28 in 2026. Michigan State’s streak of 28-straight NCAA Tournament appearances is officially recognized by the NCAA as the nation’s current longest streak.These accomplishments, however, are not what make Izzo one of the best in the game, but rather it is his insatiable desire to accomplish more.
With a career record of 764-310, it’s easy to see that Izzo knows how to win, but he also knows how to win the right way. In his 30-plus years directing the Spartan program, 85 percent of his players who completed their eligibility also left with a degree. In the last 27 years, 75 Spartans have received their undergraduate degrees.

BIO

PANELIST:

Andy Katz

College Basketball Analyst & CorrespondentBig Ten Network & NCAA

BIO

Andy Katz
College Basketball Analyst & CorrespondentBig Ten Network & NCAA

Andy Katz is a veteran journalist who has covered men's college basketball and the NCAA since 1990. Katz has covered every Final Four since 1992. He worked as a beat writer in Albuquerque and Fresno for a combined nine years. He spent 18 years at ESPN as the lead college basketball reporter. Katz is entering his 10th season working for the NCAA, TNT Sports and the Big Ten Network. He was inducted into the United States Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame at the 2026 Final Four in Indianapolis. Katz created Baracketology, the first-ever Presidential bracket, working with President Barack Obama on his bracket for all of his presidency. The brackets have been displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. as well as at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

BIO

FINAL FOUR IN DETROIT INTRODUCTION:

Dave Beachnau

CEO, Detroit Local Organizing Committee2027 NCAA Men’s Final Four

MODERATOR:

Brad Galli

Sports JournalistThe Brad Galli Show

PRESIDING OFFICER:

Terry Rhadigan

ChairDetroit Sports Commission

AGENDA

11:00 a.m. Network Café 11:15 a.m. Speaker ReceptionOpen to DEC Board, Life and Gold Members with up to two accompanied guests 12:00 p.m. Program(Sound Board Theater-Style, Unreserved Seating) 1:00 p.m. Strolling Lunch with Open Seating(Ballroom)

TICKETS

$55 – DEC Members $65 – Guests of DEC Members $90 – Non-Members

PURCHASE TICKETS

VENUE

MotorCity Casino Hotel

2901 Grand River Ave

Detroit,

MI

48201

United States

DETAILS

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

11:00 am

-

2:00 pm

Continued Solid U.S. Economic and Job Growth Recovery From the Covid-19 Pandemic
2021-10-06 12:30 - 17:00 UTC | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

The Future of Travel
2021-10-29 11:00 - 17:00 UTC | Westin Book Cadillac, 1114 Washington Blvd, Detroit, MI, United States

Planning for Our Customers’ Evolving Energy Needs While Investing in Michigan’s Clean Energy Future
2021-11-18 11:30 - 17:00 UTC | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

Investing in American Manufacturing and ﻿Closing the Innovation Divide
2021-11-29 11:00 - 17:00 UTC | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

Leading The Way Forward: MSU Today and Tomorrow
2021-12-06 11:30 - 17:00 UTC | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

Leading a Hard-Working Team for Hard-Working Customers
2021-12-09 16:30 - 17:00 UTC | The Carhartt Workshop, 5800 Cass Ave 2nd Floor, Detroit, MI, 48202, United States

2022 Michigan Economic Outlook
2022-01-13 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Virtual via Zoom

THE POWER OF GIVING AWAY POWER: How the Best Leaders Learn to Let Go
2022-02-10 11:00 - 11:45 (America/Detroit) | Virtual via Zoom

THE RAGING 2020s: Companies, Countries, People — and the Fight for Our Future
2022-02-16 14:00 - 14:45 (America/Detroit) | Virtual via Zoom

FIGHT: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America
2022-02-24 11:00 - 11:45 (America/Detroit) | Virtual via Zoom

YL CEO SERIES: Manny Amezcua
2022-03-16 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Detroit) | Henry Ford Health Pistons Performance Center, 6201 2nd Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48202, United States

Accomplishing the Mission: Bringing New Partners to the Fight to Counter Evolving Threats
2022-03-22 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

A Conversation on the Economy and Monetary Policy
2022-04-11 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | Huntington Place, 1 Washington Blvd,, Detroit, MI 48226, MI, 48070, United States

YL CEO SERIES: The Honorable Jocelyn Benson
2022-04-27 11:15 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | BasBlue, 110 E Ferry St., Detroit, Michigan, 48202, United States

What Will it Take to Make Michigan ﻿a Top 10 State?
2022-05-02 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

2022 Detroit Tigers
2022-05-11 11:30 - 13:35 UTC | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

MSU Sports and the State of College Athletics
2022-05-23 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

YL CEO SERIES: Mark Douglas
2022-05-24 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Detroit) | Detroit Golf Club, 17911 Hamilton Rd, Detroit, MI, 48203, United States

How Innovation Brews Business Transformation
2022-06-08 15:30 - 17:30 (America/Detroit) | Ford Field, 2000 Brush Street, Detroit, Michigan, United States

Competing to Win: Manufacturing in America
2022-10-18 10:30 - 14:00 (America/Detroit) | Oakland Community College – Auburn Hills Campus, MTEC, 2900 Featherstone Rd, Auburn Hills, MI, 48326, United States

2022 Gubernatorial Candidates State of Michigan
2022-10-21 11:30 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

YL CEO SERIES: The Honorable Jeff Donofrio
2022-10-26 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

2022 - 2023 Detroit Pistons
2022-10-27 15:30 - 18:30 (America/Detroit) | Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave, Detroit, Michigan, 48201, United States

Is the Talent War Reshaping Business?
2022-11-17 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | Townsend Hotel, 100 Townsend St, Birmingham, MI, 48009, United States

The Outlook for Monetary Policy and Observations on the Evolving Economy
2022-11-30 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | The Masonic, 500 Temple St, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

THE GREAT RESET: The Future of Work
2022-12-07 11:00 - 14:00 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

Tapping the Power of Innovation and Transformation in a Dynamic Environment
2022-12-12 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | Townsend Hotel, 100 Townsend St, Birmingham, MI, 48009, United States

2023 Michigan Economic Outlook
2023-01-12 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States

Time to Step on the Gas Michigan!
2023-01-31 11:00 - 13:30 (America/Detroit) | MotorCity Casino Hotel, 2901 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI, 48201, United States
