Aaron Kastner

Class of 2011: A life in professional sports

Aaron Kastner is the director of corporate partnership marketing for the Dallas Cowboys football team, and he describes his position as more of a lifestyle than a job.

He was born in October 1988 in West Bend, Wisconsin. At Ripon, he majored in exercise science and participated in baseball. As a student, he took a course in which the students visited the Green Bay Packers headquarters and Lambeau Field. They met with Ripon College alumni Craig Benzel, Class of 1986, vice president of sales and business development, and Amanda Breitenfeldt Wery, Class of 2006, community outreach manager.

“This was a class trip that changed my life and the course of my career,” Kastner said. “They gave us an in-depth look at the Packers corporate partnership department. … It was incredibly eye-opening and I was immediately intrigued. I spent the next year-and-a-half at Ripon learning as much as I could about the sports business and corporate partnerships specifically.”

He said several Ripon coaches also impacted his career. “I think I learned more life lessons from (baseball coaches) Bob Gillespie and Eric Cruise during practice and games than I probably could learn in a classroom,” he said. “Playing for them taught me how to work hard and do it the right way, how to commit to goals and set up a plan to achieve them, how to mentally approach life and baseball in a way that strengthened my confidence and also taught me how to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Quite simply, playing for those two helped me grow up and learn how to be an adult.”

Aaron Kaster, Class of 2011, with Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner, president and general manager

Kastner completed a master’s degree in sports management at Western Illinois University. After completing an internship with Benzel and Wery with the Packers, Kastner moved on to positions with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL (Kroenke Sports & Entertainment) and later in an expanded role within that organization where he also worked with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. He joined the Cowboys’ corporate partnership marketing team in April 2018.

He said his Ripon experience continues to have an impact.

“My time at Ripon was a great one and the professors, baseball program and experiences really helped me grow into the person I am today,” he said. “If you can build authentic, genuine relationships – with classmates, friends, family, business colleagues, clients, etc. – that skill will help you in many ways throughout your life and your career. Focusing on your relationships will take you places.”