Dr. Fried and Dr. Dastrup | UWF Sport Management Program | When I hire, I want someone who's going to be better than me

In this episode of Waves of Impact, host Dr. Ali Green sits down with two of UWF's own, Dr. Gil Fried and Dr. Ryan Dastrup, both Professors in the Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business, for a wide-ranging conversation about the role human resources plays across every corner of the sport and hospitality industry. Recorded live with students from the HR in Hospitality course (HFT3221, Spring 2026), the episode is as much a classroom moment as it is an industry conversation.

Dr. Fried, a sport law specialist and expert witness in more than 200 cases, opens the discussion with the hard truth that most organizations learn too late: the breakdown almost always starts before the guest arrives. From negligent hiring and background checks to the legal concept of respondeat superior, the idea that employers are responsible for the actions of their employees on the job, he draws a direct line between HR process and guest safety. He also challenges conventional thinking about workplace communication, arguing that most HR communication is ignored precisely because there is too much of it, and that what organizations actually need is less noise and more signal.

Dr. Dastrup brings the perspective of sport business, sharing a firsthand example of a sponsorship activation that nearly derailed because HR was left out of the planning process entirely. A missing signature turned a straightforward video shoot into an organizational headache. His point is clear: HR is not a department you loop in at the end. It is the glue.

Together, they field questions from students on morale, communication, what employers actually look for in interns and new hires, and how to think about your first job not as a destination but as a direction. Dr. Fried closes with a challenge to students: stop thinking about the interview as something being done to you, and start thinking about whether the organization is worth your talent.

The episode ends with two surprises, one classically trained pianist and one co-author of a comic strip. You will have to listen to find out which is which.

This episode is part of the HR in Hospitality series, produced by students in Dr. Green's course at UWF, exploring the gap between the internal customer (employees) and the external customer (guests).

Guest Bios:

Dr. Gil Fried is a tenured Full Professor at the University of West Florida's Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business, specializing in sport law, facility management, and risk. He received his master's in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has authored more than 19 books used in over 140 universities worldwide and has served as an expert witness in more than 200 cases involving crowd safety, venue management, and facility liability. He is Editor-in-Chief of Sports Facilities and the Law and Co-Editor of Legal Issues in Sports Betting.

Dr. Ryan Dastrup is an Assistant Professor in the Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business at the University of West Florida, where his research focuses on sport sponsorship, spectator engagement, and the gap between academic scholarship and industry practice. He is the co-author of the Shaking Up Sports column with Ricard Jensen and has published peer-reviewed research on mega-event programming and fan behavior. He brings both research rigor and real-world sport business experience to his teaching at UWF.