The West Virginia Black Bears have announced Leighann Sainato, M.S. in Sport Management (2019), as their general manager. As the second general manager in Black Bears history, Sainato oversees a broad range of responsibilities, from budgeting and team travel arrangements to sales and marketing.
With an extensive range of duties, Sainato has learned to strategically schedule her work time. “Every day is about completing specific tasks. I map out my agenda down to the hour because I have multiple responsibilities. I’m a very hands-on GM. I directly oversee our public relations efforts, from marketing to writing press releases and creating graphics,” she said.
Additionally, Sainato directs all team budgets and revenue goals. “I still do a lot of the ticketing aspects. Sales are a huge part of my responsibility. I have several meetings every day with sponsors and vendors,” she said.
Sainato holds multiple degrees from WVU. She opted to add a CPASS sport management degree because she wanted to expand her career beyond practicing law. “My favorite class was sports law; I enjoyed the concept of working in sports because there was always something different to do. I like the dynamic aspects of a career in sports,” said added.
The sport management program was well-known for having direct pipelines into different GA and internship positions, says Sainato. “It was a way for me to get my foot in the door. I’ll always be grateful I went this route. I learned a lot about the sports industry while I was working for the Black Bears. It gave me a solid background for the things I was learning daily at the office.”
Sainato says the CPASS SM degree helped her hone skills in areas that appealed to her. “Being able to do research and understanding the marketing aspect was beneficial, considering my background is not marketing-related. It helped me understand the value of networking and importance of having close connections within the industry,” she said. “That’s a big part of working in sports.”
While in the sport management master's program, Sainato cultivated positive relationships with her CPASS professors, specifically with Drs. Cindy Lee, Gonzalo Bravo and Gary Lhotsky.
In her sixth year with the Black Bears, Sainato began her stint with the organization in August 2017 as the community relations assistant. In February 2019, she was promoted to ticket operations and public relations manager following the departure of former assistant general manager, Jackie Riggleman. Sainato spent the next three years serving in that role and was then promoted to general manager after Matthew Drayer resigned in January 2022.
“Right now, I’m working on coordinating team travel for the season, as well as hotel stays and housing for our players. Because we’re a small front office, I have significant duties in every department.”
Sainato tells students who are interested in entering sport business to prepare to work hard and don’t get discouraged. “You never know what paths you’ll end up taking to your goal. Try to get as much diversified experience as you can because all of that will be helpful later,” she said. “I like people who have different experiences outside of sports.”
“My goal was to become a general manager, though perhaps at a different level. I really enjoy the business of baseball. Ultimately, it’s my dream to remain in the sport and stay in the professional side of the industry,” Sainato said.