2012 Media Guide - WNBA.com

SEVEN CONSECUTIVE WNBA PLAYOFF APPEARANCES
PACERS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT EXECUTIVE STAFF
Conference Finals before bowing to eventual World Champion
Detroit, four games to two. In 2004-05, the Pacers returned to the
playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They
had a 44-38 record despite a season where they lost players for
309 games due to injury or illness and another 126 due to
suspension.
Then in 2005-06, the Pacers finished with a 41-41 record,
despite having 236 games lost due to injury. Still, they made the
playoffs again.
Despite setbacks, the Pacers didn’t step back, they have
looked ahead. That’s Bird’s way.
Stepping into a situation and making the most of it isn’t new to
Bird. In his first year as coach, he took over a veteran team that
had missed the playoffs the previous season. For the third time in
the previous five seasons, the Pacers reached Game 7 of the
Eastern Conference Finals, this time extending the World
Champion Chicago Bulls. Coming into the playoffs, the Pacers not
only made the NBA pay attention, they made franchise history at
the time. They had 58 victories, the most since joining the NBA in
1976; their .707 winning percentage was the best in the Pacers’
history, including their storied ABA days; they were 26-15 on the
road, a franchise NBA best, and had the best road record of any
Eastern Conference team. The Pacers amazingly didn’t lose two
straight games in the regular season after December 10, and
through the All-Star break, the Pacers had the best record in the
East, thus earning Bird All-Star coaching honors.
The next season, the Pacers won the Central Division and
reached the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2000, there was
another Central Division championship and a trip to the NBA
Finals.
Bird then, as he promised at the beginning, stepped away from
coaching after three seasons. Three years later, Walsh called
again and Bird came back home again to Indiana.
Bird is married to Dinah. He has three children, Corrie, Connor
and Mariah. He is an avid golfer and outdoorsman, while enjoying
country music and auto racing.
RICK FUSON
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Since joining the Pacers’
organization in 1984, Rick Fuson has
been influential in shaping events
within Market Square Arena, Bankers
Life Fieldhouse and many other
events elsewhere in Indianapolis.
A graduate of Indiana University
and a life-long resident of
Indianapolis, he joined the staff of
Market Square Arena in 1984 as
director of special events and was
promoted the following year to vice president. Fuson helped
oversee the Pacers’ move to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in
September 2000. He was promoted to Executive Senior Vice
President of Pacers Sports & Entertainment in November 2001.
Rick was named Chief Operating Officer in April 2008. In his
current role, Fuson is responsible for operation of all aspects of the
business and facilities elements of Pacers Sports & Entertainment.
Through the years, Fuson has been active in pursuing major
events for Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the City of Indianapolis. In
the past, he was a member of the Executive Committee for the
1991 World Gymnastics Championships and served as chairman
for the opening ceremonies.
He was co-chairman of special events for the 1991, 1997 and
2000 NCAA Final Four, and served on the Local Organizing
Committee for the 2006 and 2010 NCAA Final Four and 2012
Super Bowl. He produced the opening ceremonies of the 2001
World Police & Fire Games and the closing ceremonies of the Pan
American Games in 1987. Fuson also served on the Local
Organizing Committee for the 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008-2012 Big
Ten Basketball Championships, 2002 FIBA World Basketball
Championships, and 2004 FINA World Swimming Championship.
Throughout his career, he has received such honors as
Recipient of the Indianapolis Ambassadors 1988 Community
Service Award, Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in
Hospitality", ”Who’s Who in Sports” and “Forty Under Forty.” He
has also been active with the Indianapolis Fellowship of Christian
Athletes, the 1985 NBA All-Star weekend, the grand opening of
the Indianapolis Zoo in 1988, the White River Park State Games
and Indianapolis Downtown Space 2010.
Fuson is a professional member of the International
Association of Assembly Managers. He currently serves on the
Board of Directors for Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., Greater
Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and Indiana Convention &
Visitors Association. He is an Advisor to the Indiana Sports
Corporation Board of Directors and currently serves as Chair of
the Pacers Foundation.
Rick has three children and two grandchildren: Amy, Emily,
Matthew, Jackson and Sullivan.
KEVIN BOWER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER/EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Kevin Bower is in his 10th year
with Pacers Sports &
Entertainment, and his first as the
organization’s Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial
Officer. His duties include
management of all financial matters
as well as human resources and
information technology.
Bower came to PS&E in
January 2002 from Alltrista
Corporation, a publicly traded manufacturer and distributor of
niche consumer products used in and around the home. He spent
nine years at Alltrista and most recently served as Senior Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer.
Bower started his career in 1980 with Schneider & Shuster, a
locally-based public accounting firm in Denver, Colo. After five
years in Denver he returned to Indiana where he continued his
career in public accounting with Price Waterhouse.
Bower, 53, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind., and grew up in South
Bend, Ind. He attended Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., on a
basketball scholarship and graduated with a BS in accounting. He
is married to Maureen and they have three children, Erin, Megan
and Kevin.
Bower is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. He serves on the
Boards of Pacers Foundation and Mother Theodore Catholic
Academics, as well as the Finance Committee of the St.Vincent
Foundation and the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. In his spare time,
he enjoys reading, golf and traveling.
Rick Fuson’s father, Wayne, was a former sports editor of the Indianapolis News.
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