What It Takes To Build a Championship Culture with JJ Gottsch

What does it take to build a championship team, grow a nationally recognized brand, and create a lasting culture that performs under pressure?

In this episode of The Athletics of Business, Ed Molitor welcomes back JJ Gottsch, CEO of the Austin Gamblers. They dive into the leadership, culture, and disciplined execution behind one of PBR Teams’ most successful organizations.

JJ shares how the Gamblers’ success began with ownership that did more than set a bold vision. They backed it with trust, resources, and support, giving the team what it needed to build a year-round brand around a five-month competitive season and strengthen a locker room filled with world champions.

JJ and Ed also dig into the moments when growth begins with seeing an opportunity others miss. From creating new opportunities for women in bull riding to expanding the team’s international presence, JJ’s stories show what can happen when leaders are willing to ask, “What could this become?” and then bring the right people together to make it real.

One of the most powerful stories comes from the team’s annual trip to Brazil. Navigating an unfamiliar language, culture, and daily routine gave the riders a deeper appreciation for what some of their teammates experience while living and competing far from home. What began as a team-building trip became an opportunity to build empathy, deepen trust, and strengthen the way they supported one another.

Ultimately, JJ’s stories point back to a simple truth: greatness is rarely complicated. It is built through consistency, discipline, trust, focus, and the willingness to keep showing up and doing the work.

OUR GUEST

After spending 25 years helping run Nolan Ryan's various sports holdings under the Ryan Sanders Sports & Entertainment Umbrella, JJ made a jump to professional bull riding in February of this year. He's heading up the Austin Gamblers, one of the eight founding franchises of the new PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series.

JJ Gottsch is the longest-tenured employee with Ryan Sanders Sports & Entertainment and has played a key role in the development of both the Round Rock Express (Houston Astros Triple-A) and Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros Double-A). He was promoted to his current position, COO, in January 2015. In this role, he oversees all business operations for the Express, RS3 Turf, RS3 Strategic Hospitality, as well as the company’s growing entertainment division. Gottsch was president of the Hooks for the club’s first five years, where his leadership and experience helped them draw more than two million fans in their first four seasons. 

Prior to his position in Corpus Christi, Gottsch served as assistant general manager for the Express during the first six years of the organization’s existence. Gottsch helped lead the franchise to record-setting attendance numbers, establishing a new Double-A home attendance record with 660,110 fans in the club’s first year, eclipsing the old attendance mark that had stood for 20 years. The franchise would proceed to break its own attendance standard in each successive season with Gottsch on board as a steadying influence.

A former player, Gottsch’s professional career included time with the Butte Copper Kings in the Pioneer League and the Perth Baseball Club in the Western Australia Baseball League. At the collegiate level, Gottsch played for Creighton University as well as TCU, where he was a member of the Horned Frogs1994 Southwest Conference Championship and NCAA Regional team.  He transferred to TCU after spending three years at Creighton, where he was a shortstop on the 1991 Bluejay team that advanced to the College World Series.

 

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

• How the Austin Gamblers created a year-round brand around a five-month competitive season

• What it meant to represent the United States during America’s 250th anniversary celebrations in Brazil

• How JJ recognizes opportunities and pressure-tests ambitious ideas before dismissing them

• Why great ideas depend on the people and resources needed to execute them

• How the growth of women’s professional sports is creating opportunities across the entire sports ecosystem

• Why bull riding’s courage, authenticity, intensity, and fast-paced format connect with modern audiences

• How consistency, discipline, loyalty, trust, and focused execution shape JJ’s definition of greatness

 

RESOURCES & LINKS 

JJ Gottsch

• LinkedIn: JJ Gottsch

• Facebook: JJ Gottsch

• Twitter: JJ Gottsch

• Website: Austin Gamblers

• Twitter - @Austin_Gamblers

• Facebook - Austin Gamblers

 

Ed Molitor

• LinkedIn - Ed Molitor

• Website - coeffex.com

• YouTube Channel - The Athletics of Business

 

Timestamps

 

• 00:00 – The ownership behind every championship team

• 01:16 – JJ Gottsch returns to The Athletics of Business

• 02:02 – Four years of growth across PBR Teams

• 03:28 – Why success starts and ends with ownership

• 05:38 – Inside the Austin Gamblers’ championship culture

• 07:42 – Building stronger relationships through Brazil

• 10:49 – Representing America during its 250th anniversary

• 14:47 – The moment the significance finally became real

• 17:23 – Turning ambitious ideas into meaningful experiences

• 19:53 – Creating new opportunities for women in bull riding

• 23:57 – What professional bull riding gets right

• 27:43 – Building a niche sport versus promoting baseball

• 31:39 – Why bull riding must be experienced live

• 33:13 – Trading cowboy boots for dancing shoes

• 35:46 – The Austin Gamblers lightning round

• 38:13 – What greatness looks like today

• 40:58 – Why becoming elite requires focus

• 43:28 – Final thoughts and closing