From entrepreneurship and sports media to athlete branding and basketball leadership, Boatright brings an unconventional playbook to the LIU Sharks.

Over the past 30 years, Our Time Press has spotlighted hundreds of purposed individuals whose lifeworks have inspired many. In celebration of our milestone, this fall we are spotlighting compassionate, goal-oriented individuals, committed to motivating others — especially our youth — to succeed. Such a person is executive Alfonso Boatright II, Long Island University’s General Manager of men’s basketball.

LIU’s website describes Mr. Boatright as “a self-motivated, quality-focused and results-oriented professional with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills” and an “expert in team building and athlete mentorship.” OTP found out he is that and more.

Mr. Boatright is the first in our limited-run series “Of Greatness and Grace” recurring specials in which our subjects share their life purpose and sources of inspiration. In addition, OTP Senior Writer Fern Gillespie’s profile of Mr. Boatright appears in the October 1 print edition and online.

This series is dedicated to former Our Time Press sales manager Gregory Edwards Jones II, a man of grace and greatness, who passed recently at 66. “Greg” — a dedicated member of Bridge Street Church, husband, and father of three — was a man of faith, former beat sportswriter (Newsday), valued community leader and beloved youth organizer. Greg’s profile appears on the ourtimepress.com website later this week.
-Bernice Elizabeth Green, OTP Adviser

When Alfonso Boatright II became the first general manager of Long Island University’s Sharks men’s basketball team in 2024, he brought an unconventional résumé to the position. An entrepreneur, writer, marketer and sports-business professional, Boatright had spent decades building businesses, telling athletes’ stories and developing relationships across sports, media and branding.

“Coach Rod Strickland envisioned having someone that was able to come on from a business perspective to develop and cultivate relationships in the community and beyond,” Boatright said. His role draws on that experience to create opportunities for the program while helping student-athletes understand the value, and the responsibilities, that come with their name, image and likeness.

A FAMILY BUSINESS

Entrepreneurship was part of Boatright’s upbringing. His father, Alfonso Boatright, a chemist who studied at Florida A&M University and Rutgers University and worked at Merck, founded a Black-owned cleaning-products company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1983. Its products, including Beat-It all-purpose cleaner and Zing laundry detergent, were sold through retailers such as Pathmark, Kmart and Stop & Shop.

“I grew up working in that company even before I knew what work was,” Boatright recalled. “My father formulated it, packaged it, bottled it, and distributed it throughout the country.” As a boy, he accompanied his father on store visits to reset shelves and promote the products, which often appeared in sections designated for Black-owned or “ethnic” goods even as the company competed for customers against giants such as Procter & Gamble.

My father built the company from 0 to 100. I got a chance to witness and watch that.” — Alfonso Boatright II

Boatright remembers his father negotiating a Kmart deal from a pay phone outside the retailer’s building. “My father built the company from 0 to 100. I got a chance to witness and watch that,” he said. “When I talk about my heroes or my mentors, my father was really instrumental in guiding my worldview and setting my path.”

BREAKING DOWN FLORIDA’S BEST

At Florida State University, Boatright cofounded Breakdown, Inc., a grassroots basketball media venture, with his college roommates Kenny Gillion and Brionne Gillion. The enterprise was operating before it was incorporated in Florida in 1998. In addition to managing all of the company’s financial and business operations, Boatright wrote for it, traveling the state with his cofounders to photograph games, interview players and report on emerging talent.

“I tell them every athlete will be going pro once they leave school. Just make sure you’re prepared for your profession.” — Alfonso Boatright II

“We drove all up and down Florida to every basketball event we could find, just taking pictures, and getting interviews, talking to people, and writing stories about the young kids playing basketball,” he said. Breakdown grew from an online portal and message board into a wider-reaching basketball publication, and later into a 30-minute program on Fox Sports in Florida, with advertising relationships involving Nike, Reebok and Adidas and sponsorship from the Florida Lottery.

REINVENTION

By 2006, Boatright was pursuing entrepreneurship full-time. His ventures included a sports agency and a high-profile South Beach restaurant that closed abruptly following internal disputes. He later collaborated with his father on a family restaurant in New Jersey and pursued real-estate projects, including renovating and reselling houses.

In 2012, Boatright moved into a corporate marketing and sales position and within six months was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing, overseeing the company’s Florida region. In 2015, he established a consulting firm to apply the lessons he had learned from both successful and difficult business experiences.

WHERE SPORTS MEETS ART AND FASHION

One early consulting assignment involved a Colombian entrepreneur developing a bottled-water brand. Boatright incorporated artwork into the packaging and explored connections among art, fashion and sports marketing. That work led to participation in the inaugural New York Fashion Week: Men’s and a partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Later projects included work connected with Miami Swim Week and curating a pop-up art gallery in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.

At NYFW: Men’s, NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire recognized Boatright from years earlier, when Breakdown Magazine had featured him on its cover in Florida. The encounter underscored the continuity between Boatright’s early basketball journalism and his expanding work in fashion, art and branding, a world that also included athletes such as Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook.

BUILDING ATHLETE BRANDS

Boatright was subsequently commissioned to write the Dwyane Wade Brand Book, a project focused on the basketball star’s identity, business endeavors and ambitions beyond the court. The assignment helped establish his credentials as a copywriter in sports branding.

His later work with NFL quarterback Jameis Winston and undisputed world champion boxer Alycia Baumgardner extended that experience into athlete management, media relations, promotions and brand development. For Winston, he provided media consulting during the quarterback’s transition from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the New Orleans Saints. For Baumgardner, he served as business manager and connected her with Octagon to help define her brand.

“We drove all up and down Florida to every basketball event we could find.” — Alfonso Boatright II, on founding Breakdown

BACK ON THE COURT

At LIU, Boatright brings those experiences into conversations with student-athletes about professional preparation and financial responsibility. “I tell them every athlete will be going pro once they leave school. Just make sure you’re prepared for your profession,” he said. “Being a professional doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be bouncing that ball for a living. At the end of the day, you’ve got to know how to manage yourself and your money.”

He also cultivates business relationships for the Sharks as the program’s profile grows under Strickland. “Coach Strickland has won more and more games each year. The team has gotten more and more notoriety, and there’s been more and more interest on how we conduct our business,” Boatright said.

“It’s a business relationship that’s respected on both sides, and that’s the beautiful thing about it.”nd more notoriety, and there’s been more and more interest on how we conduct our business,” Boatright said. “It’s a business relationship that’s respected on both sides, and that’s the beautiful thing about it.”