In his role with the Panthers, Ahearn leads the efforts of the marketing, fan experience, and tickets teams, while also overseeing athletic communications and campus and community engagement opportunities. In addition, he assists in growing department revenue and community visibility.

“I am very excited and honored to join the Milwaukee Panther family,” Ahearn said. “I especially want to thank Amanda Braun, Cathy Rossi, Kathy Litzau, and the entire selection committee for this tremendous opportunity. The chance to return home to the greater Milwaukee area and serve Panther student-athletes was especially appealing. I look forward to working with campus and community partners, season ticket holders, sponsors, our passionate fans, and additional key stakeholders in executing the department’s strategic vision.”

Ahearn comes to Milwaukee following an extended tenure on the University of Wisconsin Athletic Marketing staff that dates back to 2001, including a promotion to what was his most recent role as Associate Director of Marketing and Promotions in August of 2014.

"We are very excited that Adam will be joining our staff here in Milwaukee," Director of Athletics Amanda Braun said at the time of his hiring. "He brings an excellent track record of success in his time at Wisconsin and is a great fit for our team. He possesses the leadership qualities I was seeking for this position and brings over 20 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level. We are set for him to play a leading role in helping us take our external efforts to an even higher level."

Ahearn worked with the Wisconsin football and women’s basketball programs and his primary duties included marketing and brand management, advertising, ticket sales strategies, sponsorship activation, video board and game production, social media campaigns, fan engagement strategies, and special event planning.

In addition, Adam directed the athletic marketing student internship program and was a frequent guest speaker to high school and college students on sports marketing matters. Ahearn has also spent time in the classroom as an instructor, most recently in the summer of 2023, for UW-Madison’s Badger Summer Scholars program where he taught “More Than Just a Game – Sports, Media, and Culture,” a class that covered a wide range of sport business topics. Additionally, he served as the faculty/staff advisor for the UW-Madison Sports Business Club within the Wisconsin School of Business. Ahearn was also recognized for his work with undergraduate and graduate students by being honored with Ohio University’s Sports Administration Excellence in Mentoring Award in November of 2019.

Ahearn has been a member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) since 2001 and previously served as the Big Ten Conference representative to the association from June of 2013 to June of 2014. His work has been recognized by NACMA with six national awards in the categories of single game attendance/sellout (2023), sponsorship activation (2021), promotional t-shirt design campaign (2016), sponsorship (2012) and single-game ticket promotion (2008 and 2003). Additionally, Adam was a member of the Milwaukee Sports Marketing Professionals organization.

Outside of his responsibilities with the University of Wisconsin, Ahearn has volunteered for a number of major sporting events including the 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional, the 2006 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four Skills Challenge, the 2008 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Midwest Regional, the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four Friday events and the 2017 U.S. Open golf championship.

The Franklin, Wisconsin, native came to the UW after nearly one season as a Sales Representative for the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club. During the Club’s inaugural season at Miller Park, he managed over 225 new ticket-holder accounts and nearly $235,000 in new revenue. He was also active in a successful ticket sales campaign in which over 2.8 million tickets were sold, which at the time was a franchise record.

Prior to his stint with the Milwaukee Brewers, Adam spent five months touring the country as a “Hotdogger,” a spokesperson for, and driver of, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. While on tour he planned and executed over 100 special events and appearances for a nationwide promotional campaign that generated 30 million media impressions.

Ahearn graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in May of 2000, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing, management and human resources. In May of 2013, he earned his Master of Sports Administration from Ohio University.