Doug Barnette quickly ascended to the top of the sports management business. Since 1996, he has taken his management and marketing company from a client list that started with former Carolina Panther, Mike Minter, to a list of NFL and NBA players, coaches, race car drivers, entertainers, and Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to his leap into the world of sports marketing and management, Barnette spent his life around basketball, including a professional playing career that featured a tour with the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters, playing for the opposing team, the Washington Generals. He also served as a paratrooper in the United States Army following high school, serving in Central America and Operation Desert Storm as an airborne medic.
Philanthropically, Doug and his wife, Teresa, have shown tremendous commitment to their hometown of Danville, Illinois. They are regular supporters of youth sports and have also contributed financially to ensure that many programs in the community operate, regardless of budget restraints. The local rape crisis center has been an important focus of the Barnette family’s philanthropy, touching close to home, as Teresa, is a survivor of sexual assault.
Doug is an ultramarathoner and marathoner who has finished some of the world’s biggest and most challenging running events, including the Death Valley Marathon. He is one of only 7,000 runners in the world to complete all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors races (Boston, Berlin, New York City, Tokyo, Chicago and London) and become a ‘Six Star Finisher’. Since 2015, Doug has also served as a pacer and crew member for multiple runners in the Badwater 135, the world’s toughest foot race.
In his spare time, Doug travels around the country speaking to students, businesses and organizations about his journey in life. Topics range from his personal relationship with Jesus Christ to marriage, business and running.