Q&A with 2025 Distinguished Service Award Winner Conor Caloia

Conor Caloia was one of the founders of Forward Madison FC and is now the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner of the club and Breese Stevens Field. He is also the managing partner of hummel North America, a 101-year old Danish Sportswear brand focused on soccer. In his roles at Forward Madison, Caloia worked with the community to develop the name, team colors and identity and has been recognized by the League as the President of the Year three consecutive years. Caloia started his career in marketing for the Madison Mallards, a collegiate summer baseball team in Madison. He went on to become the Director of Marketing for the Western Athletic Conference where he oversaw branding and marketing efforts for the 11-member, Division I athletic conference located in Denver. In 2008, Caloia returned to baseball to lead the day-to-day operations of the Wilmington Sharks in North Carolina and eventually returned to the Mallards as General Manager, where he helped to launch the Northwoods League franchise across Wisconsin.

In the community, Caloia currently serves as the Vice President of the Board of the Village Diaper Bank, the Treasurer of the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association and is a Board Member of Millenium Soccer Foundation. Caloia graduated from the UW School of Journalism (2004) and UW-School of Business (2013). He resides in Middleton, Wisconsin with his wife Rachel and two children.

What does this award mean to you?

This is a great honor and quite a surprise. The J-School provided a foundation for my professional pursuits. The creativity and thought patterns I learned at the J-School have helped me immensely in entrepreneurship and brand building. I am grateful for this honor.

What has been keeping you busy since your time in the SJMC?

Since starting with the Madison Mallards Baseball Club in 2003, I have gone on to start 10 businesses (with great partners) in the baseball, soccer and events space. After having been involved in the Mallards, the Kenosha Kingfish, and the Green Bay Bullfrogs/Booyah, I now focus my time on Forward Madison FC and Breese Stevens Field. I live in the Madison area with my wonderful wife and two kids.

What are you focused on right now?

My day jobs are the oversight of Forward Madison FC, the professional soccer Club in USL League One that plays at Breese Stevens Field in Madison, and I lead the North American license for a 101-year old Danish Sportswear Company, hummel. Our company provides jerseys and apparel for 26 pro soccer Clubs across the US and Canada and many more youth soccer Clubs. I am also part of a group that is pursuing professional soccer in downtown Milwaukee.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned in the SJMC?

The power of an idea. I had planned to major in business, but after receiving a C grade in Algebra my freshman year, I wasn’t sure a math heavy major was right for me. There were many similar disciplines taught in the J-School and in business school marketing classes, but the difference at the J-School was the embrace of creativity and new ideas. I thrived at the J-School because there was a push to take a creative approach to whatever the topic may be. To this day in my business career, I frequently talk about and realize the power of an idea. These ideas are often driven by creativity and unconventional thinking and that was encouraged at the J-School.

What is your favorite memory from the SJMC?

I had a personal turning point in a strategic communications class my junior year. Part of the class was a live press conference with the reporting students and my team had to defend our mock company in a crisis communications situation. When I stepped foot on campus, I was quite possibly the worst public speaker out of the 60,000 students at UW. However, in this class and in this presentation, for the first time, I actually felt confident addressing a room. Now public speaking is something I do regularly and don’t think twice about it.

What was your favorite study spot on campus?

I was a regular at College Library in Helen C. White Hall. I opted for the more social study scene which often resulted in late nights the night before a due date or final.

Who is the SJMC professor who had the most profound impact on your career, why?

[Emeritus distinguished teaching faculty] Pat Hastings was instrumental in my education and more importantly, building my confidence during my time at the J-School. She was an extremely positive, but honest mentor. She made the work fun. I am really fortunate to have had her in several classes and she was pivotal in my professional development.