Pat Richie is the founder and president of The Sports Leadership Group. He has long been recognized as one of the most powerful contributors in sports to team success.

With his college football playing days over, Richie moved from Minnesota to South Bend, Indiana and began his professional career working with athletes at the University of Notre Dame. There he helped develop several of the schools’ most effective leader-athletes. In 1981 he was invited to move to California to develop leaders in the San Francisco 49’ers and Stanford University football tseams. In his first year with the 49’ers he created a new leadership and character development system that contributed to a stunning one year turnaround. In 1980, the year before Pat’s arrival, the team’s winning percentage was only 38%. In 1981, the first year of implementation of his programs, the team’s winning percentage jumped to 81% and the team won their first Superbowl Championship. Great players, teamwork, leadership and character set the stage for a football dynasty. In his eighteen years with the 49’ers the team won five World Championships, appeared in 10 NFC Championship games, and were considered one of the world’s most influential teams.

The impact of Richie’s sports leadership development programs were further demonstrated in 1986. It was that year that a group of San Francisco Giants players asked him to work with their team. Richie implemented his leadership and character development system and the Giants saw a dramatic turnaround from 38% winning percentage and a sixth place finish in 1985, to a 56% winning percentage and a division championship in 1987. Then only 4 years after Richie began his work with the Giants the team played in their first World Series in over 35 years. His most interesting challenge came in 1993 when he began working with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. No hockey team had the type of program Richie had developed, the players came from all over the world, from many different cultures and backgrounds; it was a difficult challenge. Richie then created the first-of-its-kind leadership and character development program in hockey early in the ‘93 season when the team’s record stood at 0-8-1. After he began his work, the team won or tied 65% or their remaining games that season and completed the greatest single season turnaround in NHL history.

Richie has been sought out by several leading publications and been quoted by: The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and GQ Magazine. Corporate America has also taken notice of Richie’s expertise and he has spoken before PepsiCo, PeopleSoft, and AT&T on leadership and teamwork.