Aphten Goldman named Director of Business Development for USA Wrestling

Aphten Goldman of Colorado Springs, Colo. has been named to the new position of Director of Business Development for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States. She started in her new position at USA Wrestling’s national headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. on January 3.


“USA Wrestling is very fortunate to bring such an awesome talent to the organization. We are overjoyed with the addition of Aphten Goldman to our staff, and confident about her future success on our team,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.


Goldman will direct USA Wrestling’s business development efforts. This includes generating new and incremental revenue through partnership sales. She will oversee USA Wrestling’s corporate partnership solicitation process, from idea generation and prospecting, through negotiation and contract completion as well as overseeing sponsor fulfillment. She will also help create new assets, concepts and promotional opportunities for the organization which lead to revenue growth.


“Wrestling has been a part of my life since day one, and it’s a sport and community that I truly love. I am excited to be back in this world, using my skills and experience to help further our mission here at USA Wrestling,” said Aphten Goldman.


Goldman comes to USA Wrestling after serving as Vice President, Fundraising and Development for the Boys and Girls Club of Pikes Peak Region, which is located in Colorado Springs. She directed the day-to-day operations of donor and partner cultivation and stewardship for this non-profit organization. In that position, Goldman substantially increased fundraising revenue from a variety of sources and helped grow individual giving by 250%.


She was previously Membership Director for ClubCorp in Oklahoma City, Okla. from 2018-2020, where she managed membership sales, community relations, and helped devise strategic initiatives for teams. She increased membership revenue by 28% in 2019.


Goldman was the Director of Business Programs for the U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates from 2017-2018, where she cultivated community relationships with alumni, businesses and individuals. She was able to achieve 13% growth over budgeted goals through increased sponsorship sales.


She also served two years as Director of Sales for the U.S. Air Force Academy Athletic Association from 2015-2017. She managed functions involved in directing ticket sales in five revenue sports. She recruited, trained and guided sales staff handling season tickets, partial plans, premium sales and group tickets. She led the team to achieve the highest ice hockey ticket sales revenue in 2015-16. In 2016, under her direction, the U.S. Air Force Academy achieved the 15th highest increase of year-over-year attendance percentage in Div. I football.


Goldman has previous experience on USA Wrestling staff, in an internship as a State Services Assistant. While attending Indiana University as an undergraduate, Goldman served as the Wrestling Team Manager for the Indiana Athletic Department.


She comes from a wrestling background. Her father Duane Goldman was a four-time NCAA finalist and 1986 NCAA champion for the University of Iowa, and was head coach of the Div. I wrestling program at Indiana University for 26 years.


Goldman received her Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from Indiana University, and her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.