Pat Christenson walked onto the University of Wisconsin wrestling team in 1972 after being a two-time state qualifier for Oak Creek High School.

Four years later, he won the 1976 NCAA championship at 167 pounds as an unseeded wrestler. Christenson upset No. 2 seed Jerry Villecco of Penn State in the first round and No. 3 seed Joe Carr of Kentucky in the semifinals before beating No. 5 seed Dan Wagemann of Iowa in the finals.

Christenson placed fourth at the Big Ten tournament in 1973 and third in 1974 and 1976 while also wrestling in the East-West All-Star Classic as a senior.

He was co-captain of the Badgers wrestling team as a senior and was also the recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor for athletic and academic achievement.

Christenson coached briefly at Waunakee (Wisconsin) High School, leading the team to three conference titles, a regional championship, a sectional championship and a runner-up finish at the state tournament in 1980.

Christenson has been president of Las Vegas Events since 2001. He is responsible for securing "Signature Events" and then ensuring their growth and success.

During his tenure, Las Vegas Events has increased the number of events it has supported from 21 in 2001 to an average of 41 over the past five years. Most notably, the list includes the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, four conference basketball tournaments, Electric Daisy Carnival, Rock in Rio, Life Is Beautiful, USA Sevens, NBA Summer League and USBC.

The non-gaming economic impact of these events has increased from $108.9 million in 2001 to an average of more than $467.6 million over the last five years.

He began his career in venue management in 1980 as event coordinator for the University of Nevada Las Vegas athletic department. In 1983, he was promoted to assistant director of the newly built 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center. At the same time, UNLV took over management of the 30,000-seat Las Vegas Silver Bowl. Christenson was charged with developing programming to fill the venues and developing an operation for both venues.

From 1983 to 1992, the Thomas & Mack Center and the Las Vegas Silver Bowl were arguably the two most successful collegiate venues in the country, averaging 175 events per year in both venues.

In 1995, while managing both venues, Christenson developed the UNLV Sports Marketing Department, which brought together all aspects of venue and athletic inventory under one roof, including season and scholarships sales, promotions, sponsorship and merchandising.