Sports Management Syllabus
Fall 2007 Semester – Mr. Josh Burgoyne
(508) 693-1033
Class Description
2.5 Credits Semester
This course is designed to illustrate the use of management, marketing and strategy principles/concepts and their implementation in a real world situation – the business of Professional Sports. Professional Sports is chosen as the context of this course because it offers a subject matter that is familiar to a large population of students and the huge amount of money generated and spent leaves little doubt that sports is truly “Big Business.” Additionally, Professional Sports offer a microcosm of the issues, trials and tribulations of the society in which we live. This course will feature many interesting case studies and a final project where teams research and analyze a Professional Sport of their choice and present their findings in a boardroom setting.
Grading Policy
Your grade for both quarters will be determined as follows:
Projects / Papers 25-30%
Test / Quizzes 25-35%
Homework** 15-20%
Meaningful / Insightful Class Participation 20-25%
** By reading the above, please don’t make a mistake and assume that homework doesn’t count for much in this class. Many times you will be assigned an interesting article or case study to read for homework. Many times you will have a quiz to start the following class based upon what you read from the night before. After the quiz has been taken, you will have the chance to earn credit for meaningful / insightful class participation by discussing and debating the merits of that particular article or case study with myself and your fellow classmates.
Class Goals
This class is designed to develop effective skill-sets that will help you in your preparation for college and /or entering the “real world.” In analyzing the business and ethical side of sports and entertainment, it is my hope that you will learn:
How to contribute and learn from a debate or discussion with your peers.
How to write a thesis-driven paper by making a strong argument and supporting your own thoughts with properly-referenced sources.
How to develop effective multi-media presentations.
To become more comfortable with public speaking in a small-group setting.
How strategies and techniques learned from studying sports carry over to the business world.
Sports Management “Gear”
Just as you would need your uniform and equipment to participate in a sports contest, you will need to bring the following items with you to EVERY Sports Management Class unless told otherwise:
1. A good-sized 3-ring binder – this is where you will keep all those interesting articles and case studies I’ve been promising you. It’ll also keep you nice and organized. No more “I lost it, can I have another” or “I left it in my car.”
2. College-Ruled Notebook Paper – have some stashed away in your binder.
3. A Highlighter – for all those interesting articles and case studies! You’ll be using them a lot in college, trust me! Swipe over the most interesting ideas in your reading material, take a quick look at it again at the bell and you’ll be prepared for class discussion.
4. A calculator – you’ll be crunching some numbers and analyzing financial data from time to time.
Course Outline
As you know by now, there’s lots of interesting articles and case studies! In addition the class will feature Virtual Business – Sports, a software simulation where students will design and build a stadium from scratch. We will also watch and debate video from programs such as ESPN’s Outside the Lines and The Sports Reporters. Articles / video from local affiliates such as Sports Final and The Boston Globe will also be used. A text book will reinforce the principles of Sports Management. There will be a project assigned in both quarters. One will be an individual, thesis-driven paper (5-10 pages in length). The other will be a collaborative research project where students will work in teams of 3-4 with the topic being a professional
sport of their choice. The students will research the history of the sports, talk about the relevant business and ethical issues surrounding the sport, and will make management and marketing recommendations about how the sport will be able to succeed in the future.
We will examine 10 units in our textbook. Here’s a list of what we’ll be covering:
Unit 1 – What is Sports and Entertainment Management
Management Basics
Intro to Sports Management
Intro to Entertainment Management
Unit 2 – College and Amateur Sports
Managing College Athletics
Managing Amateur Sports
Economic Impact
Unit 3 – Professional Sports
Managing Big League Sports
Organizing a Professional Team
Agents, Managers, and Ethics
Unit 4 – Sports and Entertainment Management
Managing Local Events
Managing College Events
Managing Professional Sports
Managing Other Events
Unit 5 – Management Function
Planning
Organizing
Implementing and Controlling
Unit 6 – Decision Making
How Managers Make Decisions
Group Decision Making
Knowledge Management
Unit 7 – Management Strategies
The Building Blocks of Strategy
The Process of Strategic Management
Strategic Planning Tools
Unit 8 – Organizing and Staffing
Coordinating for Success
Networking and Delegation
Management Careers in Sports and Entertainment
Unit 9 – Leaders in a Changing Environment
Characteristics of Leaders
How do Leaders Motivate?
Agents of Change
Unit 10 – Managing Groups and Teams
Understanding Group Structures
Building Successful Teams
Designing a Team-Based Organization
Case Studies
Case Studies are invaluable learning tools that often foster excellent class discussion and debate. If you plan on attending business school one day, you will be seeing quite a few of them. I like to assign them for the reason stated above and also to give you a leg up in terms of preparation, if studying business in college is something you hope to do. You will be receiving a dozen of these cases, 11 of which were written at the Harvard Business School, and 1 that was written at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Let me assure you that you don’t have to be on your way to one of those “Fine Learning Institutions” to be able to understand and discuss the subject matter. The following is a list of cases we will be examining:
1. San Francisco Giants
2. Dallas Cowboys: Financing a New Stadium
3. The Baseball Strike
4. The Ottawa Voyageurs
5. Marketing the National Hockey League
6. A Note on Incentives in the NFL
7. Sports Agents: Is There a Firm Advantage?
8. International Management Group (IMG)
9. GolfLogix: Measuring the Game of Golf
10. The Boston Celtics, 1997-98…The Comeback Begins
11. John Hancock Sports Sponsorship: 1993-2000 and Beyond
12. Timberland and Community Involvement
Articles
For those of you who have already taken one of my classes, you know that I’m a fan of good articles and current events. At least once a week, we will have an informal presentation in your project groups, where the group will lead the class in the discussion of an article / current event. In this Internet Era, finding one should never be a problem. However, if you’d like to do it the old-fashioned way, I would recommend a few sources: Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, and my favorite weekly read, The Sunday Boston Globe sports section.
Here is a list of articles and their relevant subject matter we will be discussing:
1. “Unlikely Dynasty: How Robert Kraft Built The Patriots Into A Football Dynasty” by Monte Burke. Forbes.
2. “Red Auerbach on Management” by Alan M Webber. Harvard Business Review.
3. “Sports Values: More than a Game” by Kurt Badenhausen. Financial World.
4. “High Commissioner: Pete Rozelle” by Michael Lewis. Time.
5. “Selective Accounting” by Michael K. Ozanian. Forbes.
6. “Hey, Fans: Sit on It!” by E.M. Swift. Sports Illustrated.
7. “Sports Venues: Private Parts” by Jennifer Fischl. Financial World.
8. “Valuation Scoreboard” by Tushar Atre, et al. Financial World.
9. “Bottom-Line Bud” by Christopher Palmeri. Forbes.
10. “Losing Sight” by Webb Nichols. Boston Globe.
11. “How to Buy a Sports Team” by Michael K. Ozanian. Financial World.
12. “To Build a Winning Team: An Interview with Head Coach Bill Walsh” by Richard Rapaport. Harvard Business Review.
13. “Flesh Peddlers Go Global” by Peter Spiegel. Forbes.
14. “Listening to Steroids” by John Hoberman. The Wilson Quarterly.
15. “Run of the Pill” by Ellis Cashmore. New Statesman & Society.
16. “Leagues of Their Own” by Joan M Steinauer. Incentive.
17. “Sports’ Dirty Secret” by William Nack and Lester Munson.
18. “Words to Win By” by Donald Katz.
19. “Center of the Storm” by Phil Taylor. Sports Illustrated.
20. “The Race Card” IBID.
21. “Foul Trouble” by Jack McCallum. Sports Illustrated.
Subject Areas
Here’s a sampling of Subject Manner, A-Z, of some topics that we’ll be talking about in class this semester:
Acquisitions |
Ainge, Danny |
Amenities |
Assaults |
Belichick, Bill |
Coaches & Managers |
Consolidation |
Contracts |
Corporate Speakers |
Costs |
Domestic Violence |
Drugs & Sports |
Economic Impact |
Epstein, Theo |
Financial Analysis |
Financial Performance |
Four P’s of Marketing |
Franchises |
Grousbeck, Wyc |
Henry, John |
History |
Industrywide Conditions |
International Business |
Investments |
Jacobs, Jeremy |
Johnson, Magic |
Johnson, Robert |
Jordan, Michael |
Kraft, Robert |
Lucchino, Larry |
Luxury Boxes |
Marketing |
Mergers |
NASCAR |
Net Present Value |
Organized Labor |
Pioli, Scott |
Private Financing |
Profits |
Race |
Ratings & Rankings |
Sponsorships |
Sports Agents |
Sports Executives |
Sports Fans |
Sports Medicine |
Sports Owners |
Statistics |
Steroids |
Taxpayer Dollars |
TV Broadcasting |
Valuation |
Wages & Salaries |
WNBA |
Women in Sports |
XFL |