SCC Blog

The landscape of sports…big business!

For those of you who are members of Sports Career Consulting’s education community or are regular readers of this blog, you already know that sports is big business in society today.  In fact, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist at all to figure that one out.  How many athletes and sports executives can be heard uttering those very words on a daily basis?  I think it is safe to say that come contract negotiations, the phrase “this is a business decision” has become a common cliche in the vernacular of the sports industry. 

If I ever needed reaffirmation of this concept, I got it by reading my subscription to ESPN the Magazine this past week.  I read the magazine regularly, not necessarily for the sports related stories, but more in search of content for our membership’s weekly sports/entertainment business e-newsletter.  I usually find a story or statistic that makes a valued contribution to our program.

This week, however, I got more than I bargained for.  In fact, I think it is safe to say I got my money’s worth for the entire year in just one issue. 

A sampling of stories, each of which features at least some business perspective:

* Potential implications of the suspension on NFL players Tank Johnson and Adam “Pacman” Jones (as a result of the league’s new code of conduct policy) on future labor negotiations

* Demise of boxing’s relevance in American culture

* Li Ning, a Chinese apparel company, sponsors 2008 Olympic reporters

* Comic strip focused on the cover of the popular video game franchise Madden Football

* “Media Blitz” piece discussing upcoming sports features on TV, in movies and in books

* Discussion of new features in sports video games, one in particular focused on a marketing strategy by EA Sports in promoting the forthcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour game

* Article detailing Rawlings’ efforts and meticulous detail in producing baseballs for the Major League Baseball season

In addition to news stories, each issue is also loaded with sports and entertainment related advertising, as well as a few full page ads promoting upcoming sports coverage on the ESPN television networks.  As you can see, we can glean an awful lot of information and discussion starters from multiple sources. 

I’m not suggesting ESPN the Magazine is the only source for information either.  Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, USA Today (as discussed in a previous blog post), Business Week, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal…even your local newspaper could all serve the same purpose with similar success. 

The point is, you don’t necessarily need a subscription to the Sports Business Journal to find great material for your SEM class.  Often times, the best stories that will really resonate with your students can be found in mainstream media.

***** Teacher’s Note *****

Use the concept presented in today’s blog as a classroom exercise.  Ask students to bring in a publication (sports or entertainment) and identify those articles that relate to topics covered in class. 

In addition, it might be advantageous to be on the lookout for anything you stumble across on your own.  You never know when or where you’ll dig up a great article for class!

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