Mission and Goals
The mission of the Institute for Sports Management at the University of New Haven is to provide career-related sports management education and knowledge for current and futuresports managers, combining state-of- the- art classroom instruction and technology with ongoing and intensive contact with the sports business community. The Institute supports the following:
- The development of for-credit coursework that forms a basis for skill development in those sport management areas supported by the Institute.
- College of Business Professional Enrichment activities that are required of all students and ordinarily delivered by sports business leaders.
- Professional seminars in the form of community literacy programs provided gratis or grant funded, and/or fee-based developmental programs.
- Experiential learning initiatives that promote the development and delivery of real-life learning via internships and small-group consulting experiences.
- Research that empowers faculty and designated sponsor participants to engage in cutting-edge theoretical and applied sports-industry research.
- An annual large-scale sports management symposium with an audience representing a cross section of both national and international participants.
Recent Events and Activities
The Institute for Sports Management sponsored dozens of events and activities during the 2006–2007 school year. Following is a sampling of these activities:
- Five-session Professional Enrichment track on brand marketing in sports, sponsored by the Silverman Group. Participants: Michele Wilson, VP Marketing, USTA; Brian Jennings, Senior Group VP Consumer Products Marketing, NHL; Christine Johnson, Director of Marketing, Swiss Army Brands; Marc Jacobson, President, Silverman Group; David Beckerman, founder and Former CEO, Starter Corporation.
- Six-hour workshop on NCAA Compliance led by Amy Strickland, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Central Connecticut State University. (Certificate of Recognition awarded to students who completed the workshop and passed the practice certification exam taken by all NCAA coaches in order to recruit.)
- Five-session Professional Enrichment track on crowd management sponsored by Major League Soccer. Participants included industry leaders such as Chris Brown of the New York Mets and Professor Gil Fried, UNH's coordinator of the Management of Sports Industries Graduate Program. Site visits and shadowing at Toad's Place, UNH events, and Harford Civic Center. Certificate of Recognition awarded, as well as TEAM Certification for those passing an exam on monitoring alcohol sales.
- Guest Speakers: Howard Saffin, President of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers; Anthony Mercogliano, Director of Corporate Sales, New York Islanders; Frank Russo, VP Global Spectrum; Jack Jones, SID Fairfield University; Roy Brown, Assistant AD, Fairfield University.
- Community literacy seminar entitled "Leveraging Sponsorship with Sports Properties," funded by Subway Restaurants. Speakers included Anthony Bonetti, Associate Brand Manager, Subway; Christine Johnson, Director of Marketing, Goehausen, Inc.; and Jeff Eccleston, VP of SRI-Sponsorship Research International.
- Mentoring program initiated by Professor Fried. Approximately 22 students connected with industry professionals, some mentors from the Management of Sports Industries Advisory Board.
- Study Abroad: First Sports Management students studying at Bond University, Australia. Relationships developed with China, Israel, and South Africa.
- Executive in Residence: Rosa Gatti, Senior VP Communications, ESPN. Lectured at UNH and worked with students to kick off the first 3-on-3 basketball tournament organized by sports management students. The tournament raised money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Internships
Following are examples of sites where our students have done internships:
- Boston College, Athletic Department
- Central Connecticut State University, Athletic Department
- ESPN
- Jewish Community Centers
- Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament (WTA Tournament)
- Madison Square Garden
- Major League Soccer (Headquarters)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- National Hockey League Offices
- New England Revolution (MLS)
- New Jersey Nets
- New York Islanders
- New York Knicks
- New York Mets
- Octagon (Sports Marketing Firm)
- Reading Phillies (AA Minor League Baseball)
- The Silverman Group (Sports Marketing Firm)
- The United States Tennis Association
- Yale University, Athletic Department
- Wachovia Center in Philadelphia
- World Special Olympics
- World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF)
