Sports Events

Elizabeth Morgan

MBA sports marketing is a post graduate program designed to provide students with an understanding of the products and services applied in sports events and contemporary marketing principles. Basically, MBA sports marketing is a specialty of general marketing providing an in-depth knowledge in the sports industry.

Nowadays, sports marketing is one of the fastest growing industries. With an aim to provide students with a solid foundation in sport marketing, an MBA sports marketing program offers a comprehensive curriculum which combines both classroom and practical experience. The curriculum is approximately same to that of a general MBA curriculum, but the exception is that, additional subjects in marketing of sports are included. In addition to competitive and creative business tricks, the curriculum covers accounting, decision sciences, management, finance, and general marketing. Year long weekly sports programs and strategic planning projects are also included. Besides this, the sports marketing students can participate in internship programs and learn the economic aspects of sports marketing and law.

The program is specially designed for those students who are planning to enter the sports management positions in the private or public sectors. Many positions are waiting for these MBA sports marketing graduates in professional sports, education, recreation, and leisure fields. These professionals will be able to pursue careers in intercollegiate athletic departments, conferences, sports agencies, professional sport organizations, sport marketing firms and various other organizations. Some of the major functions of sports marketing professionals are planning and facilitating exchange of sports related properties and non-sports property items, creating opportunities to promote sports and sports-related activities, and handling of the business angles of sports. The program enables the students to efficiently manage a wide range of sport-related programs including amateur and professional sports, intercollegiate athletics, special-event management, and facility management.

There are a number of schools and universities offering specialized MBA programs in sports marketing. Most of them offer flexible time schedules for students, including full time regular course and evening classes. Throughout the year, these schools arrange sports events by coordinating fellow students, alumni and industry professionals.

Ron Strand

As with any special event, there is a long list of details anyone managing a golf tournament must compile and review. Based on my experience, here are the top five things golf tournament organizers should pay attention to:

1. Walk The Course

If possible, play the course, but not only play it, walk through what will happen from the time the players drive into the parking lot. There should be signs telling them where to register, directions to practice greens and driving range, gifts at time of registration, explanation of rules, and time they must be in their carts, ready to find the first hole. Once on the course, identify which holes are natural bottlenecks. These are the holes that will make the best locations for contests and booths. Make sure you note any local rules or grounds under repair.

2. Get a Drink in the Players Hands

When golf is over, make sure that you have the facilities to get a drink in the player’s hands as soon as possible. This is just common courtesy but also will keep player’s occupied until the lunch or dinner and presentation’s start.

3. Shadow Celebrities and Dignitaries

If you have celebrities or other dignitaries playing in your tournament, assign a volunteer or staff person to shadow them right from the time they arrive or even earlier if you are responsible for their pick-up from the airport. Shadowing means ensuring that they know where to go when they arrive, what their role is and having someone at their disposal to get things for them or expedite their movements. These are busy people who are not used to figuring things out for themselves.

4. Keep Presentations to a Minimum

The winners will want their moment of glory and sponsors should be thanked, but otherwise, respect player’s time and keep the program to a minimum. If it is a charity tournament, have some information at the tables or at a display. Keep the pitch for the cause out of the program, other than a thank-you to the participants.

5. Don’t Nickel and Dime Them to Death

If your tournament is a fundraiser, charge a reasonable price for entry and don’t expect participants to come up with five or ten dollars for draws and contests every time they turn around. Include as much as possible in the entry fee, making golfers feel like they got a good deal in addition to supporting a good cause. Of course, you will try to get sponsors to pay for as much as possible.

There are numerous other things that will fall into place if you manage the big things and pay attention to the details. Hopefully, these tips help make your golf tournament a great success.