Sports Business Classroom kicked off on Sunday, July 13 with their welcome event. This year’s sold out program has over 150  students enrolled. The seven day immersive educational and training experience gives students the opportunity to learn about the ins and outs of the sports world. For the second year in a row, the program will be led by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who comes with a strong background of experience in the NBA Front Office and broadcasting. Marks started as a New Jersey Nets intern in 1995 and worked up to Assistant General Manager. He has since worked at Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Alongside Marks come a variety of speakers for this year’s program. Sports Business Classroom General Manager, Eric Pincus will also oversee operations and assist students with their projects. Pincus is a leading expert on NBA player contracts and the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement as well as a national NBA writer for Bleacher Report. 

Guest Instructors: 

    • Jeff Fellenzer – Jeff Fellenzer is a journalism professor at USC Annenberg, known for his popular “Sports, Business, Media” class, which attracts over 125 students each semester. A Heisman Trophy voter and industry veteran, Fellenzer brings top sports figures into the classroom, blending media insight with real-world experience in sports business.
    • Mike Fratello – American sports broadcaster and former professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently a part-time analyst for FanDuel Sports Network Ohio for the Cleveland Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for FanDuel Sports Network SoCal for the Los Angeles Clippers. He has coached for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies.
    • Mark Jones – Mark Jones is a play-by-play commentator for ESPN’s NBA, college football and UFL coverage. Since his debut in 1990 he has covered a variety of sports and events for ESPN.
    • Shareef Abdur-Rahim – Shareef Abdur Rahmin is the NBA G League President. He previously served as the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings and the general manager of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ minor-league affiliate.

This year’s curriculum has also expanded covering an even wider area of topics in the industry including the ones listed below: 

    • Athlete Representation
    • League Salary Cap
    • Scouting, Video and Analytics
    • Media and Broadcast
    • Basketball Operations
    • Networking, Jobs & Resume Writing

Each student within the Sports Business Classroom program is assigned to a specific major, which allows them to focus on their goals. Throughout the week students also work on a Mock Trade Deadline Practicum project  where they act as the Front Office where they create a brief and presentation on trade deals.