Comprehensive Sports Business Institute Launched on USC Campus
Contact: Dagmar King, (213) 740-6411 or dagmar.king@marshall.usc.edu
In recognition of the dramatic rise in the popularity of sports-related businesses, the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business has established the Sports Business Institute, believed to be the nation’s first all-encompassing sports business center at a premier academic institution. David M. Carter, an internationally recognized sports industry expert and an assistant professor of sports business at USC Marshall, has been appointed executive director of the Institute.
The Sports Business Institute will provide a center for scholarly research and executive education programs, as well as offer seminars and symposiums for industry participants and stakeholders. A board of advisors consisting of noted sports business leaders will guide the Institute’s strategic direction and activities.
“We are tremendously excited to have David Carter at USC Marshall in this expanded role,” commented Yash Gupta, dean of USC Marshall. “His experience and expertise make him the ideal person to head the new Sports Business Institute.”
Mr. Carter cited USC’s strengths and strategic location as major advantages. “Given the university’s commitment to research and to serving the community — and its Southern California location — there isn’t a more appropriate place to undertake an initiative such as this,” Mr. Carter said. “With Dean Gupta’s support and the international breadth of the sports business throughout Southern California, USC Marshall is uniquely positioned to dominate the growing field of sports business,” he added.
Mr. Carter founded the Sports Business Group in 1999 following more than 10 years of consulting for the sports and entertainment industries. As a sports business consultant specializing in strategic marketing, Mr. Carter has consulted for corporations, organizations, sports and entertainment venues, law firms, municipalities, and individual athletes.
An established industry opinion leader, Mr. Carter is well-known to the media, and is frequently quoted in leading business publications. He also currently serves as the sports business commentator for American Public Radio’s Marketplace Morning Report.
Mr. Carter has written three books about the sports business industry: On the Ball, co-authored with ESPN’s Darren Rovell that highlights the lessons learned from America’s sports business leaders; Keeping Score, which provides companies and organizations with a framework for devising sports marketing strategies; and You Can’t Play the Game if You Don’t Know the Rules, which was written for people seeking careers in the sports industry.
The Sports Business Institute’s inaugural event will be the Sports & Events Marketing Experience (SEME) West, a conference to be held January 13-14, 2006 at the University of Southern California. The conference will provide those seeking careers in the sports industry with the insight, strategy, and contacts necessary to break into this ultra-competitive industry. The Sports Business Institute and SEME anticipate hundreds of job seekers will attend the conference.
An East Coast version of this conference has been hosted by George Washington University in Washington, D.C. for the past two years.
For more information about the Sports Business Institute, please visit: www.marshall.usc.edu/sbi
About the USC Marshall School of Business
USC’s Marshall School of Business provides the foundation for a process of lifetime learning and business practice. Both U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek rank Marshall’s programs among the top 30. For more than 80 years, USC Marshall has provided world-class research and scholarship, preparing students for the future of business. USC Marshall, with its many research centers and the Leventhal School of Accounting, focuses on a core set of skills and on strengthening its position as a global center of business education and research at the graduate, undergraduate and executive levels.
