Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Ultimate Social Media Engagement



Last night during the Daytona 500, driver Brad Keselowski tweeted a picture (shown above) during the race.  Capitalizing on the buzz surrounding the tweeted picture, Keselowski gained over 100,000 followers since.  Do you think that drivers should be allowed to use their social media during events like this?  Do you think this could catch on in other sports?  Share your opinions and leave a comment!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Coaches v. Cancer Fundraising Project


For our Sport Management (SMT 612) - Development and Fundraising project, our group decided to use this opportunity to raise $500.00 for Coaches vs. Cancer (CVC).  According to the American Cancer Society, Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) that empowers basketball coaches, their teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Coaches vs. Cancer has raised nearly $75 million, averaging $4,687,500 per year since 1995.   

We picked CVC because not only are we sports management grad students and this is a sports related cause raising money and awareness to defeat cancer, but many of the coaches involved in CVC are victims and survivors of their own personal battle with cancer.  Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, Jim Calhoun at UCONN, and Pat Summit at Tennessee are just some of those coaches. 

Our instructor, Assistant Professor Brett Burchette (@athdevelopment), wants us to grow and develop our fundraising skill set through designing our own fundraising plan, make a unique case statement, develop a list of prospecting donors, write fundraising appeals, utilize social media to spread word of mouth and to fundraise, use contact logs and strategic database management, and implement stewardship practices to properly thank donors.

Specific to our project, we made a decision to strategically brand our program with the Drexel University name and CVC.  Our website, DrexelCVC.com, is a branded url that redirects to our FirstGiving website required for the project.  This allows us to easily spread the word of mouth of our campaign with a branded name instead of tedious directions to our FirstGiving page or relying on following up with donors with emails and hyperlinks at a later time.  

We are heavily relying on social media through Facebook, Twitter, blogging and LinkedIn. Our letter appeals, peer-to-peer and email solicitations, and personal social media messaging all include using our branded name, DrexelCVC.

However, we need the entire Drexel community to help us reach our goal.  A simple $10 donation by our fellow Dragons will do more than allow us to successfully complete a class project, but link our great school with a great cause in a sport affected greatly by cancer.

A college basketball player battles on the court for only 5 months, a cancer patient battles all year. Help us win this fight and donate now!

The Drexel Sport Management graduate students in the project are Daniel Izzo, Cory Robertson and Matthew Checchio.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

This Weekend - There's a Little Something for Everyone

When you were looking ahead on your calendar as the year changed from 2011 to 2012, I doubt that the last weekend of February jumped out to you as an outstanding sports weekend.  Upon further review, this coming weekend may be the most complete weekend of the entire year.  This weekend there’s a little something for everybody.

NBA All Star Weekend

Regardless of your feelings about all-star games in general, about the legitimacy and competition, all of us must agree that the NBA does it right.  There will be action all weekend long starting on Friday.  Friday’s schedule will be highlighted by the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 7pm on ESPN and then capped off by the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at 9pm on TNT.  Saturday’s schedule is even more action packed than Friday’s, beginning at 2pm with the 2012 NBA Development League All-Star Game on NBA TV.  NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm will kick off at 8:30pm and run through the four events that make All Star Weekend so great.  The first event will be the Haier Shooting Stars, then the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, followed by the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and all capped off by the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.  The 2012 NBA All-Star Game presented by Kia Motors will tip off at 7:37 on Sunday on TNT for year-long bragging rights between the East and West All-Stars.  If NBA All-Star weekend doesn’t scream sports business, then I don’t know what does.

UFC 144

After a string of underwhelming fight cards, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is back with this mega fight card that is UFC 144.  Going back to Japan for the first time since UFC 29, the event will be headlined by the World Lightweight Championship fight where Frankie Edgar will put his title on the line against Benson Henderson.  The main card is rounded out by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Ryan Bader, Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo, Yoshiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields, and Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon.  The preliminary card will not disappoint either with some great Japanese fighters like Takanori Gomi, Hatsu Hioki, and Yuskin Okami all stepping into the octagon.  The UFC has done a fantastic job putting together a great fight card that, aside from the title fight, features either a fight of Japanese descent or a fighter beloved in Japan from fighting in the Pride Fighting Championships.  UFC 144 will air Saturday night on pay-per-view and is sure to bring some great action.

Daytona 500

We may not live in a big NASCAR area, and that leads many people to forget about the sport completely.  In reality, the Daytona 500 is one of the biggest sporting events in America each year.  Similar to NBA All-Star weekend, the Daytona 500 offers an entire weekend of action.  The Daytona 500 actually started last weekend with the Budweiser Shootout and Qualifying presented by Kroger.  This weekend the real action starts on Thursday with the Gatorade Duels and continues Friday with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.  Saturday will end with the NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300.  Sunday kicks off the Daytona 500, “Great American Race”, at 1pm.  Regardless of your view of the sport here in the northern half of the country, NASCAR is vastly popular and huge in the sports business world.  Offering a deep history and also deep American roots, the Daytona 500 is sure to get its fair share of viewers on this hectic sporting weekend.

WGC - Accenture Match Play

Wednesday kicked off perhaps one of the most unique golf events of the year, the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championships.  The Accenture Match Play Championship pairs golfers one on one against each other in a bracket style tournament.  Here, rankings are thrown out the window.  The style of golf and the mentality completely changes.  Upsets are a commonplace in match play.  This annual tournament gives a unique tournament atmosphere that is not seen on the PGA Tour.  This is the best of the best.  Tune in throughout the weekend to keep tabs on your favorite golfers.

NFL Combine

Although the NFL Combine is definitely for a niche audience, the growing popularity over the past ten years cannot be ignored.  Now airing on NFL Network all weekend, fans can get the same experience from their couch that the front office executives and scouts get while they are in Indianapolis.  The Combine makes or breaks NFL dreams each and every year.  This is the moment that these guys have all been waiting for.  Proving that they belong in the NFL is an opportunity that not many get to experience.  Periodically check out the Combine this weekend on NFL Network.  The workouts are highlighted by the offensive skill position (QB, RB, and WR) workouts this Sunday.

MLB Spring Training

Ah yes, I know this beautiful weather means something.  The beautiful weather means that baseball season is back.  By the end of the weekend all pitchers and catchers in Major League Baseball will have reported to camp and begun workouts.  Although there is no formal action, this is the perfect time to get up to speed on the current state of your favorite ball club. 

Academy Awards

When you first think about the 84th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday night, I bet you don’t think about sports.  But you definitely should.  The big budget film Moneyball based on the book about the small budget early 2000s Oakland A’s is nominated for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role (Brad Pitt), Actor in a Supporting Role (Jonah Hill), Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Writing for an Adapted Screenplay.  Also a sports movie flying under the radar is the moving documentary Undefeated.  The documentary has a legitimate shot at winning best documentary feature with its story about Manassas High School Football team overcoming all odds.  Tune in on Sunday night to see if one of these great sports films gets an Oscar!
--Written By Kevin Rossi
@kevin_rossi

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dragons Look To Make It 16 Straight

Tonight the Drexel Dragons host the JMU Monarchs in what could be their 16th straight victory. The Dragons haven't lost since January 2, and are just now starting to gain some national recognition for their streak, which ranks as the second longest in the country. If they can win their last two and put together an impressive showing at the CAA Tourney in Richmond, they've got a good shot at consideration for an at-large berth. Not only that, but this year's Dragons will be measured against some of the greatest teams to ever take the court in Drexel uniforms, including those of the legendary Malik Rose (pictured).

But none of that can happen until the Dragons get through JMU tonight, on Senior Night, in front of a revved up crowd at the DAC. Tip is at 7:00 ET and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Tune in and support the Dragons on what could be their first run to the big dance since 1996.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Newest, Most Terrible Way to Follow Spring Training


Late February is here, and for those of us completely obsessed with the game of baseball, that means following every little tidbit of news to escape the spring training camps based in Florida or Arizona. Usually this entails following every beat writer imaginable on Twitter, reloading blogs hourly, and scouring newspapers each morning (okay, no one really does that last one anymore). Thankfully, there is yet another source for us fanatics to now turn to for our spring training fix- Bad Spring Training TwitPics. BSTTP is "a tribute to all those beat writers capturing horrible, blurry images of some of the most mundane (stuff) imaginable." Enjoy!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Big Heads - Big Success

Anyone who has watched a college hoops game this year has surely taken notice of a new trend in student sections across the country- enormous head cutouts of players and coaches. I personally find a giant cutout of a player's head bobbing back and forth behind the backboard as an opposing player tries to sink free throws absolutely hilarious, but as Partnership Activation points out in this blog post, it can also serve as a great marketing tool. Not only is it great for the player who's giant head is being bounced around the student section, but apparel partners could get some nice exposure out of the deal, and it may even help with recruiting! Here's a video from a UNLV-SDSU game where you can see a great cutout of UNLV star Mike Moser:

Saturday, February 18, 2012

New Team/Arena Proposal in Seattle




What will the future bring for Big 4 Sports in Seattle? As of now, the Seahawks and Mariners are the only major professional teams residing in “The Emerald City”, but that may be subject to change in the near future. Christopher Hansen, the founder and manager of the Valiant Capital Management hedge fund based out of San Francisco, has submitted a proposal to build a new arena, and bring an NHL and NBA franchise back to Seattle. He has agreed to contribute a $290 million investment to the city for the construction of the arena. Seattle is currently the only top-15 media market without at least 3 major professional teams, and Hansen is even offering up his own land to change that.

In order for this proposal to go through, there are still a few I’s to be dotted, and T’s to be crossed. The city and county must approve the allocation of $200 million to complete the cost of construction for the building. The NBA and NHL must agree to establish a new franchise (or transfer an existing one). City officials have stated that they will not break ground on the process until it is determined that two franchises will call it their home, with a 30-year agreement and a no-relocation clause.

With the risk involved for Hansen’s investment group, it will be interesting to see how the situation pans out. Expect to see a decision made by the city council in early June, once they’ve reached out to NBA and NHL officials to gauge their interest in bringing a franchise to Seattle. 

Would you want to see Seattle acquire two new franchises? Would you rather they go to New Orleans? Or Sacramento? Feel free to share your thoughts.

--Written By Hayley Zedeck

@hzedeck

Friday, February 17, 2012

Business of Sports Networking Event

Event Name: The Business of Sports – Philadelphia Networking Event
Date and Time: Feb 28, 2012 from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Location: The Field House, 1150 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
It’s time for our next Philadelphia sports business networking event!
Come out and network with other sports business professionals that work or live in the Philadelphia area. Having a strong network has never been more important, so this is a great time to connect with others that share your passion for working in sports. All backgrounds are welcome, from those just starting out to industry veterans. As always, there is no charge to attend this event, so please pass this along to any friends and colleagues that would also be interested in attending.
Remember, there is one “rule” for these events – no resumes. This event is all about networking and making valuable connections, so bring plenty of business cards and good conversation, but please, no resumes. Thanks.
Special thanks to Haynes Hendrickson (Turnkey Sports & Entertainment) and Caleb Mezzy for all their help in planning and promoting this event.
If you have any questions about the event, you can contact me at russell@thebusinessofsports.com.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tiger vs. Phil: Back to the Future


On Sunday, Phil Mickelson won his 40th career PGA Tour event with his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro AM in Pebble Beach, California.  It was an impressive victory where he rallied back with a final round 64 for the low round of the day.
Perhaps Phil’s victory wasn’t even the biggest storyline of the tournament.  It was Bill Murray’s outfit! (Just kidding).  The biggest storyline of the Pro AM was the resurgence of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods’ rivalry. 
Phil is still working back from his personal and family health nightmares.  We all know about Tiger’s turbulent two year stretch.  Phil has admittedly had a tough time motivating himself of late without his arch nemesis playing at a high level.  Tiger is trying to return to his pre-incident mental state.  Phil’s wedges aren’t what they once were.  Tiger’s putter has been slow getting back into the swing of things (pun intended). 
After three rounds at Pebble Beach, it was all back.  Tiger and Phil sat 3rd and 4th, respectively, and had their sights set on a Sunday pairing.  Tiger started the round two shots ahead of Phil, but that was about the only time Tiger had the edge.  By the end of the day, Phil had shot a 64 and Tiger had shot an abysmal 75.  Started ahead of Phil by 2 and finishing 9 back, Tiger had an extremely uncharacteristic Sunday. 
Although Tiger’s Sunday red may not have glowed as bright as it once had this past weekend, Phil and Tiger’s rivalry is back.  This is exactly what the PGA Tour was looking for.  In Phil and Tiger’s absences, nobody seemed to want to become the face of the Tour.  Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald were all ranked number one at some point, but they rarely showed that in recent majors.  Rory McIlroy seemed ready to take over, but American golf fans ultimately want an American at the top, whether they admit it or not.  Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson are close, but nowhere near Phil and Tiger. 
With Phil and Tiger’s rivalry back on, so is the PGA Tour.  Golf is back in America.  Everyone rejoice!  If you ask me, I would say that one of them will win a major this year.  Even though the final scorecards didn’t show it, the final pairing meant much more to the game of golf than the result.  Ladies and Gentlemen, they are back, and the future of golf looks very bright.
Is golf back?  Will Tiger or Phil win a major this year?  Tell me what you think.
--Written By Kevin Rossi
@kevin_rossi


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Discussion with Andrew Brandt


PHILADELPHIA, PA: The Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) at Drexel University is pleased to announce it will be holding, "A Discussion with Andrew Brandt" on Thursday, March 1, from 6:30pm - 8pm. The event will be held in the Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (PISB), room 112, on the Drexel University Main Campus.

The featured speaker, Andrew Brandt, comes to Drexel University with tremendous credentials. Mr. Brandt is an accomplished sports executive with more than 20 years' experience in professional football. Mr. Brandt has experience representing top athletes, such as Boomer Esiason and Michael Jordan, and in the areas of negotiations and salary cap management after serving as Vice President of the Green Bay Packers from 1999-2008. He is also the NFL Business Analyst for ESPN, President of NationalFootballPost.com, and a Lecturer at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

When asked to comment on the upcoming event, SMTSU Faculty Advisor Dr. Ellen Staurowsky noted, "We are fortunate to have someone of Andrew Brandt’s stature and professional accomplishments here at Drexel contributing valuable insights and wisdom to the ongoing dialogue in the Department of Sport Management on the business of sport.  

SMTSU President Kevin Giordano echoed Dr. Staurowsky's comments, saying "Andrew Brandt's wealth of experience in the industry will provide Drexel Sport Management students invaluable insight into athlete representation, contract negotiations, and salary cap management."

"A Discussion with Andrew Brandt" is open to all members of the Drexel University community. For more information or questions, please send an email to drexelsmtsu@gmail.com.


Monday, February 13, 2012

Griffin III vs. Luck - It's Worth Debating

The 2012 NFL Draft is a little over two months away. In those two months NFL prospects will be analyzed and dissected. Team executives and scouts will be spending countless air miles traveling to pro days and scouting combines trying to find the right prospects for their team. Andrew Luck, the junior redshirt quarterback from Stanford University, has long been seen as the number one draft choice in this April's draft. He could have been the number one choice if he had decided to leave early for the NFL last year. His skill have been analyzed and dissected for the past three years and consensus is that he is a “can’t miss prospect.” Therefore, when the Indianapolis Colts locked up the number one choice in this year’s draft by going 2-14, the choice for the number pick was clear. Andrew Luck, barring a Peyton Manning return to Indianapolis, was going to be wearing a horseshoe helmet this fall. However, this past season, a little known, yet immensely talented quarterback from perennial NCAA football doormat Baylor University had one of the best seasons ever for a quarterback. Robert Griffin III, coming off a knee injury in 2010, led Baylor to a school record 10 wins and a bowl victory. However, it was the manner in which he lifted a once sleeping Baylor program into the national spotlight. He set school and NCAA records along the way while displaying the talent and intangible worthy of a number one pick in the NFL draft. Robert Griffin has made it not secret that he wants to be the first selection in this April’s draft. Also, that he believes he can be the No. 1 and that he would live up to being the No. 1 pick. So, with the draft rapidly approaching let the games before the games begin. The number one pick is not a forgone conclusion.

Robert Griffin III deserves to be in debate over who gets selected with the first overall pick because his
body of work merits inclusion in the debate.

-Written by Brian Palmer

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

It's Time To Take Notice

The Drexel men’s basketball team is in the midst of one of the most impressive runs in the school’s history and one of the most impressive runs in the country this season. 

Coming into the 2011-2012 season, the expectations were high for Drexel.  ESPN posted their preseason predictions and the experts had Drexel winning the Colonial Athletic Conference.  Whether it was the national media pressure or just early season rust, the Dragons came out flat to start the season with a 2-4 record in their first six games. 

After an early December lose to the University of Delaware, something clicked.  The Dragons came home to the friendly confines of the DAC and began a memorable run.  Starting off with a win over Princeton to their most recent win on the road against Towson, Drexel has won 17 of their last 18 games and they are currently on an 11 game winning streak.  The 11 game winning streak is among the longest current winning streaks in the country, but even more impressive may be the 10-0 home record for the year.  The home court advantage that Drexel has in front of the DAC Pack this season could potentially help propel the team to a top seed in the CAA tournament. 

Drexel success stems from their stifling defense.  Currently tops in the NCAA in three point field goal defense holding teams under 26%, Drexel is also top 5 in overall scoring defense in the country.  As any college basketball fan knows, the key to the NCAA tournament upset is in the defense, which Drexel has clearly excelled in all season. 

With 6 games left until the CAA tournament, it’s time to take notice of what’s happening at Drexel University.  The team is not only poised to make a run at their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1996, they will be a dangerous matchup in the first round.  The CAA has shown they can play with the big boys over the past few years; perhaps this is Drexel’s year to flex the CAA’s muscle.  It’s time to take notice that this could be Drexel’s year.

How do you think Drexel will finish the year?  Leave a comment below.

--Written By: Kevin Rossi

@kevin_rossi

Monday, February 6, 2012

Congrats to Your 2012 Super Bowl Champs!


Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Justin Tuck, and the rest of the New York Football Giants will be celebrating today and well into the offseason their monumental victory over the New England Patriots. Congrats to the G-Men on a well-deserved win, especially when they were counted out by so many before the season even began. Share with us- what was your favorite Super Bowl moment? And is Eli a future Hall of Famer? Has he eclipsed his older brother?

Sunday, February 5, 2012

How To Follow Super Bowl XLVI With Us

Surely you'll be following along with the Super Bowl in ways other than just watching on television, so we'd like to remind all our readers to follow along all the madness and excitement with us on Twitter. Follow us @DrexelSMTSU and remember to tweet at us if you've got something to say. Game time is 6:30 East Coast time, so once your buffalo chicken dip is ready, grab your phone and join the conversation.

Philadelphia Union Set to Host 2012 PPL Park Job Fair

Chester, Pa. (February 2, 2012) – Philadelphia Union will host a job fair at PPL Park on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in an effort to fill a variety of seasonal, part-time positions. Candidates should enter through the Crozer Premier Gate located at One Stadium Drive in Chester, Pa.

The organization seeks candidates to fulfill the following positions: Housekeeping, Ticket Takers, Ushers, Concessions Cashiers, Catering Servers, Catering Supervisors, Guest Services, Event Security, Warehouse Workers, Cooks and Runners, Bussers and Dishwashers and Concession Supervisors.

Spirited, customer service-oriented candidates can apply by attending the fair, going online http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/ppl-park/employment or by filling out an application at the Career Link Office at 701 Crosby St. Suite B in Chester and dropping it off at the PPL Park main box office.

ABOUT KEYSTONE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LLC
Keystone Sports and Entertainment, LLC, is the ownership group of Philadelphia Union and is comprised of Chairman/Owner Jay Sugarman, CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz, Christopher Buccini, Robert Buccini and David Pollin, founding partners of The Buccini/Pollin Group.  The group launched the Philadelphia Union's inaugural season on March 25, 2010 and opened PPL Park, the brand new $122 million soccer specific stadium on the Chester Waterfront, on June 27, 2010.  PPL Park, the home of Philadelphia Union, holds approximately 18,500 seats and will host various events throughout the year. For more information about Philadelphia Union, visit www.philadelphiaunion.com

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Everton Fans Handcuffs Self to Post

Of all the field invasions you've seen, is this the most brilliant? Or is this guy absolutely insane? Or Both?