The Wimbledon Effect

Every summer, a phenomenon known as the "Wimbledon Effect" comes into effect as a result of the most historic grand slam tournament held in London. The tournament takes place on the legendary grass courts of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club. As imagined, Wimbledon has a booming effect on tourism in London during which the two-week tournament occurs. However, "the Wimbledon effect" is primarily associated with increased membership in athletic clubs as a direct result of the tournament.

Drexel SMTSU - The Sports Biz Report - Jay Z and Roc Nation

2013 NBA Draft: The Financial Difference Between #1 and #5

At around 7:30pm Thursday night in Brooklyn, NY, 30 young men will have their lives changed forever when David Stern calls their name to play in the NBA. These 30 young men (some even younger than me, which I find very upsetting) will see the gratifying culmination of years of summer basketball camps, AAU travel teams, and countless hours in the gym in front of the eyes of millions of fans across the world. Also, most will strike it rich in an instant. But how rich you may ask? Well, I’m here to explain the pretty big difference between going first overall (such as Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel, Maryland’s Alex Len, or Georgetown’s Otto Porter) and going fifth or lower.

Roc Nation Sports, the New Kid on the Block

Who will be next to jump ship for rap mogul Jay-Z’s new sports management department? Who knows, but the real question is, why are athletes making this move? Is it because a specific rap icon is the founder of the company, because they are superior in their management abilities, or is it a company that athletes believe will become the next big thing? Whatever the case is other sports agencies are feeling the heat and are trying to keep their clients in their pockets. 

Money, the Catalyst of Trouble?

There is a Billboard Top 100 song from 1997 that sums up the title of this article. “Mo Money Mo Problems” preformed by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy/Puffy/Puff/P. Diddy/Diddy/Sean Combs and Mase is a delightful Hip Hop song that stresses a problem that is a reoccurring theme in major league sports today. The more money these players receive, the more likely they will get into some sort of trouble. By no means am I saying that the money itself is the problem. There are plenty of factors that contribute to these problems, but having what would seem to the average American as an unlimited supply of cash some athletes lose their heads.

Above the Rim: The 2013 NBA Draft: Up in the Air

As the NBA season came to an end in spectacular fashion last week, NBA fans and teams focus their gaze on the 2013 NBA Draft, which takes place this Thursday, June 28^th. Although the draft is an exciting time every year for teams looking to get better and strive for future playoff runs, this draft is less hopeful than most. With no surefire All-Star caliber prospects and no legitimate #1 player, this year’s draft is not one that will put any forlorn franchise immediately back into playoff contention.

Full Court Press: Who to Follow on Twitter

To follow up my previous post expressing the importance of intelligent Twitter-use, I’ve decided to include some suggestions for the best people to follow in the sports business community. These are just a few of the many smart, entertaining, and informative industry professionals that are very active on Twitter (in no particular order).

Youth Sports Requires More Role Models

A little while back in a leadership in sports class, the class was asked to write about their role model, specifically one that demonstrated strong leadership qualities.  The answers to the question were open and did not have to be a person specifically in the sports realm.  Even with the endless possibilities that people had to choose from, something particularly eye-opening happened.

Over half of the class named a former coach either from high school or earlier as an influential role model and leader in their life.

Full Court Press: Professionalism on Twitter

Since Twitter emerged into our lives in July 2006 and became a staple in the mobile device landscape, it has developed into much more than a way to communicate with our friends. It’s a source of information and breaking news. It replaces the need to look at a variety of sources for local and national news because it’s all housed in one convenient location. For sports enthusiasts, you don’t have to find the box score or log onto ESPN.com when you want updates. If you follow the “right” people on Twitter, you can access interviews, scoring updates, video replays, and post-game recaps all in one central location on your smartphone.

5 Lessons Learned from Co-op

It is the midway point of my 6-month co-op at Trenton Thunder. Below are 5 tips that can improve any internship experience.

1) Leaving your comfort zone will open new doors

Now is the time to try new experiences without having to fear falling flat on your face. That is because at this point in your career, it is acceptable to fall flat on your face. Remember, internships are learning experiences. The more involved you are around your workplace, the more it will be noticed and the more likely you will be asked to take on larger responsibility.

Drexel SMTSU - The Sports Biz Report - Soccer in America

Water Cooler Talk: Achieving My Goals With Tough Mudder

I am writing today to expand on an article that I wrote back in May about achieving goals.  I wrote about how you should always set goals so you have something to work towards.  My personal goal was to complete the Tough Mudder on June 1^st.  My friends and I were able to accomplish this.  I am going to tell you what I learned from the event that can be applied to your goals and to your career.

What The US Open At Merion Teaches You About Your Sports Career

The US Open teed off from Merion Golf Club this morning with the players taking on an incredibly unique golf course far as US Open golf course standards go.  However, the uniqueness of Merion is not unlike the unique journey of a career in sports.  The pros may be teeing off for one of the PGA Tour's four majors, Tiger Woods for his 15th, but we are just teeing off on life in the sports industry.  Merion is playing just under 7,000 yards, 6,996 yards this week to be exact, the first US Open under the 7,000 yard mark since 2004.  The course, just like your career, is not without its twists and turns, zigs and zags, uphills and downhills.

5 Steps to Manage Your Personal Time in College

We're in college.  We're busy.  We're always on the go.  Focus is on school.  Focus is on friends.  Focus is on career.  Wait, is there really a focus at all?  It's more of a whirlwind, a blur.  Yes, it's a blur, that's what college is.  But when you get that quick couple of minutes to think about what you want to do for yourself, does it ever seem too overwhelming to begin?

HIO: Promoting Team Loyalty Through Social Media

On social media, whether a team is promoting the score of a game or a community charity event, groups of audiences will view the content differently. Social media is a broad swipe, sending bits of content to any and all followers or fans. It is impossible to distribute content that will hit only one target audience. The hope is that messages will appeal to a large base.

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 9 - Dr. Ellen Staurowsky

Leaving Your Mark: Careers in Golf

In honor of the U.S. Open coming to Merion, I wanted to present both the types of golf organizations and the roles that exist as you consider non-big 4 team sports career opportunities.  The following list of “golf” organizations is a fairly loose interpretation in a sense that I also include equipment and apparel companies, retail organizations, and a TV network.  Additionally, the “roles” might not apply to every organization and might be unique to one or two of those listed.  Neither list is entirely complete or inclusive.

NBA Sneaker Sales: Who is number one?

As I’ve stated in previous posts, there are not too many more lucrative ventures for NBA players than the world of high-priced sneakers. The sales numbers for 2012 are in from SportsOneSource and the top sellers are not much of a shock to be really honest. Michael Jordan still leads by a wide margin with a $2 BILLION dollar sales figure (read my old post about Air Jordan’s continued dominance if you do not believe me), followed by Mr. Chuck Taylor and his Converse line. But those are givens, how did the current crop of NBA stars stack up? Who was in the top 3 for currently active hoopers? (Hint: Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant missed the cut)

Let’s see:

Under Further Review: Can the Heat Make Up for Spurs' Low Ratings?

The question that will likely get the most play over the sports media airwaves over the next 36 hours will b undoubtedly be, "Who ya got in the NBA Finals, Heat or Spurs?"  And most likely, the majority of respondents will say the Heat.  But a question that will be on the minds of many in the sports media world is, "Can the Heat's large television viewer base make up for the Spurs' low viewer base?"

Advanced Statistics are Important in the NBA

In the 2010-2011 NBA season, Kevin Durant averaged 6.8 rebounds per game, a respectable but not staggering number. It was not good enough to put him in the top 40 rebounders for that season, however, he might have been the most ferocious rebounder in the whole league. What very few fans know is that Kevin Durant led the league in rebounding percentage, which is defined as percentage of rebounds gathered when within 3.5 feet of the ball. His percentage was 73% which is a staggering number. The NBA is changing due to knew stats and player tracking and for the teams who do not jump on board fast, they will have a tougher time catching up.

The Triangle Talks "An Evening with Ethan Zohn"

The Triangle, Drexel University's independent newspaper, covered our event last Tuesday night, "An Evening with Ethan Zohn."  The event was funded by The Good Idea Fund per a request from the Sport Management Student Union.  Reporter Danielle Verghese was granted the assignment, and she spoke with the Drexel SMTSU's President and Co-Founder Kevin Giordano.

Here is Kevin's quote from the piece:

The Closer: Big 10 Conference in the news

It seems like every day there is 3-4 fresh news stories regarding the Big 10 Conference. It doesn't hurt that their newest member, Rutgers University, is the easiest athletic department in America to write a story about. But, believe it or not, there are other things going on in the Big 10 that have strong implications for the conferences future, including:

SMTSU 3 v 3 Soccer Tournament

Register your 3 v 3 soccer team here!