LONG BEACH STATE SPORT MANAGEMENT

SPRING 2017, NEWSLETTER

The Emcee of the night, Mr. Chris Soriano of SGWS, guided our students through the process of wine tasting and pairings, the art of the ‘tray pass/cocktail hour/meet & greet’, table introductions, and a plated dinner. Along the way, Chris highlighted nuances of dining, from napkin placement, soup manners, bread buttering, who pays the bill, and much more! He spoke from personal experiences which resonated with the attendees, as well as his observations from the business world he travels in. Thank you Chris for your expertise and willingness to share your etiquette knowledge!

The students had the opportunity to network with professionals from different industries, our Advisory Committee members, alumni from our program, and members of other Learning Team's within the program. Networking cannot be stressed enough in our industry or in life, therefore many took advantage of this situation to begin relationships with some and reconnect with others.

As an added upside to the event, each person in attendance was provided the opportunity to have a LinkedIn quality headshot taken by professional photographer Mpu Dinani.

The goal of the night was to teach our young professionals about the basics of etiquette and to help put them in situations that have a positive impact on their life’s journey. As one of our special guests shared with his table, "there are not too many times that you will be promoted at a dinner setting like this, but there are far too many times that people can kill their career based on a bad social experience.”

Our students are now prepared to be in position to put their best foot forward and differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace.

Written by: Emma Heeger

ALL LT ETIQUETTE DINNERThe Graduate Program in Sport Management hosted its Etiquette Dinner on Thursday November 17, 2016. The event brought together 100+ students and an array of special guests. The evening’s focus was on exposing the students to the “dos” and “don’ts” of dining in the professional world. For the fourth time, a representative from Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits held court, leading our students through a litany of scenarios they may face along their career’s journey.

TESTIMONIAL VIGNETTESPlease click on the photo to view our program testimonials

Ashley Cabrera- LA GalaxyRoy Englebrecht- OC Fight Club

Joann Klonowski- Quint Events Kelli Gill- Long Beach State Athletics

Saturday, January 21, 2017 we bid a fond farewell to Learning Team 29. The students had the task of presenting their Capstone’s to panels of esteemed guests and Advisory Committee members. Beginning promptly at 9:00 AM, these Capstones showed the culmination of eighteen months of growing and learning within the program. To say that these presentations were a success would be an understatement, as ten students earned the notable Outstanding Capstone Award! Following the capstone presentations, friends and family were invited to the Chartroom for the Capstone Celebration. As the slideshow rolled with 18 months of blood, sweat, and tears, the students reminisced on their Master’s experience.

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK, LEARNING TEAM 29!

LT 29 UPDATESBrittany Elliott is now working as the Field Marketing Manager for Essentia Water in Orange County! She is responsible for finding and pursuing events that match any of the following categories: sports, entertainment, collegiate and art. Their goal is promote a healthy lifestyle to all individuals.

Lindsey Godwin is currently working as a Creative/Sponsorship Assistant for the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. She works directly for the sponsorship department, preparing proposals, creating bobble heads and billboards, and fulfilling hospitality agreements made with sponsors!

Dani Perry is a Program Coordinator for the Rose Bowl Stadium Legacy Foundation. She is in charge of all fundraising programs, donation fulfillment, and event-day marketing and promotion, as well as planning and implementing fundraiser events.

Written by: Cheyanne Warren-Diaz

Congratulations also go to Meaghan Paschall, Callie Payetta, and Helen Steinhauser who won the 110% Award, the Bill Shumard Beach Pride Award, and the Outstanding Student Award, respectively!

Compassionate Capitalism: A Journey to the Soul of Business, Blaine Bartlett and David Meltzer, 2016. These two gentlemen introduce a different approach to business. They entertain the idea that businesses are not meant to make administrators wealthy, but to grow an individual’s life experiences. When viewing business in a spiritual lens, one can ‘journey to the soul of business.’

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unforeseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace, 2014. Creativity, Inc. is a book written by the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. This book takes the reader through the creative journey behind Pixar, and why there has been so much success along the way.

#Values: The Secret to Top Level Performance in Business and Life, Dr. Betty Uribe, 2017. Written by a woman who arrived to the US at the age of twelve with no knowledge of English and cleaning houses to get by, Dr. Uribe writes about the necessity for value-based leadership to succeed in one’s professional and personal life.

Players: The Story of Sports & Money, and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution, Matthew Futterman, 2016. Players tells the story behind modern sports business, and how athletes’ financial situations have drastically changed. This read seeks to show the evolution of sports business and why this industry is where it's at today.

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Recommendations from the staff

SUPER BOWL LISalina Areyan, LT 30, has spent the last five months working with Kreate, Inc. on Super Bowl LI. Here are her experiences:

Congratulations to LT 8 alumnus and Adjunct Professor, Otto Benedict for being named the Senior Vice President/General Manager of the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC). LAFC is the newest Major League Soccer Team that will have its debut season in 2018.

Congratulations to LT 1 alumnus, Jeff Dyrek for being named the Chief Executive Officer of USA Badminton. USA Badminton recently moved from Colorado Springs, CO to Anaheim, California.

SPOTLIGHT

What Kreate did…Kreate, Inc. is currently partnered with On Location Experiences—the Official Hospitality of the NFL. We were responsible for all of the VIP parties surrounding Super Bowl LI – Texans House downtown, Falcons Pre-game, Patriots Tailgate Pre-game, Champions Club, Stadium Club, Stadium Lounge, Genesis Lounge, and Patriots Post Party.

What I did…I was responsible for everything credentials! Prior to the game, I had to credential all vendors that were going to be on-site. I worked closely with the NFL to make sure everyone on our team, Kreate, the Patriots, and the Falcons were credentialed with the proper access. There were generic advance credentials for people in the early stages of the load-in, official pre-event credentials when the secure perimeter went up, and official game-day credentials which were scanned at the magnetometers. In total, I credentialed approximately 6,000 people on my own. One of the largest roles I had was working with all of the talent (and all of their entourage) for the parties—Lady Antebellum, Tyler Farr, Pitbull, Old Dominion, Lil Wayne, TI, Ludacris, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, and Big Boi. Due to the fact the teams aren’t known until two weeks before, I had to process these people in a short amount of time—which was very stressful. Somehow, in the end, everything worked out.

Overall experience…The overall experience was amazing—getting to celebrate with the Patriots team on the field post-game, to having the entire team with the Lombardi Trophy in our party—I would do it all over again. I had a lot on my plate, but I gained so much experience that will help me next year in Minnesota. Because the project is so substantial for 2018, I have already started working on it along with building budgets and other operations and taking on more responsibilities. I couldn’t have done it without our graduate program here at Long Beach State working with my schedule and being so understanding.

Written by: Salina Areyan

Congratulations Salina on all of your Super Bowl LI accomplishments! We look forward to seeing all that you accomplish for next year’s Super Bowl LII!

NHL ALL STAR FAN ZONE MANAGERSTake two! Lights! Camera! Hockey?

The year of 2002 was the first time the Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Kings, hosted an NHL All Star game. Fifteen years later, the puck was dropped on the ice as Staples Center hosted another NHL All Star Game January 29, 2017. Top hockey stars traveled to Los Angeles for the big game and star studded ‘Hockeywood’ was waiting for them. To amp up for the All Star event, the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall transformed 250,000 square feet into an interactive, family fun, hockey venue. The 2017 NHL Fan Fair served as the official three day fan festival of the All Star weekend with interactive games, meet and greets, autograph signings, the centennial museum, hockey rinks, and the opportunity to take a photo with the Stanley Cup.

The event was split into twelve different zones and needed twelve Zone Managers to manage those zones of the NHL Fan Fair. The Graduate Program in Sport Management was proudly represented by seven current and former graduate students. Members of Learning Teams 29, 30, and 31 had the opportunity to gain firsthand event management experience and work together to ensure a smooth operational event. Our Zone Managers, pictured left, worked closely with the event producer Kreate, Inc. and representatives of the National Hockey League. GPSM Zone Managers were involved in every step of the event from the beginning to the end and received compliments from NHL executives for all their hard work and dedication.

Written by: Ricardo Gutierrez Sanchez

Caroline Kelley (LT 29), Susan Peebles (LT 30), Reno Smith (LT 31), Kent Ha (LT 29), Jordan Scott (LT 30), Ricardo Gutierrez (LT 31), and Daniel Hale (LT 31)

The companies that joined the internship roundtable included Long Beach State Athletics, Sports 1 Marketing, American Sports Centers, Rose Bowl Stadium, Surfing America Inc., Blast Athletics, Anschutz Entertainment Group, Special Olympics Southern California, Global Sports and Entertainment, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles Chargers, Itz About Time, and the Amateur Athletic Union.

A special thanks to all of these companies who were willing to share the world of sports with the Long Beach State Sport Management students!

Written by: Emma Heeger

INTERNSHIP ROUNDTABLE - LT 32

Thank you to four of our alumni who came out to represent their respective companies! Whitney Edwards (Long Beach State Athletics), Meaghan Paschall (Itz About Time), Dani Perry (Rose Bowl Stadium) all of Learning Team 29, and Shantel Fair (Special Olympics Southern California) of Learning Team 22 were kind enough to give their time and insight to the new students of Learning Team 32.

February 2017, the Program welcomed a new Learning Team, LT 32! To help get the newbies engaged early, the Program hosts an internship roundtable. The internship roundtable is structured to simulate speed dating but with sports companies. Each company receives ten minutes to tell the students about what internships are currently being offered and to learn a snippet about each student. This unique opportunity allows the new students to see the internships that are available in the Los Angeles Sports Market, as well as get their feet wet with practicing how to make a first impression.

Emma Heeger (LT 30), Kylie McGlew (LT 29), Angela LaChica (Director), Kevin Greenup (LT 30), and Ryan Berry (LT 29) enjoying the feeling of finishing the 2017 Case Cup.

On a chilly February morning, four students embarked on a journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota with their carry ons and business cards. Waiting in Minneapolis for them was the National Sports Forum; an annual gathering of top teams, businesses, and executives with days filled of Super Panels and Breakout Sessions.

The Case CupStudents from LT 29 and 30 represented LBSU in the 2017 National Sports Forum Case Cup Competition. This Case Cup featured eight of the top Sport Management Graduate programs in the country; Long Beach State, University of Oregon, University of South Florida, Ohio University, Temple University, University of South Carolina, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and George Washington University. The case focused on the Major League Soccer team, Sporting Kansas City and their relationship with ticketing platform, SeatGeek. The students were asked to maximize ticket revenue and identify different distribution channels for SeatGeek. Teams had exactly 24 hours to complete the case (with no outside communication) and prepare a 20-minute presentation for a panel of judges comprised of sports industry professionals and academic experts. After running on two hours of sleep and five cups of coffee, the students confidently presented what they had worked on for 24 hours. This was the second year our program attended the National Sports Forum, and we hope to continue with this challenging and rewarding experience.

The following days provided ample opportunities to attend four different Super Panel sessions and 32 different choices for Breakout Sessions in the Minneapolis Convention Center. The topics of these sessions included sponsorship, marketing, ticket management, social media, and business development. Over two days, our students networked at the breakout sessions, the trade show, and at meals with industry professionals.

“Attending the National Sports Forum was an unbelievable opportunity to meet and build meaningful connections with industry professionals and fellow grad students from across the country. It was an honor to represent Long Beach State in the Case Cup and work with such an amazing team. While the competition was one of the most challenging endeavors I've experienced, I'm extremely thankful that I was able to participate in this incredible event.” -Kevin Greenup

Written by: Emma Heeger

THE NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM? YOU BETCHA.

The ExperienceAfter the conclusion of the Case Cup, the Forum experience kicked off with a Welcome Party at the US Bank Stadium hosted by the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings staff kindly gave all of the attendees a tour of the stadium from the upper suites, to the locker room, and finally to the field. This was the first opportunity for our students to converse with the other competing schools about the Case Cup and each team’s experience from the previous 24 hours. This was also an opportunity to casually speak with the judges about the performance of all the teams and the assignment given. By the end of the night, students were exchanging business cards with all types of executives from all leagues.

Emma Heeger and Kevin Greenup at the Welcome Party in US Bank Stadium.

Students brainstorming ideas during the fourth hour of the competition.

Bridget Bacon, LT 28, is currently working part-time with three major Los Angeles professional sports teams; Kings, Clippers, and Dodgers. With the Los Angeles Kings, Bridget is a Stage Manager in the Game Presentation department. She has executed the Kings’ promotions such as Lenny & Larry’s 24 Hour Fitness Challenge, as well as intermission games on the ice. With the Los Angeles Clippers, Bridget is a member of the Community Relations Game Night Staff, where she enjoys interacting with the children and families that the Clippers organization gives back to. Aside from the Kings and Clippers, this LT 28 graduate also works for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Last season, when she worked as a Hospitality Team Member under the Premium Services Department, Bridget sat down with the Director of Broadcast Engineering at the end of the season. She took this opportunity to inquire about shadowing the Stage Managers on her days off. It was shortly thereafter that she emailed the Director asking if there was an opening in that department and was offered a position in response. Bridget’s persistence and dedication to growing her professional experience landed her a Stage Manager position with the Dodgers! With three different professional team cultures and atmospheres, Bridget now has a full plate, but admits that her hard work is worth it in the end. As she follows her current Stage Manager career path, Bridget is looking forward to the start of the Dodgers’ season in April.

Way to go Bridget! Keep up all of the hard work and being a great example of how hard work pays off!

Written by: Cheyanne Warren-Diaz

THIRD TEAM’S A CHARM

Why work with one professional team, when you can work with three?

We are excited to announce that a new course has been added to the Graduate Program in Sport Management. Titled, Sales: the Concept, the Pitch, and the Close, this new addition allows students to learn about the different sales environments a sports manager can work in. Unlike many other sport management programs, this course covers the basic ticket sales model, premium sales, sponsorship sales, and inside sales. Our students will be one step ahead of the game as they enter into the business world with their sports specific sales experience. As the sport industry goes, many are unkeen to the idea of starting in sales and moving his or her way up. This new approach to sales teaches students why it is necessary to have sales skills not only for a company, but for oneself. One ‘take-home’ from this course is that students must understand his or her own brand and learn how to sell it in order to be successful in interviews and jobs.

We recognize Aaron Arak of LT 18, Dario Soto of LT 12, Michael Morrow, and Gary Darcy for joining us on this new sales journey as Adjunct Professors. We thank our two alumni for their willingness to share their sales experiences and give back to the program. To Michael and Gary, we thank you for joining our Sport Management Family!

Aaron ArakOntario Reign Hockey Club

Dario SotoHerbalife

International

Michael MorrowAutoProcessor

Gary DarcyNational Hot

Rod Association

ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE GAME

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SPORT

MANAGEMENT

Learning Team 31’s Amanda Reiter met World Series Champion, Kyle Hendricks, while working the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation Banquet. The Chicago Cubs pitcher was honored as the OCYSF’s Sportsman of the Year!

Learning Team 29’s Dani Perry, Mac Cerceo, and Meaghan Paschall celebrating mid field after the 2017 Rose Bowl game, USC vs Penn State.

Alex Sanders (LT 31), Los Angeles Clippers Fan Relations Intern, hung out with Blake Griffin’s cardboard cutout. Job perks!

Emma Heeger (LT 30), Bridget Bacon (LT 28), Kendrick Mooney (LT 28), Meaghan Paschall (LT 29), Lauren Doria (LT 30), and Taylor Eastburn (LT 29) at a Women in Sports & Events (WISE) roundtable networking event.

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