The following was compiled by Syracuse student Sam Birdsall, and is part of our Columbia University Sports Podcast (CUSP Show) series. You can hear over 100 episodes here as well.
It’s amazing the things you learn when you ask some questions.
While many in the sports business and academic fields know Scott Rosner, how many knew he is the grandson of a basketball Hall of Famer (a member of the legendary Philadelphia SPHA’s, one of the most successful club teams in the sport in the middle of the 20th Century).
That was just a small piece of the learnings we had when Rosner, now heading Columbia’s Sports Management program, sat down for an informative chat earlier this month.
How did he get to leading the program at Columbia, by using his passion, and his grit, to find a pretty unique path.
Heading into his first year as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, Scott realized he didn’t have the correct knowledge to achieve his childhood goal of being an orthopedic surgeon for his favorite professional sports teams. He did get his start in the sports industry, however, as a vendor at the old home of the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies, Veterans Stadium selling ice cream and soda getting paid by commission.
After internship stints with the Flyers and the U.S. World Cup Host Committee, and completing his Master’s Degree at UMass Amherst, Rosner attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania. He took a class with well-respected professor Ken Shropshire and became a teaching assistant under him. Scott found his “Aha” moment when he taught a class on Collective Bargaining Issues in Sport Law realizing his passion to teach and educate.
Rosner’s path took another unusual turn, when he was hired to start the sports management program at small liberal arts school, Cazenovia College in upstate New York. “Of the best students I’ve had, a couple of them were from Cazenovia College”, comparing them to the likes of students from UPenn and Columbia. After taking jobs at Seton Hall and UPenn and starting and building the Wharton Sports Business Initiative alongside Shropshire, Rosner took the top spot at Columbia in January.
When asked about the placement of the Sports Management program in the School of Professional Studies versus the Business School or Law School, “It’s a place for our program that is the right place for us here. I think it’s well suited to the School of Professional Studies thinking about the scholar-practitioner applied learning model… In order to justify our place in this sports management ecosystem, we need to be over-delivering on what we’re providing to the students.”
Scott chatted about the transition he’s made and how it’s a much different experience after working at a place for 15 years to a brand new organization. One person at Columbia who’s been able to help and be a great colleague has been LJ Holmgren, as Deputy Academic Director.
During the application process, Scott defines a ‘good student’ as “A few things. A combination of intellectual curiosity, doggedness in their pursuit of greatness, work ethic, and grit”.
Similarly, when looking for a potential faculty member or professor, “A lot of it comes out in conversation, can they take you from point A to Point B to C. Have they taught before? Have they been a guest speaker? Patience, willingness to pass on everything they know, and willingness to do the work. Do they have tremendous upside potential?”.
On his move to Columbia from Penn, Rosner looks to the future and the reasons; “In terms of program, I think that the breadth and depth of what we are offering is truly unmatched by any sports management program globally”. Including that he sees a real possibility of adding in new areas of interest from esports to sports gambling.
For more on oir conversation, listen in here.
