“Walk the balance between humility and confidence.”
There were so many tidbits of wisdom that applied to every one of the over five hundred attendees at the Columbia University Sports Management Conference in Lerner Hall on October tenth, but that quote from Unrivaled Basketball Commissioner Micky Lawler in the opening panel on emerging sports helped set the tone for a day of storytelling, listening and learning.
While some news was made by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the NBA’s eventual return to China …you can read about that specific item here and also check out Terry Lyons summary of Silver’s comments here…most of the day was about sharing best practices, ideas, and career paths, with a look as to how the business has grown, and what lies ahead.
A few of the takeaways from the day;
“Imagine the Mets saying we can’t negotiate with this All Star to play for us but a group of our fans can, that’s essentially what college athletics has to deal with today’s system.”
Tulane University Law School Professor Gabe Feldman during the discussion on college athletes now and into the future had one of the clearest ways to describe what goes on in the unregulated world of Name Image and Likeness at schools today, a situation which most agree needs to have much more structure to be successful.
“I read the articles not the comments.”
Good advice from Adam Silver during his discussion with Scott Rosner the Academic Director of the Sports Management Program and Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, on how Silver kept aware and above of all the media going’s on, comments and buzz around the league as we head towards next week’s tipoff.
BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, during her discussion on leadership with retiring Columbia faculty member and longtime head of CBS Sports Neal Pilson laid out her five D’s of leadership:
Do
Decide
Delay…making decisions until necessary
Delegate
Divide responsibilities
“We knew the soccer audience of engaged fans in US was larger than the population of Germany so it was our goal to find the right way to engage. It has worked very well.”
During the panel on the growth of soccer in America, Dee Kundra Managing Director (Americas), FC Bayern Munich, laid out the ‘why’ for Bayern’s continued interest and growth in the Americas, even with the club’s worldwide brand success for decades.
“Flag offers the gateway to the world to love football. It is a key part of the growth strategy of as we identify the next generation of fans & players.”
Sarah Bishop, VP, Brand and Consumer Marketing, NFL, did a solid job of outlining the why for Flag Football’s expansion and emphasis now and in the coming years, a commitment led by the NFL and USA Football as the sport heads towards inclusion in the LA Olympics.
“When we do this, it will come with significant product enhancements. Yes, you’ll be able to get all of our networks. But the shoulder experience around the video will be much more interactive and it will be much more personalized.”
The day closed with our colleague Tom Richardson hosting ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro on a wide ranging discussion of everything from his love of dogs to the point where he has named his dog Jeter, to what the new customized offerings that ESPN will soon launch will be like. Eric Fisher had a good summary of the back and forth with additional tidbits here.
Overall an amazing day of networking, best practices and curious learning for all.
