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Education Jan 09, 2024
UCLA. | Photo by jojolae CC BY 2.0 DEED
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The UCLA Anderson School of Management announced Monday the creation of a Sports Leadership and Management Program.
University officials said the program, which will begin this spring, is designed to provide inspiration, education and access to graduate and undergraduate students, including student-athletes interested in pursuing careers in the global business of sports.
The UCLA Sports Leadership and Management Program will be housed in UCLA Anderson’s Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports and offer a sports leadership and management specialization for MBA students as well as courses tailored to UCLA’s undergraduates, including its more than 700 student- athletes, according to the university.
UCLA alum Andy Campion will serve as program director, leveraging his nearly three decades of experience in the sports and entertainment industries, including working for 17 years in executive leadership positions at Nike Inc., where he’s still employed, and 11 years with the Walt Disney Co. He also serves on the boards of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics organizing committee (LA28), Starbucks and the SpringHill Company.
Campion and his wife Shelby, who made a donation to support the new program at UCLA, are also minority owners of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and the Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League.
“Shelby and I have long believed that education, engagement in sport and financial opportunity are what everyone needs and deserves to live their best possible life,” Campion said in a statement. “The ecosystem of sports is massive, growing and dynamic, while also serving as an inspiring and unifying cultural force. Our ambition is that this program will connect UCLA’s diverse and talented students, on a broad scale, to the economic opportunity and potential for social impact offered by a career in the business of sports.”
Campion is working with Professor Sanjay Sood, faculty director of the Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports, on the syllabus for the program’s first course, to be offered later this academic year. The program is expected to support faculty research, beginning with a white paper series that will address how to grapple with strategic issues in the sports industry, university officials said. Additionally, part of the program will include events that bring members of the sports industry together as a community for student access.
“We could not ask for better partners in the creation of this innovative new program than the Campions,” UCLA Anderson Dean Tony Bernardo said in a statement. “Together, we aim to build an unparalleled program that will benefit not only our students, but also our hometown of Los Angeles and the global sports and entertainment communities.”
According to UCLA, the program will include strategic partnership initiatives with organizations such as LA28 to support the Olympics; executive education courses with Real Madrid football club; and programs with Los Angeles’ professional sports teams. UCLA officials noted that the university boasts 121 NCAA championships and its students have earned 270 Olympic medals, according to the university.
Working in close collaboration with UCLA’s renowned athletics program and drawing on the strength of Los Angeles’ sports and entertainment industries, the program will afford unparalleled access to leaders across the ecosystem of sport, school officials stated.
