San Diego State Sports MBA

Last Wednesday, women from the cohort attended a event featuring the women behind the scenes 🏟️

Each member of the panel played a pivotal role in the development of the new stadium in areas ranging from sponsorships, food and beverage, construction, marketing, partnerships, and everything in between.
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Always great to hear from (SMBA ‘11)! Rebecca taught her second lecture on advanced Excel and data analysis this morning. 📈📊

Welcome, SDSU Sports MBA Class of 2023!

SMBA worked the MLB All-Star Game and surrounding events hosted in LA! ⚾️

Sara Johnsen (SMBA ‘22) worked all of the 2022 MLB All-Star events and the 2022 MLB Draft, where she engaged fans and helped promote the MLB All-Star Game!

Jacinda Molina (SMBA ‘23) worked MLB All-Star Week as an experience team member, where she provided a positive experience for fans throughout the event and focused on troubleshooting any issues guests faced.

Ezekiel Camarena (SMBA ‘23) worked at the G.O.A.T.S. & Legends Experiential Gifting and Hospitality event, celebrating the ESPY’S and MLB All-Star Week.

This week, social media and athlete marketing specialist Megan Reyes spoke to SMBA '22, discussing the importance of personal branding, freelancing in , and her career journey that's included working with amazing brands such as and .

Thank you, Reyes!

“Their strong recommendations demonstrated a depth of research and analysis that is very impressive and a testament to the quality of students in the Sports MBA program.”

Two SMBA '21 teams spent their fall semester working on a consulting project for Bundesliga International - Americas.

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/12/smba-students-pitch-ideas-to-bundesliga-international-americas

Sports MBA Students Pitch Ideas to Bundesliga International Americas With its location in the thriving sports hub of southern California, SDSU’s Sports MBA program provides students numerous opportunities to intern, volunteer, and consult with local sports entities. As courses moved online for Fall 2020, program students in the Sports MBA program were presented wit...

“If you work hard, people will take notice.”

SMBA ‘21 recently enjoyed a Zoom visit from Tom Telesco, the Los Angeles Chargers’ General Manager.

Read more ➡️ https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/11/chargers-gm-visits-mba-program-to-discuss-career-insights-nfl

Chargers GM Visits SMBA Program to Discuss Career Insights & NFL On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the SDSU Sports MBA Class of 2021 enjoyed a Zoom visit from Tom Telesco, Los Angeles Chargers’ General Manager. Telesco provided students with insights from a career in the NFL, discussing each of his positions starting with his internship with the Buffalo Bills, his...

"To win as an employee was everything."

We caught up with Lauren Rojo, MBA (SMBA '19), Coordinator of Ticket Sales Events & Experiences with the Los Angeles Dodgers to celebrate their World Series win, and the 19th championship ring won by an SDSU Sports MBA alum. Congratulations, Lauren!

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/11/smba-alumna-wins-world-series-with-favorite-team

SMBA Alumna Wins World Series with Favorite Team On October 27, 2020, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to take Game 6 and win their first World Series title since 1988. With that, SDSU Sports MBA alumna Lauren Rojo (SMBA ‘19) became the 13th member of the program’s alumni network to win a championship. Lauren’s World S...

We caught up with alumna Erika Singal (SMBA '10), Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships with the Los Angeles Lakers, after the team won its 17th championship. Congratulations, Erika, on winning your first ring!

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/11/smba.alumna-earns-championship-ring-with-lakers

SMBA Alumna Earns Championship Ring with Lakers On October 11, 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, securing their record-tying 17th NBA title. SDSU Sports MBA alumna Erika Singal (SMBA ‘10), the Lakers’ Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships, became the 12th member of the program’s alumni n...

Thank you to Brenda Tracy for sharing her story and with our students last week. Hers is a perspective that needs to be heard by future industry leaders in any curriculum; she advocates for much-needed change via .

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/10/sexual-assault-survivor-and-activist-shares-story-with-sports-mba

Sexual Assault Survivor and Activist Shares Story with Sports MBA Students Recently, the SDSU Sports MBA program hosted a guest lecture with Brenda Tracy, a gang r**e survivor and founder of a non-profit called Set the Expectation, which seeks to combat sexual and physical violence through awareness and education. Tracy’s assault was never adjudicated, and two of the as...

"I have always wanted to work in the NFL, so I was overjoyed for this experience to finally happen. Being a former athlete, I woke up the morning of that game excited, like it was 'Game Day' for me!"

2️⃣ Sports MBA alumni teamed up to open SoFi Stadium!
Read more: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/10/smba-alumni-team-up-to-open-sofi-stadium-in-la

We were incredibly fortunate to partner with former MLB player
Doug Glanville as a guest lecturer in our Sports & Society course.

Read about his invaluable contributions to the course here:
https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/09/guest-lecturer-discusses-societal-issues-impacting-sports-industry

Sports & Society: Guest Lecturer Discusses Societal Issues Impacting the Sports Industry August 26th, 2020 was a historic day in American sports. WNBA players walked out, the NBA playoffs came to a halt, and other sports soon followed suit, with athletes uniting in protest of racial injustice. 

We recently checked in with alumnus Walter Franco (SMBA '14), Senior Manager at Victus Advisors. We covered lots of ground including his consulting position, thoughts on the potential of Liga BBVA MX in the 🇺🇸, & his ❤️ for Los Angeles Dodgers & Los Angeles Lakers.

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/09/questions-with-smba-alumnus-walter-franco

30 Questions with SMBA Alumnus Walter Franco SDSU Sports MBA recently spoke with Walter Franco (SMBA ‘14), Senior Manager at Victus Advisors, to learn more about the details of his role with the sports business consulting company, his approach to networking, and learn more about his Sports MBA journey, including his favorite course and his ...

Alumna Amy Wesson (SMBA '17) was recently honored was honored as a Pittsburgh Business Times 30 Under 30 award winner. To celebrate, we recently asked her 30 questions on wide-ranging topics from to milkshakes to her favourite Canadian bands.

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/08/smba-alumna-30-under-30

"San Diego State is just down I-5 from one of the largest sports markets in the world which provides unique opportunities for students in the program."

SMBA '20 graduate Morgan Pefanis shares why she thinks others should consider SDSU's Sports MBA.

Check out our latest Q&A for more about Morgan's experience in the program: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/08/smba-graduate-morgan-pefanis

"After I began to narrow my focus on a position within the sports/outdoor apparel industry, Chris Clark (SMBA '12) was generous enough to introduce me to a contact of his who works at Vuori...with whom I later secured a full-time position."

In our latest Class of 2020 Q&A, Scott Patterson shared how the Sports MBA alumni network and the skills he learned in the program helped him secure his current role as a Production Coordinator with San Diego-based performance apparel company, Vuori.

Read more: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/07/smba-graduate-scott-patterson

SMBA ‘20 Graduate Q&A: Scott Patterson At the end of May, the SDSU Sports MBA program within the Fowler College of Business held its virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the future sports business professionals in the graduating class!

Applications are now OPEN!

Join the globally-ranked program.
☀️ Study in
📚 12 months of MBA classes mixed with sports industry networking, projects, and real-world experiences

Learn more: https://business.sdsu.edu/grad/sports-mba/apply

"I know they all have graduate degrees and I think they saw the value my academic coursework allowed me to bring to their team."

Recent grad & double Aztec Kyle Robb shares how he acquired his role as the Revenue Program Manager for the San Francisco 49ers Foundation in our latest Graduate Q&A: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/07/smba-graduate-kyle-robb

SMBA ‘20 Graduate Q&A: Kyle Robb At the end of May, the SDSU Sports MBA program within the Fowler College of Business held its virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the future sports business professionals in the graduating class!

“More diversity leads to more ideas, and more ideas mean more room for growth. ”

Increasing diversity in coaching and front-offices was one of the topics Steven Price (SMBA '10), a Pro Scout with Houston Texans, spoke about when he joined for a conversation about his career in the NFL.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/smbasp

"The SMBA program allowed me to understand all areas of the business in-depth. In addition, the program strengthened my soft skills such as organization, discipline, and grit, which really helped me succeed."

Class of 2020 graduate, Guilherme Feres Matarazzo shares his graduate school journey, the most impactful moments from the program, and how the skills he learned in the program helped him secure his current role with Sacramento Republic FC:

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/07/smba-20-graduate-guilherme-feres-matarazzo

SMBA ‘20 Graduate Q&A: Guilherme Feres Matarazzo At the end of May, the SDSU Sports MBA program within the Fowler College of Business held its virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the future sports business professionals in the graduating class!

"I finally managed to enter the industry I had always wanted to be a part of. It still seems surreal at times."

Recent SMBA Class of 2020 graduate Takuya Matsumoto shares his experience and how a guest speaker & SMBA alum helped him start a career with KORE Software:
https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/07/takuya-matsumoto-q-and-a

SMBA ‘20 Graduate Q&A: Takuya Matsumoto At the end of May, the SDSU Sports MBA program within the Fowler College of Business held its virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the future sports business professionals in the graduating class! 

"From the perspective of an international student, the program is a great way to be part of an accelerated and accredited MBA course and to gain work experience in the United States."

Recent grad Ewout Gouw shares his experience in the program after he transitioned from playing professional ⚽️ in 🇳🇱 & 🇧🇪: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/06/smba-graduate-ewout-gouwe

"I started researching graduate programs and quickly found the SDSU Sports MBA program to be the most compelling."

SDSU Fowler College of Business Administration recently interviewed Valedictorian Jenn Gerdes about her graduate school journey and why she chose to enroll in SDSU's Sports MBA program.

Read the article here:

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/06/smba-valedictorian-shares-journey

SMBA ’20 Valedictorian Shares Graduate School Journey At the end of May, the SDSU Sports MBA program within the Fowler College of Business held its virtual graduation celebration for the Class of 2020. Congratulations to the future sports business professionals in the graduating class! 

“It’s no small feat to create a partnership proposal from scratch and pitch it to an NHL franchise...I was very impressed with the students’ attention to detail, their research, and their creativity in putting together these proposals.”

To finish their first semester presented to Sports MBA alumni Graham Siderius (SMBA '07) & Forrest Lockwood (SMBA '18) of the Anaheim Ducks Corporate Partnerships team as part of Dr. Dalakas' Sports Marketing course.

Read more about their experience here: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/05/sports-mba-students-partner-with-nhl-franchise

We tip our caps 🎓 to the outstanding SDSU Sports MBA Class of 2020! We'll see you on campus for an in person celebration some day soon. Congratulations, graduates!

The students of Sports MBA '21 had the privilege of touring
Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

During the visit, Ken Kawachi and Christian Mua shared valuable knowledge about the business operations of the park with the group.

Read more about the visit: https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/02/sports-mba-tours-petco-park

Document Moved

Sports MBA alumni earned three championship rings with the Chiefs' Super Bowl LIV victory earlier this month.

We asked all three alumni for their thoughts on the team's historic championship run.

https://business.sdsu.edu/about/news/articles/2020/02/q-and-a-with-smba-alumna-of-the-kansas-city-chiefs

Q&A with SMBA Alumni of the Kansas City Chiefs Dr. Vassilis Dalakas, Professor of Marketing & Chair of the Marketing Department at CSU San Marcos and Visiting Professor of Sports Marketing in the SDSU Sports MBA program, interviewed three of his former Sports MBA students who all work for the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowl LIV this month...

Women of joined WISE San Diego for an evening of networking and mentorship at the Speed Mentoring Roundtables last night. students past and present ( Tatijana, Maureen, Alina, Jenn ) discussed hot topics and career advice with various mentors including:

Jill Adams: SVP, Marketing at Qdoba
Jennifer Bower: Vice President, Stadium Partnerships at The Legends Way
Stef Ewing: Head Coach CSUSM Softball
Tania Hurt: VP, Finance at Sony Electronics
Shaka Johnson: Vice President & Associate General Counsel at Sony Electronics
Andrea Leonard: Head Coach - Volleyball & Sr. Woman Administrator at CSUSM Athletics
Andrea St. Urbain: Sports Business Consultant at Premium Sports Business
Wayne Partello: CMO, San Diego Padres

‪ volunteered last night at ’s Salute to the Champions event where Reggie Bush, Jerry Coleman and Rob Machado were inducted into the Breitbard Hall of Fame. ‬

‪Thanks to San Diego Sports Association for the opportunity!

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Welcome to the family, ! Your journey begins today.

Any advice from our alumni?