Last week’s blog, Professional Sports vs. Olympic Sports, examined a variety of topics surrounding sports and generated some great comments. I’d like to take it a step further this week. Let’s examine some of the same questions as before but from a slightly different angle…how does society embrace or reject the values of sports in BUSINESS?

Last week I compared professional sports with Olympic sports and commented, “In today’s world, with free-agents and the reality of ‘sports as a business’ there can be something lacking in terms of player and fan loyalty…the Olympics seem to have a sense of innocence or purity that doesn’t exist in professional sports…we could all use a little of those qualities in our everyday life, regardless of the profession in which we work.”

While most people are painfully aware of the need to work in order to pay the bills it seems as if many businesses have forgotten about the high cost associated with compromising a company’s integrity and reputation. We all know that we should be thankful to have a job during tough economic times. However, many business leaders and administrators seem to have forgotten that not everyone is willing to sell their soul in exchange for their paycheck. In fact, some people are even willing to get paid less money if it means they can be happier in their work environment!

Maybe Bryan Heasley is correct in noting, “…players play with more pride and joy when they are playing for their countries…players know that the Olympics are only a couple weeks and you can be eliminated with one loss.” Over time, people tend to slack off, not work as hard or simply change their focus from achieving new goals to maintaining the status quo.

As Matt Altemose posted, “Although professional athletes grow up wanting to play in the big leagues…once they reach that level…they tend not to play for the team or are just all about themselves.” Even Tiger Woods’ recent actions seem to indicate a greater concern for individual wants/needs then a commitment to the ideals and standards which brought him into the limelight in the first place.

It is not much different in the field of business. There is an old saying that you have to “pay your dues” and “work up the ladder” until you have earned the right to receive certain benefits. Many professions have periods of apprenticeship or training where the newly hired must do more than a fair share of the “grunt work” before earning the privilege to delegate undesirable tasks to others.

But does this make such behaviors right? Isn’t it our professional obligation to teach the “young ones the ropes?” Don’t we WANT people within our own organizations to be successful and contribute to the overall well-being of the company? Why are some people so absorbed with their own careers that they can’t see the big picture, the idea that the entire TEAM wins when individuals are able to achieve? Isn’t Matt’s other statement also true in that, “professional sports players understand that it requires…the me-first attitude…take a backseat?”

What do you think? In what ways do we apply the lessons of sports to the real world? Is it possible to use professional sports in America as a vehicle to inspire others towards attaining excellence in ways other than competition, prestige and profits? How can we take some of the focus away from a company’s bottom line and put the emphasis on recognizing the value of an individual’s contribution to the total organization? Again, maybe I’m wrong and nothing needs to change. However, it seems to me that if a company expects the employees to “do the right thing” and “work in the organization’s best interests” then it is inevitable that employees must be given a reasonable amount of responsibility and freedom. As Grace Hooper Murray is credited for saying, “leadership is a two-way street, loyalty up, and loyalty down. Respect for one’s superiors; care for one’s crew.” I think it is morally wrong to demand loyalty from your employees if the organization itself is not providing employees with respect…what do you think?

In the world of sports, there is always something happening. With so many sports to choose from, fans certainly have a variety of events to watch each week.  For example, just look at the overlap in terms of some of America’s major sports leagues: Major League Baseball (today is Opening Day www.mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule), National Hockey League (the 2010 regular season ends on April 11th www.nhl.com/schedules/20092010) and the Professional Golf Association’s Masters Tournament begins April 8th (www.pgatour.com/r/schedule). Even in terms of the sports not currently in-season, the media keeps fans up-to-date on breaking news and events such as the National Football League’s 2010 Draft (which takes place in one month www.NFL.com/Draft). Of course one cannot overlook other sports, such as basketball, especially since games are taking place at both the professional and collegiate level (March Madness is certainly in full swing www.ncaa.com/champ/m-baskbl-d1-champ.html). 

With so many sports opportunities available it is no wonder that the sport industry must constantly strive to attract AND maintain fans, particularly in difficult economic times. Given all of this, I surprised myself when I realized how much I actually missed watching the 2010 Winter Olympics. I can’t believe the Olympic Games ended almost a month ago. No matter how you look at it, there is something different about watching the United States Hockey team as opposed to watching the same players on their regular NHL teams. 

For me, a large part of it boils down to the pride and importance athletes take in playing their sport for their country. In today’s world, with free-agents and the reality of “sports as a business” there can be something lacking in terms of player and fan loyalty. However, the pride of playing for a medal for a country transcends all of the other stuff. In a sense, the Olympics seem to have a sense of innocence or purity that doesn’t exist in professional sports or even college sports when athletes have an eye for turning professional down the road.

I know I can be a bit idealistic but I can’t help wondering if there is a way to bring some of the pride, dedication, sacrifice, work-ethic and honor that accompanies successful, individual, Olympic athletes to our young athletes in recreational sports to collegiate sports and eventually to professional sports as well. In fact, we could all use a little of those qualities in our everyday life, regardless of the profession in which we work.

 What do you think? How can society use professional sports in America as a vehicle to inspire others towards attaining excellence in ways OTHER than looking at the paychecks of professional athletes? How can we take some of the business out of sports and put the emphasis on the game? How about the character of the player? Or, maybe I’m just wrong and nothing should change. What do you think about professional sports versus Olympic sports?

Over the last week an interesting topic surfaced amongst some of my colleagues in Sport Management. The basic tenor of the topic surrounded the following two questions: “Are there too many sport management degree programs?” and “Are the programs teaching students the most beneficial material for them to be successful in the sport industry?” 

 My colleagues made some valid points regarding the content of curricula across the country.  I found two in particular that were very good and think they should be considered in more detail.  The first is that the market is being oversaturated with students graduating with a degree in Sport Management. Unfortunately, many graduates come from the programs that are not teaching students what they need to know in order to be successful in the field. Throwing a marketing course into a curriculum does not make a quality sport management program.  The second point, which I think is right on the money, is that the sport industry is much bigger than just professional sport.  As a result, it is not surprising that, like all businesses, sport-related businesses must be run by qualified individuals who know how to manage the unique attributes of sport businesses.

 While there are some very good programs, there are also programs that are not good at all. There is a big difference between what makes a quality program at the undergraduate, master and doctoral levels.  At the undergraduate level (I will just stick to that here) we have to prepare the students for a wide range of careers in the sport industry as well as prepare them to be successful in graduate school if they so choose to go that route. I have covered what makes a quality sport management program before.  I routinely talk with industry professionals about what they look for in hiring entry level employees.  Consistently, we hear employers are looking for someone who can do a number of different things as well as be able to sell.  This is true from the professional sport franchises, to college and high school athletic departments, to non-profit and community based sport organizations, etc. There is one caveat though that most sport professionals point out…regardless of the content of the program, if an individual does not have any desire or passion to work in the sport industry they will not be successful.

 Let’s face it; education is a business just as the sport industry is a business.  If educational institutions are not meeting the wants and needs of its consumers they will lose customers just like any other business. As a result, it is incumbent upon sport management programs to meet those wants and needs, help the students become successful and be willing to alter the programs as the industry evolves. We must all look at ourselves and our programs with a keen eye towards constantly developing and honing our skills as professionals in order to teach our students and model the behaviors necessary for us all to be successful in the future. What do you think?

Matt Bish and Wally Reed explain the importance of a positive outlook while selling tickets for the New Jersey Nets. The Nets are currently mired in one of the worst seasons in NBA history.

In the wake Tiger Woods’ press statement on Friday, one thing really stood out for me; the stance that the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) took.  In preparation for the event, Tiger invited the GWAA to send three journalists to cover the statement which was by invitation only for the press.  The GWAA declined to attend for two reasons: the press conference was not open to all media and Tiger would not allow questions. According to the GWAA website, the “organization’s goal is to improve working conditions for the membership. We strive for constant improvement in press facilities at tournaments, hotel accommodations, local transportation, interviews with the players and work in concert with the Association of Golf Writers, our British counterparts.” Based upon this, the boycott makes sense. However, by boycotting the statement have they made themselves irrelevant in the golf writing journalist world?  By declining to take part in the most watched golf story in recent memory what does that say about their importance in the industry? Although the organization has a membership of 975 and stringent requirements to join, does anyone really care about what the GWAA says? Put another way, a Google search for “golf blog” yields in excess of seventy three million sites…isn’t traditional media really taking a backseat to the “new” media?   Maybe the GWAA should take a page out of St. John’s basketball book (see Peter Robert Casey) and start to credential bloggers. Is this just another example of the traditional “old school” media not getting/wanting to change and adapt o the “new” ways consumers get information?