The sports section of the Chicago Tribune is where Andrew Barrett, Business World of Sports president and IU senior, learned to read. The baseball stadium was where he learned to love sports.
Barrett said his childhood was spent in the stands as he hoped for the Cubs to win and reveled in the excitement and celebration that followed.
“You go to an arena, and you’re high-fiving people you’ve never met before,” Barrett said. “Then you’re jumping up and down, and you realize that this is what it’s all for. This is it.”
Now a senior, Barrett’s love for sports has turned into a passion that drives his career goals, leading him to start a new club, the Business World of Sports.
Barrett said it was difficult to find opportunities specifically related to sports business because the Kelley School of Business has fewer connections to the sports industry than it does to most others. This concern was the reason he started the club, he said.
This semester marked the first official meeting for the club, which Barrett said focuses on educating members on the business behind the sports industry and finding opportunities in the industry.
From marketing to TV revenue, ticket sales and concessions, the sports industry is tied to business. Barrett said this connection is what he wants underclassmen to understand as they explore various avenues of business.
“For younger students, we really stress that holistic approach so that they can explore different sides of business,” Barrett said. “For the older students, we focus on where they are going to fit in a professional sense.”
Keith Radzik, vice president and senior, said building relationships with members and professionals is also a main focus.
“You still need to know someone to get your foot in the door, so that’s probably what kids are going to get the most out of this,” Radzik said. “If they come and form connections, it can help us to hopefully get some people into that industry.”
Radzik said they are working on a sports literacy curriculum to fit with the objectives of the club.
“The point is to educate our students and make them sound literate when they are speaking about sports,” Radzik said.
To supplement this curriculum, Radzik and Barrett have invited guest speakers, encouraged discussions and set up their first case competition for next month.
During the competition, students will pretend to be in a sports talent agency wherein they find clients, negotiate contracts, sign endorsements, and write press releases.
“The whole point is to actually use what we’re learning in the sports literacy seminar,” Barrett said. “It’s going to give students a really cool way to just go out there and do it, instead of just listening to a professor talk about it.”
This combination of resources the Business World of Sports provides has attracted 60 members since the beginning of the semester.
“There’s such an interest in sports, especially as college students,” Radzik said. “I think it really bridges something that you can have a career path in for business and a total passion.”
Barrett said he too shares in this passion. Every time he leaves a game, Barrett said he is reminded of why he wants to work in sports business: for the celebration, the elusive championship win and the 10-year-old in the stands hoping for his own team to win.
However, Barrett said a mere interest in sports is not enough to succeed in sports business.
Instead, students must also understand the inner workings of the sports industry in relation to business.
“Sports teams don’t hire fans,” Barrett said. “They sell tickets to fans — they hire business professionals. We can teach students how to be a fan but a professional as well.”
