All-Star Summer

From Titletown to Sneaker Town: An Inside Look at Boston’s Sports Industry

In Boston, sports are a religion, whether you worship at Fenway, TD Garden, or Gillette Stadium. But they’re also big business and a major employer, something that was emphasized to the students throughout their three weeks.

The goal of the brand-new course, explains Skip Perham, director of the Business School’s Sports Management Program and the course’s instructor, was “to help students understand the economics of the sports industry, the career opportunities, and how to engage consumers via sports to monetize and build a business,” by looking through the lens of Boston sports.

Students learned about the professional teams in Boston, the many organizations working in the field, and potential career paths. They visited TD Garden and heard about Suffolk’s partnership with the Boston Celtics. They also traveled to the Converse Store, where staffers spoke about the marketing and history of the Boston-based brand.

“I love talking about sports, and I’ve always been interested in sports analytics,” says Matthew Calixte, a senior at Boston College High School. “But this course opened my eyes to other opportunities in sports, like the business side and the marketing side.”

Becoming Entrepreneurial

Now in its third summer, the course taught students how to think like entrepreneurs—using creative problem-solving to come up with new ideas, new products, and new ventures. This year’s class featured a deep dive into a subject that seemed barely on the radar a few years ago: artificial intelligence (AI). Working in partnership with the Business School’s Information Systems & Operations Management program and with the machine-learning team from Fetch, a successful rewards app company, the course examined how AI works and gave students the chance to employ AI tools in their team projects.

In addition, students worked with members of the Improv Asylum to hone their creative skills, and also traveled to La Padrona, an upscale restaurant co-owned by Suffolk alumnus and CEO Eric Papachristos, MBA ’99. He gave the students a tour of the eatery and talked about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur and what it takes to run a business.

“Entrepreneurship is about creativity, innovation, and speed wrapped in a business model that provides a path to success,” said Professor Shari Worthington, associate director of the Business School’s Center for Entrepreneurship and the course’s instructor. “The course evolves right along with the students, adding new tools and technologies that help them discover, create, and fine-tune more innovative opportunities.”