Undergraduate students interested in professional sports careers are getting new fields to play on at Washington University in St. Louis, thanks to a new minor offered by Olin Business School and a major boost from Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob.
Excerpted from a story posted on the Golden State Warriors’ website.
With a gift of $1 million from Lacob, the Olin Business School launched the new BSBA minor in the Business of Sports this fall. The Warriors, under Lacob’s guidance, were named “Sports Team of the Year” by the Sports Business Journal/Daily in May at the seventh annual Sports Business Awards.
Chancellor Wrighton, Joe Lacob, pose with the WU Bears Basketball team.
To launch the program, Lacob visited the Washington University campus on Monday, Oct. 13 and delivered the inaugural address for the Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports Speaker Series. The event was held in Olin’s Frick Forum, located in Knight Hall.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be associated with a unique program at WU that I hope will have a lasting impact and, most importantly, contribute to our next generation of great sports executives,” said Lacob. “The business of sports is an incredibly exciting field and one that offers a wide and ever-growing variety of career options. I’m elated that I might be able to play a small role in the education and development of current and future students at WU as they potentially pursue a life in this fascinating industry.”
Olin Business School began offering a minor in the business of sports this fall. Under the direction of Todd Milbourn, PhD, senior associate dean of faculty and research, and the Hubert C. & Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance, it is open to all students at the university and formalizes a popular mini-course in sports management Milbourn began six years ago.
