By Taylor Wood ('10)
The 38th Annual Sports Administration Symposium Weekend was blessed with superb weather, extraordinary speakers, and a tremendous group of alumni who came to Athens over the course of three days.
Thursday night saw Don Hardman ('95) kick start the event with a compelling story of the trials and tribulations of moving a franchise and living in a foreign country. Following his presentation, the group broke into roundtables with alums established at each table and students filling in the gaps. Discussions broke out covering anything from what you look at when hiring to what was the best story you have from Court Street.
Friday morning saw an early start to the golf outing, which took place under blue skies and a gentle breeze. With the group taking two tours of the 9 hole University Golf Course, there was plenty of time for social interaction with all groups on the golf course.
During the afternoon, the female students in the Class of 2010 and 2011 held a Women in Sports Networking Event. This led to a discussion of the issues facing all women in the sports industry and the best way to leverage their talents in the future.
“It was a great event. I felt like I was able to gain some insight into what it will be like once I graduate,” stated Teresa Dimiduk (’10).
After the women’s event, a BBQ dinner took place with the announcement of the winners of the Golf Tournament. Colin Flannery (’01), Jason Golden (’01), Brian Billips (’01) teamed with Jorge Quinones (’10) and Mike Rose (’10) to win the challenge with an astounding 24 under. Three teams tied for second with a score of -21, including Distinguished Alum David Johnston’s ('98) group.
The Poker tournament was held following the dinner with Mike Fisher being crowned the 2010 Symposium Poker Champion, ousting stalwarts such as Peter Berman (’08) and Dr. Ming Li.
Saturday saw a full day of speakers including a split 5 and 10-Year Panel Session to start the day. Following the panels, Chad Estis ('94) and Debbie Antonelli ('88) spoke to the students on their careers and recent accomplishments in the sport industry. A roundtable luncheon followed and ended with David Johnston presenting on his work with CBS Collegiate Sports.
The Sports Administration Symposium Banquet took place that evening, with students receiving awards and Len Perna (’90) presenting the Charles R. Higgins Distinguished Alumni Award to David Johnston after dinner.
Overall, the weekend was a tremendous success, both professionally and socially. With the roundtables, students were able to build a strong relationship with many alums and, of course, there was also plenty of time to talk after hours.
