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Sports Institute
at BU
Gaining entree to the $200 billion sports industry
By Brian Fitzgerald
When sports junkies fantasize about a dream job, they pine for positions
on ESPN's Sports Center. Oh, to be in the anchor's seat next to such TV
sports gods as Dan Patrick, Bob Stevens, and Bob Ley. Talking about jocks.
Talking with jocks. Narrating sports highlight clips. And starring in
those hilarious Sports Center commercials with the likes of Michelle Kwan,
Matt Damon, and Lionel Richie.
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| Frank Shorr Photo by Kalman Zabarsky | |
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However, this is likely to be a dream deferred for the armchair announcer
who says to himself, "I know sports. I can do this. Where do I send
a résumé?" The show isn't exactly looking for people
with little or no experience. But if you are looking for a start in the
business, there's always the half-hour sports program produced by students
in the Sports Institute at BU. It's not going to win an Emmy, but at least
you'll get some footage for your résumé tape.
The Sports Institute at BU is an innovative academic initiative offering
courses in journalism, broadcasting, and marketing. Its debut last spring,
in an intensive four-week session where students were taught by top industry
experts, was "a great success," says institute director Frank
Shorr, one of Boston's most respected television sports producers, who
has garnered eight New England Emmys in his 30-year career. "We had
30 students, and 13 of them were college students -- some of them undergraduates
-- who were augmenting their education with additional training in sports
communication," he says. "Of the 17 students who were interested
in finding jobs immediately, 5 did within a month. That was icing on the
cake for us, because I explained to every one of the applicants that this
is not tractor-trailer school. This is not draw the parrot on the matchbook
cover and we'll find you a job. This is an educational program to introduce
you to the world of sports journalism and marketing. I said that not all
of them would get jobs right away, but a few did."
Aaron Hatfield, for example, is now the assistant sports information director
at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Hatfield graduated
from Connecticut College in 2001 with a double major in economics and
French. "I worked for a year at Pioneer Investments in Boston, and
decided that it wasn't for me," he says. Armed with "a passion
for sports, but little sportswriting experience, I started applying for
sportswriting positions at different newspapers and for sports information
positions at some colleges, but without success. Then I read about the
Sports Institute at BU, and thought that it would help me develop better
writing skills."
He learned the most, he says, from the sports journalism class taught
by former Sports Illustrated staff writer Jack Falla (COM'67,'90), a COM
adjunct professor. "It was an unbelievable opportunity," Hatfield
says. "Jack Falla is certainly successful in his field, and here
I am, six months later, at Washington and Lee." Hatfield was sick
of the nine-to-five routine of his old job, but his present seven-day-a-week
workathon, with evening and weekend games to attend, is challenging and
more to his taste. "I really enjoy doing this," he says. "I
don't see it as work. It's something I love."
Falla, whose course covers the major formats of game features, sports
columns, and player profiles, says at first he wasn't sure how prepared
the institute's students would be for a four-week total immersion in every
aspect of the field. "I thought that they were all going to have
stars in their eyes," he says, "that they were going to want
to be Sports Center anchors, but that wasn't the case at all. They all
had great vocational sincerity." In fact, four Sports Institute alums
are now freelance sportswriters for the MetroWest Daily News in Newton,
Mass. Their feet are on the career ladder.
Chris Cakebread, who teaches sports marketing at the institute, says that
students also learn the ins and outs of sports as a business. "Young
people tend to be fixated on what they see on the television screen and
on the field, but have no idea of the business structure of sports,"
he says. Sports is big business, and it's getting even bigger. Street
and Smith's Sports Business Journal recently put together a team of researchers
to assign a value for the sports industry. Its finding was $213 billion,
in such categories as advertising, equipment, retail trade, and travel.
Cakebread, an assistant professor in COM's department of mass communication,
advertising, and public relations, says the institute also serves as a
"reality check" for some students, who may decide the field
is not for them when they discover the hard work and commitment it takes
to succeed.
With a $3,500 price tag, that's quite a reality check, but Shorr says
that it can prove to be not only a bargain, but a wise investment. As
the sports industry grows by leaps and bounds, it is also becoming more
competitive because of the many people seeking their dream jobs. Like
the action on the field, court, and rink, it is a game of inches.
"The institute will give you the tools and skills to stay a little
ahead of the competition," says Shorr. "We're not going to find
jobs for everyone, and I'd be surprised if we produced the next Bob Costas.
But you never know."
The next session of the Sports Institute at BU begins on January 6. Deadline for applications is December 6. For more information, call Shorr at 781-598-5833, e-mail him at fshorr@bu.edu, or visit www.bu.edu/com/sports_institute/.
4 October 2002
Boston University
Office of University Relations