Fall 2007 Wharton Sports Business Club NYC Trek

On November 16, seventeen MBA students traveled to New York to attend the Wharton Fall Sports Business Trek. The group, comprised primarily of first years, was given comprehensive insights into the growing demand for an MBA skill set in sports and sports related media companies. The agenda included visits to 3 leading companies: The National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) and TAKKLE.

Under the explicit orders of Commissioner David Stern, the NBA is making a targeted effort to hire more MBA’s into its organization. One of their first initiatives under this mandate was to form a partnership with the WSBC, Wharton’s Sports Business Club. During the breakfast meeting, trek participants heard speakers from Team Marketing and Business Operations, the International Group, and the Marketing and Media Group. Rebecca Chiu (WG04), Director of the International Group, and Paul Bamundo (WG99), Director of Marketing Partnerships, are both Wharton MBA Alumni. They spoke about the NBA’s expansion plans overseas, particularly in the Asia Pacific, and how the league works with corporate sponsors to promote the game of basketball.

The next stop was a visit to what many consider the crown jewel of Major League Baseball, their interactive arm - Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The company operates the official web site for the league and 30 Major League Baseball club web sites via MLB.com, which draws over four million visitors per day. The group met with Justin Schaffer, SVP of New Media, who discussed the company's history and a number of new strategic initiatives. MLBAM was founded in 2000, and already has an estimated $450MM in revenues with double digit revenue growth and EBITDA margins that are 30% of MLB’s entire operations. Each team shares MLBAM's profits equally, which augments the current revenue sharing agreement to ensure more competitive balance for smaller market franchises. MLBAM just recently was able to pay back the roughly $80 million investment used to fund its start—nearly $3 million per team. While CEO and Wharton MBA Alum Bob Bowman was unable to attend, Justin held a highly interactive conversation covering topics such as MLB’s pending fantasy sports litigation, the launch of the MLB TV Channel, and the convergence between sports and social networking.

The trek ended with a visit to TAKKLE, an online social network focused on high school sports. TAKKLE, which recently completed a $7 million financing, is led by Wharton grads David Birnbaum (CEO, WG05) and Mike Mortellaro (COO, WG05). The Company has grown rapidly to 40 employees and is backed by Sports Illustrated. The executive management team spent well over the allotted hour and a half to discuss their personal stories and passions that helped them get to where they are today.

All in all, the Wharton Fall Sports Business Trek was deemed a success by the participants, and planning will soon be on the way for a spring visit to ESPN, NFL and MLS, and other potential future Wharton MBA employers. Reach out to the club to get involved!

Article contributors: Samir Mayur, Peter Spartin, and Tim Lacey