Monday’s Brown Bag Lunch with Professor Shropshire was as informative as it was informal. Professor Shropshire exuded a laid back and relaxed attitude that permeated the room and the audience. The 80 minute dialogue where he explained his background, discussed his books, and answered questions, however, was full of information, perspective, and evidence of Professor Shropshire’s love for the sports industry.
Professor Shropshire began the talk with a discussion of his background. As he puts it, he “lucked into” going to Stanford. Growing up playing football in south-central Los Angeles, he had scholarships to several major football programs, but was focused on Stanford’s victories in recent Rose Bowl appearances against Michigan (1972) and Ohio State (1971). Although in his words, he “practiced hard for four years, and never played a down” at Stanford, Professor Shropshire’s adoration for sports never dwindled. Professor Shropshire discussed his life after graduating from Stanford - which included law school and working at a law firm in Los Angeles, working as a part-time professor, and serving on the 1984 Olympic Organizing Committee for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Eventually, jobless and looking for something more fulfilling, he described his first encounter with Wharton professors in Chicago on a recruiting trip. One thing led to another and he arrived at Wharton in 1986.
As he describes it, he did not know what he was in for. Professors around him explained the importance of publishing articles and books, and as the only person at Wharton focused specifically in the sports industry, he had a wide range of opportunities. He discussed the books that he has written since joining the faculty at Wharton and how these interests have changed and what opportunities they have afforded him. For example, his first book, Agents of Opportunity, which was published in 1990 was about the regulation of the sports agency business and its unique structure. He then shifted focus and wrote a book about sports franchise relocation as one of major issues at the time was the relocation of the LA Raiders to the Bay Area in northern California. His expertise in that particular area eventually led him to chair the Philadelphia Mayor’s Committee for Citizen’s Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.
Professor Shropshire then discussed the shift in the focus of his books. In the mid-1990’s, he transitioned to researching and writing about the social aspects of sports. He wrote books about the impact of race and celebrity status in sports as well as spent time analyzing basketball’s rise to become the new American pastime. Most recently, his book Negotiate like the Pros, discusses techniques in sports negotiations and applies them for use in business – from simple negotiating to building relationships to closing the deal.
Finally, before taking questions, Professor Shropshire discussed a recent trip to South Africa. He met with organizers of the Bafokeng stadium in rural South Africa and talked about many different things, including the fact that they will be one of the venues to host the 2010 World Cup. This stadium, he explained had been built because the leaders of the community understood the strong impact sports have on society. They believed that kids who played soccer would stay out of trouble and that having a local team would give members of the community a sense of pride. Furthermore, he explained, these leaders hoped that this sense of pride would keep locals from leaving for the “big city” and living in poverty there. The rural community needed its population to remain there in order to sustain itself. Professor Shropshire explained his awe when he visited the stadium.
The discussion then turned to an open forum where audience members were welcome to ask questions, and questions covered a wide range of topics. First Professor Shropshire was asked to compare sports’ impact in rural South Africa to their impact in rural South America. Then the discussion moved to the addition of social impact selection criteria in sports organizing committees. Committees are now focuses on only on hosting an important event, but also on creating a lasting legacy into the event. Logically, we then discussed the social impact of having a local championship team (go Phillies!). Ultimately, according to Professor Shropshire, winning a championship does not significantly increase overall social welfare. He commented that bars and restaurants may have increased revenues over the course of the series, however most people who watch the games are local and, thus, the hotels and rental car agencies are not recognizing many increases in profits. Also, he explained, these increases, though small, are not sustainable.
Questions were also asked about the impact that Obama’s election might have on the sports world (probably not very much) and how can sports capitalize on the increase in minorities and other racial issues. Professor Shropshire emphasized that baseball is trying harder to capture a larger black audience, but the sport still does not hold much appeal to this racial segment. He also discussed boxing in the United States, saying that he does not think that it will ever make a comeback. His opinion was that the “dilemma of cable” was driving boxing away from the mainstream – since it isn’t easily available to watch, people are choosing to watch other programs. In addition to his discussion on boxing, he answered a question relating to whether basketball can truly surpass football and baseball as America’s pastimes. Professor Shropshire answered that the NBA has fallen since the “Jordan era”, however it is the first American sport to capture the world stage. The league is still attempting to balance the priorities of the individual versus the team but has come a long way. His 1999 book, Basketball Jones, discusses many of these issues.
Professor Shropshire’s discussion was extremely informative. He was very open and honest with the audience about his background, noting that he never dreamed he would be a professor in a business school, let alone the author of so many books. He made it very clear that sports and the sports industry are his true passion and he continues to research sports history and impact on society. He was very open in answering questions and sustaining dialogue with the students present. Overall it was a great lunch hour.
Article Contributor: Amanda Noteware
