ISSUED: 3 April 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s M.B.A. program is offering three unique field schools designed to give students interested in going into sports management a better idea of what job opportunities are available. The trips are open to students from any university in the country who are enrolled in a graduate-level course.
The program kicks off June 11-22 with an International Sport Field School to Dublin, Ireland, London and Liverpool, England, and Paris, France. Students who go on the trip will meet with senior management at a variety of big sporting events and venues, including the 2012 Olympic games and Wembley Stadium in London, the British Open Golf Tournament, and the French Open Tennis tournament in Paris.
Dr. Chip Zimmer, assistant professor of business administration and M.B.A. graduate program coordinator, will lead the trip. He said students will tour various facilities and will see some sporting events. Shepherd is working with LanCom, a Netherlands-based sport firm that has organized hundreds of trips to these venues.
“This program is designed to give the student who is interested in a career in international sport a first-hand taste of the industry,” Zimmer said. “At their universities the students don’t get to visit Wembley Stadium, or talk one-on-15 with the CEO of the Olympic games in London, or observe the French Open tennis tournament. The experiential learning that they’ll receive from doing this is just unmatched.”
Zimmer said the trip to Ireland, England, and France would appeal to students who are interested in working in the international sports arena. It will give them insight into the differences between how sports are organized there versus here in the U.S.
“Our sports are either professional or through the school systems,” Zimmer said. “And in Europe there’s no sports in the school system. They are all club sports that are tied to the professional level.”
Cost for the International Sport Field School is $2,745, plus airfare and tuition for the three-credit hour course. The deadline to enroll is May 1.
The other two field schools will take place in 2016 and 2017. Zimmer said the 2016 Olympic Sport and Intercollegiate Athletic Field School will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the U.S. Olympic Training Center is located and the U.S. Olympic Committee is headquartered. The trip will also include a visit to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
In 2018 the Professional Sport Field School will begin at Shepherd and take students to professional sporting venues in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and Aberdeen, Maryland.
Zimmer said the long-term goal is to offer more field schools to other cities and countries as the program grows.
For more information contact Zimmer at wzimmer@shepherd.edu or visit Shepherd’s study abroad web site.
Listen to the interview with Dr. Chip Zimmer HERE.
— 30 —
