Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Meet The Class 2011 - Shane


One of the unique attributes of the DeVos Sport Business Management Program is the network of students who make up our program. Our class will take every course together during our tenure here at UCF and we will work on countless group projects and collaborative efforts. As a result of our shared interests in the business of sport, a natural team camaraderie is formed. However, our team is composed of people from diverse backgrounds, experiences and ambitions. We offer profiles of class members to give you an idea as to the type of people who make up our program, individuals who collectively will be leaders in sport and society and will be teammates for life.

Name: Shane Land

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Undergraduate School & Major: University of Kentucky - Business Marketing & Management

Past Sports Industry Experiences: University of Kentucky Athletics - 4 years as Student Track and Field Coach, 3 years as Academic Services Assistant in the Center for Academic and Tutorial Services, Volunteered with University of Kentucky’s Sports Marketing Department for two years
Other - Collegiate Basketball Referee

Current G.A. or Sports Industry Related Internship/Job: Fall 2009 DeVos Scholarship Recipient, Spring 2010 Assistantship: Marketing Internship Coordinator

Reasons for Choosing the DeVos Program: The networking capabilities, curriculum, and the idea of using sport to create social change all attracted me to the program.

Future Career Ambitions: Currently, I would like to work in event management/planning while continuing to pursue my career in basketball officiating.

If you could play a round of golf with any three sports figures (dead or alive, on the field or off) whom would you choose and why?
Well, this question requires a little thought. First and foremost, I believe that I would have to include John Wooden. I admire John Wooden not just because he was a tremendous collegiate basketball coach, but because he seems to genuinely have everyone’s best interest at heart. He was a teacher of not only the game but life when he was at UCLA which made him a great mentor for college athletes.
Next, I would pick Coach Vince Lombardi. He is quite possibly the best ever professional football coach and he had the ability to motivate athletes like no one else. Having the chance to pick his brain for a couple of hours could be very enlightening and could quite possibly help me become a better motivator.
Last but not least, I would take NBA basketball referee, Steve Javie, because I would not survive a round of golf with two coaches without the help of another official. Actually, I consider Mr. Javie the best basketball official on the planet and talking basketball philosophy with great officials is fascinating to me. I feel like I could learn a lot from Mr. Javie.

Monday, January 11, 2010

"Back to school, back to school to prove to Dad I'm not a fool..."
~ Adam Sandler (Billy Madison)


As of yesterday, my second semester as a graduate student has officially begun. The Class of 2011 is back in the swing of things and the class of 2010 is out there in the "real world" working at jobs and beginning their internships. For me it's an exciting time, a real chance for myself and my classmates to grow within our program. For the first time we are taking classes with the directors as we will see Dr.'s Lapchick and Harrison in our classrooms in the coming semester.

It is a chance for us to delve into classes more specific to our sports management degree and to learn about the specific industry of sport. It is also a time when our class will realize it's just us here and we get the unique opportunity to take responsibility and pursue different opportunities for ourselves and the program.

There are a lot of things going on for me to be excited about this semester as I take the reins of Hope For Stanley, take sports classes, and as some of us get to start work on a new book with Dr. Lapchick but what has me the most excited? A sign up sheet hanging in the DeVos office for interview sign-ups.

That's right. Soon enough, my classmates and I will be interviewing the applicants who wish to be a part of the class of 2012. For me it means that it won't be just us 11ers in here for long. I am excited to meet each and every one of you who hope to be a part of this great program and continue our great tradition.

For those of you who have not yet applied, it's still not too late! Go online and fill out the application, submit your GMAT score, and get those letters of recommendation. I know that a number of you have worked really hard for this purpose and I hope to see all of you in Orlando real soon!

Best of luck this semester!
~ Devan

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tweeting About Sports

Hello Readers,

First off, we here in the DeVos Program wish you all a fantastic start to the New Year. Best of luck to you prospective students working diligently to boost your GMAT score or to compose the final pieces of your application to the DeVos Program. We will have original posts updated on the blog in the comings days and weeks, but we quickly wanted to let you know that Dr. Lapchick's articles can now be found on Twitter. Be sure to friend and follow "richardlapchick" on Twitter so you can receive updates whenever Dr. Lapchick posts a new story on ESPN, the Sports Business Journal, or other national and regional publications. As always, you can also continue to read Dr. Lapchick's articles on the TIDES and main DeVos Program web sites.