DeVos Program Web Site

Attention Readers,

I wanted to post a quick clarification regarding our DeVos Sport Business Management Program Web Site. There are links to our old Web Site on search engines like Google and Yahoo, so I wanted to provide the link to our new and improved web site here.

On this page, you can find out all of the important information regarding our program and its mission, the leadership, students and how we are changing the world through sport.

For those who cannot click the link above, please post the following address in your browser.

http://web.bus.ucf.edu/sportbusiness/

Thanks!

Enjoy the Day,

Charlie

Meet The Class of 2010 - Jessica

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: Jessica Hanson
Hometown: Lexington, KY
Undergraduate College: Transylvania University
Undergraduate Major: Accounting
Background: I played 4 years of Basketball and 3 years of Tennis and served as the team captain for both my Junior and Senior years. I also had a summer internship with the American Volleyball Coaches Association where I helped develop the marketing plan for the 2007 Division 1 Championships.

Current G.A. Position or Industry Job: Graduate Assistant for the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES)

Future Career Goals: I’d love to work in college athletics. I’m not really sure where I’ll fit yet because I’d like to incorporate my accounting background, but working for the NCAA or an athletic conference is a possibility.

Reasons For Choosing DeVos: After my first visit to UCF and the DeVos program I knew this was the perfect place for me. The people are amazing and the Big 3 (Dr. Lapchick, Dr. Harrison, and Dr. Sutton) have incredible connections to every career area in sports. I was also drawn to the unique fact that the DeVos program focuses on diversity, giving back to the community, and making a real difference in the world through sports.

Dr. Lapchick on ESPN's Outside The Lines

Last week, The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) published its latest study examining the academic performance measures of teams playing in this year's round of college football bowl games. The release of this study coincided with an increased industry and media focus on the lack of African-American head football coaches. Dr. Lapchick wrote an excellent article on the matter that was published on ESPN, which you should take the time to read here.

Additionally, Dr. Lapchick was part of a round table discussion on this past Sunday's episode of Outside the Lines, which highlighted the controversial Auburn University hire and the failures of other universities to genuinely consider African-Americans for their head coaching vacancies. The video of that discussion can be seen on the Outside The Lines Web Page under the link "OTL Roundtable: Civil Rights Movement," or with the right browser, in the embedded video below.

As always, all of Dr. Lapchick's articles and the studies he publishes with researching assistance from DeVos Graduate Students can be found on the TIDES Web Page.

Checking In... End of First Semester

Long time no blog! Sorry for the delay in creating new posts, but we have just finished up a busy first semester. With finals out of the way, I can now take a few moments to wrap up how our first round of classes finished up.

As is par for the course, the end of the semester brought its typical deluge of assignments and projects to complete in addition to prepping for tough exams (i.e. Dr. Pennington's doozy of an economics test). Between creating original videos poking fun at organizational behavior concepts to running and analyzing regressions on statistical software, we were definitely challenged and learned a great deal through these assignments. With four M.B.A. courses now completed, we look forward to the spring semester where we will take our first classes with Dr. Lapchick and Dr. Harrison as well as continuing with three more business courses.

Before we get to spring however, we have a few weeks off to spend with family and friends and to recharge our batteries. Some of our class will be heading down to New Orleans tomorrow to continue work with Hope For Stanley and the rebuilding efforts there, so we wish them safe travels and hopes for another rewarding experience. We will be sure to post pictures and reactions from the latest New Orelans trip in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the Day and Happy Holidays,

Charlie

Hail To The Champions

Congratulations are in order for the ladies of the Class of 2010 and their win in the UCF Intramural Basketball Championship on Wednesday Night! Down by 4 at halftime, Team SBM (Sports Business Management) outscored their oppponents 20-9 in the second half to secure the 34-27 victory.

Leading the way in scoring for SBM was Nathalie Reshard, with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 authoritative blocks. Jessica "Big Fundamental" Hanson also had 8 boards while Crystal Apellaniz hit two big three pointers on her way to 8 points. Ashley Turner chipped in 5 points while Reshina Warren and Jacque Pannell made huge plays all game.

A box-score and more information on their win can be found at the UCF IM Sports Website.

DeVos 1st Annual Alumni Weekend

Over the weekend of October 7-8, the DeVos Program held its first ever Alumni Weekend. This was the first ever organized gathering of students from all five of the graduating classes alongside students from the current two classes. The events of the weekend provided time not only for past students and leaders of the DeVos Program to catch-up and reminisce, but also cultivated networking opportunities and new friendships between members of the DeVos family past and present.

The main event took place Friday night at NBA City down at the Universal Studios City Walk. The restaurant proved to be a fun and appropriately sport-themed atmosphere, while the NBA City staff catered an excellent meal for a large and hungry DeVos family.

The party continued on Saturday with a tailgate at Southside BBQ on the UCF campus. The day not only marked a reunion of DeVos classmates, but it was also UCF's Homecoming Game as well. After wrapping up the tailgate with inspirational and kind words from our distinguished speaker and namesake of the Hope For Stanley Foundation, Mr. Stanley Stewart, our family made their way to Brighthouse Networks Stadium for the game.

While the UCF Knights came up short of a Homecoming Day victory, the day and night before were a resounding success for the DeVos Program. The planning and diligent work of members of the Class of 2009 paid off with a weekend that will be remembered fondly. A new tradition has been started and we will look forward to future reunions with anticipation as our network grows and each future DeVos class builds upon the successes and legacies of the original core of students who helped create the program in its formative years.

Meet The Class of 2010 - Steven

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: Steven Clenney
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Undergraduate College: Florida State University
Undergraduate Major: Marketing and Media Production
Background: Seminole Productions Assistant Producer, Florida State University; ARAMARK at Turner Field, Atlanta, GA; Orlando Predators (Arena Football League), Orlando, FL

Current G.A. Position or Industry Job: Graduate Assistant for the Campus Activities Board and Guest Services Staff for UCF Football

Future Career Goals: I would like to one day work in corporate sponsorships or promotions at a league or team.

Reasons For Choosing DeVos: I chose the DeVos Program because of the commitment to diversity and community service. Also, I wanted to be a part of a family atmosphere and learn from the most influential people in the industry.

Meet The Class of 2010 - Jacque

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: Jacquelyn Pannell
Hometown: Bloomfield, CT
Undergraduate College: Emmanuel College
Undergraduate Major: Business Management
Background: NBAtv Brand Ambassador for the 2008 NBA Finals, Director of Teens-N-Motion Sports Camp, Intern for The Center for the Study of Sport in Society, President of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference’s SAAC, Captain of the Emmanuel Saints Women’s Basketball Team, Assistant to the Emmanuel College Athletic Director

Current G.A. Position or Industry Job: Graduate Assistant for National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS)

Future Career Goals: My goal is to work for an organization that will allow me to incorporate my passions for sports, diversity, service, and event planning.

Reasons For Choosing DeVos: I choose the DeVos program because of its emphasis on diversity and ethics in sports. My mentor, Dr. Rissmeyer, advised me to continue my education at a place where I would learn not only in the classroom but from the leaders the program. When I researched the program I realized that the director was the keynote speaker at my first diversity conference in high school and founder of the organization where I was doing my internship. The rest is history!