Sport Management is now a stand-alone major

May 5, 2008 - Today Rice University's Faculty Senate voted to make Sport Management a stand-alone major. Previously Rice students would major in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Management.

"Today is a great day for our students and faculty," Dr. Clark Haptonstall, Director of the Sport Management major, said. "Even though Rice has had Sport Management as an academic discipline since 1980, this marks the first time that our students will officially earn a degree in Sport Management. The term Kinesiology did not reflect their true academic preparation."

Rice University is now one of a small percentage of universities with a true Sport Management major. At most universities, Sport Management in merely an area of emphasis of a different major.

Dr. Sosa speaks to Ortiz Middle School students

April 17, 2008 - Dr. Jason Sosa was recently invited to speak to students at David Ortiz Middle School about "Value Education and Creating Opportunity." Sosa presented the students with avenues for success within the classroom which will create opportunities for the students as they further education. Sosa spoke about the importance of striving for a college degree and creating new minority leaders within the community. He then challenged the young students to focus on bettering their communities through utilizing their gained education.

His final remarks were well received by students and administrators as he expressed, "Education gives you the knowledge to make decisions and create change. Do not wait for someone else to make the difference, you make the difference by educating yourself and spread your knowledge to others. In doing this we make our communities a better place."

Houston Texans President speaks with RUSBA

April 16, 2008 - Jamey Rootes, the President of the Houston Texans, was the special guest at the April breakfast meeting of the Rice University Sport Business Alliance (RUSBA). Rootes, who is in his 8th year with the Texans, was asked to speak to the group about leadership and his management style. He often uses acronyms to help explain how he runs the business side of the Houston Texans which is the 10th most valuable professional sports organization in the world (#3 in the USA). One example is the word SOFT.

SOFT: Strengths (focus on people's strengths and maximize them), Outcomes (tell employees the outcomes you want and then let them to figure out how to achieve them/go about accomplishing them--give them the freedom to figure it out), Fit (find the right fit for people), Talent (get great people around you and keep them).

Rootes (pictured here answering a question from Natalie Kirchhoff '09) was twice selected by Sports Business Journal as a member of its distinguished "Forty under 40" list of leading sports executives.

Sales & Revenue Generation class give Rice students an advantage

March 4, 2008 -  The Sales & Revenue Generation Class (KINE 360) is partnering with Rice University’s Athletic Department to sell Rice baseball to new markets this semester. In Fall 2007, this same class partnered with Rice football and the Houston Aeros to generate over $20,000 in new group sales.

The course is taught by Tom Stallings, who worked for 15 seasons with the Houston Astros and Houston Aeros in various sales roles. Stallings designed the class to address a need that he felt was overlooked in almost every Sport Management program nationwide. 

“Sales seemed to be one skill that was deficient in many applicants from sport management programs,” Stallings, the former vice president of the Aeros, said. “The material taught in this course is designed to offer students material that would allow them to make an immediate impact with a team in a sales job.”

The Sales & Revenue Generation course was created by Stallings with feedback from sales executives with the Texans, Astros, Rockets and Dynamo. Rice is one of only a handful of universities in the country to teach such an important class. The course offers not only classroom lectures and “role play” exercises with sport sales professionals, but also incorporates sales projects with goals and quotas.

“Students are provided the material, training, and support to succeed, but each student is required to achieve their sales goals to receive full class credit,” Stallings said. “Sports teams fully expect their sales staff to achieve their goals and I would not be preparing the students properly if I did not hold them to the same standard.”

Guests who have visited the class or participated in role plays include:

• Ash Puri: NBA and WNBA group sales consultant
• Kristen Gambetta ‘05: Houston Dynamo account executive and recognized winner of the MLS top five account executive award 2006.
• Steven Powell: Houston Dynamo Vice President of Sales and former VP of Sales for the New York Red Bull
• Neal Talmadge: Vice President of Sales for the Houston Texans Sports Network and former VP of Corporate Sales for the Houston Rockets and Houston Aeros
• Gretchen Scheir: Senior Director of Tickets Sales and Service, Houston Rockets
• Brent Broussard: Director of Youth Programs, Houston Astros Baseball Club
• April Sanders: Director of Group Sales for Sam Houston Racepark and former Director of Group Sales for the Houston Comets

“We recognize that only a percentage of our students will pursue a sales-specific career,” Clark Haptonstall, the director of the Sport Management Program, said. “However, anyone in upper-management has a responsibility to generate revenue. By having someone with Tom Stallings’ experience teaching this valuable class is such a big advantage to our students when they compete for jobs against students from other universities.”

Jedlovec and Michel create Rice baseball preview issue

Feb. 21, 2008 - Each year, The Thresher, Rice's student-run school newspaper, publishes a preview issue about Rice's nationally-recognized baseball team which is released the same day as the team's first game. Two Sport Management majors, Ben Jedlovec '08 and Casey Michel '10, were instrumental is producing the popular 2008 issue.

Jedlovec wrote all seven of the articles that appeared in the eight-page edition. Michel, who is also the sport editor of The Thresher, handled the layout & design duties along with fellow student Dylan Farmer.

Both Jedlovec and Michel are both baseball enthusiasts and each has completed an internship with a professional baseball team. In 2007, Jedlovec worked in the Baseball Operations department of the Houston Astros alongside the team's former general manager Tim Purpura. Michel spent Summer 2007 working with the  Portland Beavers, the Class AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres.

Sport Management majors earn academic honors

Feb. 17, 2008 - Several Sport Management majors were recognized for their academic achievement at the annual Rice University Scholar Athlete Banquet. In total, over 100 student-athletes were acknowledged as either an Honor Athlete (for having a cumulative "B" average in their third, fourth, or fifth year of school) or Scholar Athlete (member of each team with the highest GPA).

A total of 23 Sport Management majors were recognized as Honor Athletes and three earned the distinction of Scholar Athlete. The Sport Management students named Scholar Athletes were:

• Natalie Kirchhoff '09, a swimmer majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Business
• Addison Awe '08, a golfer double-majoring in Sport Management and Managerial Studies
• Lindsay Balthrop '08, a women's basketball manager double-majoring in Sport Management and Managerial Studies 

Rice students learn firsthand information about Houston Astros internships

Feb. 7, 2008 - In a step designed to prepare Rice students for their future internship, the Sport Management Practicum class (KINE 276) recently visited Minute Maid Park to visit with Larry Stokes, the Houston Astros Director of Human Resources. Stokes took the time to provide the students the “do’s” and “don’t’s” in applying for an internship. Common themes that were addressed included the construction of an applicant’s resume, professional dress, and interviewing skills.  Stokes further elaborated on the types of attitudes employers are looking for in their interview process that lead to successful internships.  Many of the students left the meeting with a new perspective of not only what it takes to obtain an internship, but also on how to turn that internship into an entry level position upon graduation.

Morris Almond ('07) writes blog for nba.com

Jan. 31, 2008 - Morris Almond ('07), a Sport Management graduate of Rice University, has been selected to write a blog for www.nba.com detailing his rookie experiences. His blog can be found by clicking  this link.

Almond, a 2007 first-round draft pick, has played in six games for the Utah Jazz this season. Most of his playing time has been with the  Utah Flash, the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) affiliate of the Jazz. Almond has been dominate in the NBDL this season. On Jan. 30, 2008, Almond scored a league record 53 points against the Bakersfield Jam. Earlier this season Almond scored 51 points in a game.

Rice Sport Management earns NASSM Program Approval status

Jan. 22, 2008 - The North American Society of Sport Management (NASSM) and the Sport Management Program Review Council (SMPRC) have granted Rice University "Program Approval Status" for its sport management program. This is the highest level of academic achievement available in the field.
 
More than 200 U.S. colleges and universities offer a sport management program. Less than 25 percent of them meet the standards necessary for program approval.
 
“We are very proud to earn this distinction,” said Dr. Clark Haptonstall, director of the Sport Management program. “Not only did we exceed every NASSM guideline, but we offer classes above and beyond NASSM’s required list. This is one reason we feel that our sport management program is one of the best in the country.”
 
A university must meet 12 guidelines to earn program approval status, such as having a number of dedicated faculty, teaching specific courses and enforcing strict internship guidelines.
 
Rice's program, which began in the early 1980s, includes additional classes in "Sales and Revenue Generation in Sport," "Research in Sport Management" and "Media Relations."
 
"Our faculty feel those classes are crucial in developing successful leaders in the sport industry," Haptonstall said. Nearly 100 students are currently enrolled in the Sport Management program.

Dr. Clark Haptonstall featured in television stories regarding Roger Clemens

Jan. 8, 2008 - Dr. Clark Haptonstall  was interviewed by two Houston television stations in regards to Roger Clemens and his current marketing potential. In the  Mitchell Report, Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee stated that he injected Clemens with steriods and human growth hormone (HGH). Clemens admits that he was injected by McNamee, but only with vitamin B-12 and lidocaine, a pain killer.