WashU hosted 11 companies at their ninth annual Business Summit, Nov. 10. (Lydia Nicholson | Student Life)

The summit attracted 143 registered in-person attendees and 33 virtual ones. The attendees included undergraduate and graduate students at Washington University, students from local colleges and high schools, business executives, and overall sports fans. 

Eleven companies sent WashU alumni representatives to show how business students can become involved in the sports industry. The summit served as an event for students to gain insight into careers in the sports industry, as well as a networking event.

The day was divided into three sections. The first section consisted of a welcome from the director of Olin’s Sports Business program, Dr. Patrick Rishe. Then, representatives from Gemini Sports Analytics, Gondola, WIT Sports, Wasserman, and Hogan Lovells gave presentations on their companies. 

The second section included a talk from Excel Sport Management, another presentation from Hogan Lovells, and two presentations from Populous.

The final segment consisted of speakers from Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, World Surf League, and the Paragon Marketing Group, as well as a talk from Meredith Geisler, Professor of Sports Management at George Washington University. 

Two of the most attended presentations were from Katie Sissler and Meredith Geisler. In Sissler’s, she discussed how her company has revolutionized the sports world by televising the 2002 game between Lebron James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and Carmelo Anthony’s Oak Hill Academy. The company now helps high school athletes get to the college level by broadcasting their games.

Using her background in sports public relations, Geisler talked about the benefits of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship, as well as Lionel Messi’s presence on Inter Miami CF. 

Sophomore Rebecca Blum shared her interest in Sissler’s presentation. 

“I liked what she was saying about marketing and how sports marketing is evolving and how it has been moving from professional, to college, to high school as a whole,” Blum said.

“[The summit gave] new ideas about how to combine entertainment with sports companies,” graduate student Aldrich Hartwell said. “The lecture-based presentations had limitations for students to get in touch with the people who work within [the sports industry] as the event serves as an opportunity for students to explore their interests through a new field.”

There seemed to be discontentment with the lack of discussion about how each company’s representatives got to where they are now. Hartwell said that they wanted the presenters to share more of their professional experience and knowledge. 

Hartwell also said that they wish Olin offered courses that centered on the relationship between the business industry and the entertainment industry.

“[I wish the University] had a program for entertainment from the business development perspective considering how the entertainment industry is a very important part of the [business industry],” Hartwell said. “I can only see a few resources here relating to [the connection between the entertainment and business industries].”

Another graduate student, Yuwei Mao, came to the event because he is a fan of sports and studying finance.

Mao said that he “wished [he] got more detailed descriptions about what the professionals’ jobs entail.”  

Senior Sarah Ambrose came to the summit expecting to network with WashU alums in the sports industry.

“[I am impressed by] the breadth of the sports industry and how many different types of opportunities and positions are out there,” Ambrose said.