Sports Symposium

darren 02 We are about to enter Sports Symposium season. This Friday is the granddaddy of them all: The Princeton Sports Symposium. Amongst the panelists are former Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox general manager Roland Hemond, Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci, President of Ponturo Management and chairman of the Leverage Agency sports marketing firm Tony Ponturo, IMG agency’s executive vice president of sports programming Barry Frank, etc.

Other fantastic symposiums that are right around the corner include the UF Sports Law Symposium on January 29, 2010 and the University of Miami’s 13th Annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium on February 5, 2010. Travel costs in this economy are not always easy to justify, but these events are some of the best places to learn about the business of sports. They are also the premier spots to network with the sports industry’s leaders.

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About Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner is a CEO, sports agent, journalist, entrepreneur, and innovator. Darren created the first sports agent blog on the internet, SportsAgentBlog.com, which receives upwards of 5,000 unique visits per day from sports agents, athletes, media sources, and the general public. In the blog, everything from contract negotiations to endorsement deals are examined, providing the framework for a great deal of information upon which he has been able to depend. In 2009, Darren created EntertainmentAgentBlog.com, which has the same purpose of SAB, but focuses on the entertainment industry. Darren is also the CEO and Founder of Dynasty Athlete Representation, a full service sports and talent agency that handles contract negotiations, marketing endorsements, financial planning, legal services, etc. Darren graduated from the University of Florida in May 2007 with a Political Science Major and was valedictorian of his class. He is a member of many Honors Societies including, Florida Blue Key, Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi. He is now in his third and final year at the University of Florida Levin School of Law, where he is serving his second consecutive term as the President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society.

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Are you looking to find a job into the sports industry but not sure how to get a break? In my mind, there is no better way to get connected with the decision makers then by attending a sports industry conference. Luckily for us, Princeton University has created a premier event with some of the biggest players in the industry.

The 2008 Princeton Sports Symposium presented by Leverage Agency will be held on the Princeton University Campus on Friday, December 5 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm in the Friend Center.

The third annual Princeton Sports Symposium will bring together the most knowledgeable and successful professionals in the sports industry from around the country (and actually the world) to discuss various aspects and trends of the business. The event will give students and sports professionals an opportunity to learn from and network with the most accomplished individuals in the sports industry, many of whom Princeton University alumni.

This half-day event will feature a keynote conversation with Mark Shapiro ‘89, executive vice president and general manager of the Cleveland Indians and his father Ronald M. Shapiro, co-founder and chairman of the Shapiro Negotiations Institute. Mark played four years of football for Princeton University and graduated with a degree in history. He was named to the elite Forty Under 40 by the SportsBusiness Journal recognizing the top 40 sports executives under the age of 40, and he was named twice General Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. Ron is considered one of baseball’s most respected agent-attorneys representing more Hall of Famers than any other agent, and The Sporting News named him as one of the 100 most powerful people in sports. He is also a bestselling author and civic leader.

The keynote conversation is followed by seven panel discussions. Panel topics include: The Olympic Games, Sports Marketing and Sponsorships, Sports Media and Technology, Athlete Marketing and Representation as well as Professional Sports and College Sports.

The numbers:
•    46 speakers and moderators
•    24 Chairmen, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, and Presidents
•    12 SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 Award Winners
•    9 Senior Vice Presidents and Executive Vice Presidents
•    8 Princeton University alumni
•    2 Chief Marketing Officers
•    2 Olympic Gold Medalists
•    1 Commissioner
•    1 Current Princeton University student
•    Professionals from the Breeders’ Cup Limited, Canadian Football League, Cleveland Indians, Comcast SportsNet, CNBC, ESPN, IMG, Ladies Professional Golf Association, National Basketball Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Proskauer Rose, Sports Illustrated, USA Boxing and many other organizations

Speakers include:
•    Greg Avioli, President and Chief Executive Officer, Breeders’ Cup Ltd.
•    Bob Basche, Chairman, Millsport
•    Jordan Bazant, Founder and Principal, The Agency
•    David Birnbaum, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TAKKLE
•    Ken Brenner ‘89, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Legacy Direct Inc.
•    Susan Briglia, Vice President, Branded Content, Collegiate Images LLC
•    Zak Brown, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Just Marketing Intl.
•    Kathryn Carter, Executive Vice President, Soccer United Marketing
•    Mark Cohon, Commissioner, Canadian Football League
•    Pat Coyle, President, Coyle Media Inc.
•    Joey Cheek ‘11, U.S. Speed Skater and Olympic Gold Medalist
•    David L. Dunn, Chief Executive Officer, Athletes First

And many, many more!

This event is primarily for sports business students, but if you are in the Princeton area and are looking to find a break into the industry, this may just be the event for you. For more information, please contact Jonathan Lea ’08 at [email protected] or Anthony Soroka ’09 at [email protected]