Sports business: A cut above

dan plouffe

The third-annual Concordia DSA Sport Business Conference made the cut by offering an exciting array of panels and inspiring speakers at the OMNI Mont-Royal Hotel from March 30 to April 1.

The 2006 version of the JMSB student-driven conference, titled, Your Sport Career: Make the Cut!, attracted about 100 participants over three days, some from as far away as St. John’s and the United States.

“When you think about it, we’ve had the who’s who of Montreal this weekend,” said conference moderator Bruno Delorme, a professor in the Diploma in Sports Administration program.

“The Canadiens, the Alouettes, the Grand Prix were all represented. Dick Pound from WADA, Michael Spanier, a prominent sports lawyer — the quality of speakers just gets better and better, as well as the quality of the panels.”

Delorme opened the conference by saying, “If I had to sum up the Concordia sports administration and management program in one word, I’d say, ‘passion’.”

This theme echoed throughout the conference, from the panels and discussions with sport media, company representatives, professional and amateur athletes to the enthusiastic conference delegates.

None was more passionate than the conference’s keynote speaker, Richard W. Pound, tax lawyer, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee .

“He’s a presence,” Delorme said of Pound, a graduate of Sir George Williams University (BA 63). “The crowd was hanging on his every word. He’s just an awesome man.”

Pound told how he was able to direct the IOC to financial independence from governments through his years of negotiating TV deals for the Olympic Games.

He explained the three biggest keys to success in the sports business world were to have a thorough knowledge of one’s organization, a clear vision as a leader of what needs to be accomplished, and many skills, such as how to communicate clearly.

Pound also said hard work is by far the most crucial component of a flourishing career. “You never start out at the top, unless you’re at the John Molson School of Business and are ready to be president but don’t know how to use the photocopier,” he said to a roomful of laughter.

Although the program directors may debate with Pound about their grads’ ability to use a photocopier, they would certainly agree that the JMSB prepares its students for a place in the workforce.

The ten-course diploma in sports administration program at the graduate level offers instruction in areas such as sports economics, marketing and event planning.

“It’s the best-kept secret in Montreal,” Delorme said of the program, which has existed for around a quarter-century.

He said the conference provides great visibility for the program, as well as valuable networking opportunities for the participants through its evening social events.

“I think the fact that we got these speakers underlines the importance of networking,” said Jennifer Cottin.

Cottin took the reins organizing the conference along with fellow students Mark Dickie and Amalia Dinut. They were very pleased to see the project they had been working on since October come to life in such a successful manner.

“Organizing this event is probably the greatest experience I’ve had in the program so far,” Cottin said.