UCLA Anderson Announces New Sports Leadership and Management Program

Sets a goal to become the leading sports management program in the world

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The UCLA Anderson School of Management today announced creation of the UCLA Sports Leadership and Management Program. It is designed to provide inspiration, education and access to graduate and undergraduate students, including student-athletes interested in pursuing careers in the global business of sports.

Andy Campion (B.A. '93, '03) will serve as program director, leveraging his nearly 30 years in the sports and entertainment industries. For more than 17 years, Campion has served in executive leadership positions at Nike Inc., including as chief operating officer, chief financial officer and head of strategy. He is currently leading Nike's pursuit of new businesses in the broader ecosystem of sport. Campion joined Nike after more than 11 years at the Walt Disney Company, where he rose through the ranks of corporate strategic planning and finance, ultimately to serve as senior vice president of corporate development. Currently, he serves on the boards of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics organizing committee (LA28), Starbucks and the SpringHill Company. Campion and his wife Shelby (B.A. '95) are also minority owners of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and the Utah Royals of the National Women's Soccer League.

The UCLA Sports Leadership and Management Program will be housed in UCLA Anderson's prestigious Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports. It will offer a sports leadership and management specialization for MBA students as well as courses tailored to UCLA's undergraduates, including its more than 700 student-athletes. Campion is working with Professor Sanjay Sood, faculty director of the Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports, on the syllabus for the program's first course, to be offered later this academic year. In addition, the program will support faculty research, beginning with a white paper series that will address how to grapple with strategic issues in the sports industry. Finally, the program will host events that bring members of the sports industry together as a community and create access to them for students.

Working in close collaboration with UCLA's renowned athletics program and drawing on the strength of Los Angeles' sports and entertainment industries, the program will afford unparalleled access to leaders across the ecosystem of sport. UCLA's legendary history of 121 NCAA championships and 270 Olympic medals positions UCLA Anderson to take sports business education to the next level. Its programming will include: strategic partnership initiatives with organizations such as LA28 to support the Olympics; innovative executive education courses with Real Madrid football club; and programs with Los Angeles' 14 professional sports teams and 10 professional major league teams, which have claimed 30 championships combined. These initiatives will strengthen UCLA's connection to the city as well as to the wider world.

Inspired by the purpose and promise of the program, the Campions also made a generous donation to invest in its startup. "Shelby and I have long believed that education, engagement in sport and financial opportunity are what everyone needs and deserves to live their best possible life," said Andy Campion. "UCLA has had such a positive impact on our lives. We are now so excited to give back and help UCLA to provide inspiration, education and access to future generations of students seeking a career in sports," said Shelby Campion.

The UCLA Sports Leadership and Management Program coursework, research and community initiatives are targeted to be offered to both graduates and undergraduates in spring 2024. The new program's curricular and extracurricular programs will bring sports leaders into the classroom and engage students in the sports industry. The focus throughout will be on active learning.

"We could not ask for better partners in the creation of this innovative new program than the Campions," said UCLA Anderson's Dean Tony Bernardo. "Together, we aim to build an unparalleled program that will benefit not only our students, but also our hometown of Los Angeles and the global sports and entertainment communities."

The program's curriculum will include a number of "live projects" that will offer students hands-on experience with current projects led by companies in the sports industry.

"The ecosystem of sports is massive, growing and dynamic, while also serving as an inspiring and unifying cultural force," said Andy Campion. "Our ambition is that this program will connect UCLA's diverse and talented students, on a broad scale, to the economic opportunity and potential for social impact offered by a career in the business of sports."

About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is a world-renowned learning and research institution. As part of the nation's No. 1 public university, its mission is to advance management thinking and prepare transformative leaders to make positive business and societal impact. Located in Los Angeles, one of the nation's most diverse and dynamic cities and the creative capital of the world, UCLA Anderson places more MBAs on the West Coast than any other business school, and its graduates also bring an innovative and inclusive West Coast sensibility to leading organizations across the U.S. and the world. Each year, UCLA Anderson's MBA, Fully Employed MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Executive MBA, Master of Financial Engineering, Master of Science in Business Analytics and doctoral programs educate more than 2,000 students, while the Executive Education program trains an additional 1,800 professionals. This next generation of transformative leaders will help shape the future of both business and society.

SOURCE UCLA Anderson School of Management