Senior Capstone Project Mitchell Joslin

Hilliard Davidson High School November 22, 2014

Mitchell Joslin

Hilliard Davidson High School

Senior Capstone

22 November 2014

Introduction

Throughout my life I have loved sports. I watch ESPN’s Sportscenter show almost

every morning and read the Columbus’ Dispatch’s Sports section every time I get the chance.

I am also more than likely going to study sports business in college so, when I was presented

with the chance to make up my own senior project my mom and I decided that I should make

a project revolved around the sports world. I realized that there were probably a lot more jobs

in the sports business world than I knew there were so I decided to find professionals in

Central Ohio who had a careers in the sports business world to find out what kind of jobs were

actually out there. I was able to talk to multiple professionals including a Sports Agent, Sports

Commission, and Director of Operations. I e­mailed, called, and met these people in person.

From the meetings, I was able to learn about multiple different jobs that I had never heard of

before in the sports industry.

Goal

My main goal coming into this project was to get a decent understanding of a handful

of jobs that are out in the sports world other than the main few that I already knew about. (i.e.

professional athlete, agent, front office, and coach) Going into this project I was expecting to

only be able to meet with one or two people in the sports world but I ended up being very

successful in lining up meetings. I was able to meet with multiple sources including Attorney

Marc Kessler, Director of Operations for The Ohio State University's Lacrosse team Mark

Bergey, and Brian Timm from the Greater Columbus Sports Commission among others.

These meetings were very helpful as I was able to ask questions and have them explain how

their job pertains to the sports business world and how they were able to get there.

The People

The Columbus Blue Jackets Career Fair and Dan Rossetti

January/August 2014­ Met in person and talked through email

On Tuesday January 28th, 2014 my mom took me to a career fair held by the

Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The career fair had 40 corporations and

businesses, all of which had some connection to the sports industry. Before we had the

chance to go to each of the companies table we went down to the lower bowl in the arena and

had a discussion with a panel of some of the top sports business people

in central Ohio. Among the speakers were Linda Logan of the Greater

Columbus Sports Commission, Bill Zito assistant General Manager of

the Blue Jackets, and Dan Rossetti of Ascension Sports Partners. After

the panel discussion I was lucky enough to meet with Dan Rossetti. Mr.

Rossetti, the founder of Ascension Sports Partners, helps sports

corporations and businesses find people who are interested in the sports

business world to get experience, internships, and possibly even jobs with the corporations

and businesses. My mom and I were able to talk to Mr. Rossetti about his job and possible

college choices that would put me in the right places. I then followed up with him through

email and he helped me understand what he does. Corporations will contact him when they

want help finding people to fill internships and job openings. He has worked with multiple

professional sports teams and professional associations. Mr. Rossetti has a lot of knowledge

on numerous jobs in the sports industry. He was a huge help in figuring out what jobs there

are in the sports industry.

Brian Timm and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission

August 25, 2014­ Met in person

Soon after the Columbus Blue Jackets Career Fair I contacted Linda Logan of the

Greater Columbus Sports Commission which is a non­profit organization that brings sports

and entertainment events to Columbus. After an e­mail and a few phone calls I was able to

talk to Brian Timm who is the Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Greater Columbus

Sports Commission. After talking about what I wanted to learn he invited me to stop by their

offices in downtown Columbus and sit in on one of their executive meetings. I was thrilled

about this and after school on August 25th I headed downtown to their offices. During my time

there I learned about multiple careers at the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. From

marketing and communications to event directing and

coordinating I learned about numerous career paths. After the

meeting Mr. Timm invited me back to his personal office and I

was able to asked him a few questions directed more at his

own job which is the Director of Corporate Partnerships. Being

a non­profit organization the Greater Columbus Sports

Commission or GCSC relies on partnerships to give them not only money but man power to

work events. Mr. Timm’s main job is to get these corporations to join the GCSC to help bring

events to Greater Columbus. Before joining GCSC he worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Though he was not a big fan of baseball he said he gain valuable experience from his time

with the Pirates. He also worked with the radio station 1460 The Fan in Columbus. He worked

as an account executive for 1460 and also as a sales manager for the Ohio State Buckeyes

Radio Show Network. Moreover, being a graduate of Ohio University he expressed how great

of a Sports Administration major Ohio. As we talked we got on to Linda Logan, who created

the Greater Columbus Sports Commission after her time with Experience Ohio. She has

worked for numerous professional teams and sports organizations over the years. The

Greater Columbus Sports Commission was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

Mark Bergey, The Ohio State University Lacrosse Program

September 30, 2014­ Talked over the phone

Having played lacrosse since the third grade I thought if would be a good idea to

speak to someone who has a career in the sport. I was able to contact the Director of

Lacrosse Operations at The Ohio State University, Mark Bergey. Mr. Bergey played lacrosse

in high school and moved on to Western New England College where he became four year

standout for the Golden Bears. While with the Golden Bears he won countless awards and

was also named team captain for the the 2006 season. He went on to be an assistant coach

with Western New England College where he was very successful. He

moved on to be a volunteer coach with The Ohio State Mens Lacrosse

team and finally in 2010 he landed a job as the Director of Lacrosse

Operations. I was able to conduct a phone interview with Mr. Bergey

and learn what he does. He is responsible for pretty much all the

behind the scenes action. This includes travel information, budgeting,

scheduling, etc. He plays an important role in the program at Ohio

State. He is the one who is in charge of scheduling games, making sure that the teams travel

needs are met and that many other things similar to that. He was very helpful and was able to

answer a lot of questions about his job and was able to explain some questions I had about

college majors; like how do sports administration and sports management majors differ.

Overall he was a great contact for me.

Jim Pokorny, Pokorny and Company

August 18, 2014­ Talked over the phone

At the beginning of my senior project I knew that a good resource for me was going to

be my Uncle Jim Pokorny. Mr. Pokorny got his accounting degree through Miami University in

Oxford, Ohio. He worked his way through the accounting world with Sterling Bank and the

International Management Group or IMG. He is now a financial planning and accounting

expert and actually one of his more well known clients is the former professional baseball

great Derek Jeter. He works with athletes finances and taxes. Though he does not work

directly with that athletes money he makes sure all the taxes and finances are accounted for.

Although I had a previous idea of what he did I was able to learn a few things from him as he

talked about what kind of majors in college led to certain types of jobs.

Marc Kessler, Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP.

November 11th, 2014­Met in person

Attorney Marc Kessler ended up being one of the best resources that I was able to

meet with. Through connections that my mom had she was able to let me contact Mr. Kessler

and set up a meeting on November 11th, 2014. When we met he told me his story about how

he became an agent. As a 2nd year law student Mr. Kessler was living in an apartment when

his neighbor, who was a back up quarterback for Cincinnati Bengals

of the NFL, came to Mr. Kessler and asked him for help. The player

had just been traded to the Cleveland Browns and had found out that

his previous agent had stolen money and cut ties with him. He told

me that being a sports agent really just came to him. Nowadays Mr. Kessler is one of the

more prominent attorneys in Central Ohio and isn't really an agent but more of a resource for

players to come to when in trouble or when in need of guidance. He was great resource as he

was able shed some light on how agents operate and how he differs from them. It was also

interesting for me to read about him as he represents Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue

Jackets in his current issues.

Conclusion

Through my passion for sports I was able to find a lot jobs out in the sports industry.

From agents to Directors of Operations to Event planners the sports business world is

growing and jobs are out there. From what I have learned from all of the people I have met

with, for one to be successful in the sports business world you have to get out and put your

name out there. Also, through college you will more than likely be fed into an internship and

through the connections you make there you will be able to find a career path that you will

love. I now also know and understand some differences in majors and what majors suit me

the best. The experiences I have had through this project has helped me tons and will be

valuable in the near future. I have now applied to University of Oregon and the Lundquist

College of Business for the Sports Business Program; Washington State University and the

Sports Management major in the College of Education; and University of Colorado­Boulder

and the Leeds School of Business for the Business of Sports Certificate Program there. All

three of these Universities will lead me in the right direction for success.