Undergraduate students interested in professional sports careers are getting new fields to play on at Washington University in St. Louis, thanks to a new minor offered by Olin Business School and a major boost from Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob.
With a gift of $1 million from Lacob, the Olin Business School launched the new BSBA minor in the Business of Sports this fall. The Warriors, under Lacob’s guidance, were named “Sports Team of the Year” by the Sports Business Journal/Daily in May at the seventh annual Sports Business Awards.
To launch the program, Lacob visited the Washington University campus on Monday, Oct. 13 and delivered the inaugural address for the Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports Speaker Series. The event was held in Olin’s Frick Forum, located in Knight Hall.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be associated with a unique program at WU that I hope will have a lasting impact and, most importantly, contribute to our next generation of great sports executives,” said Lacob. “The business of sports is an incredibly exciting field and one that offers a wide and ever-growing variety of career options. I’m elated that I might be able to play a small role in the education and development of current and future students at WU as they potentially pursue a life in this fascinating industry.”
Olin Business School began offering a minor in the business of sports this fall. Under the direction of Todd Milbourn, PhD, senior associate dean of faculty and research, and the Hubert C. & Dorothy R. Moog Professor of Finance, it is open to all students at the university and formalizes a popular mini-course in sports management Milbourn began six years ago.
“Since Olin began offering the sports management mini-course in 2008, it has remained incredibly popular, attracting around 40-45 undergraduates each spring, along with another 40-45 graduate students,” Milbourn says.
Expanding the mini-course into a full-fledged minor meant adding two new courses: The Business of Sports, and Business Leaders in Sports & Contemporary Issues.
The rationale behind introducing the new program as a minor arose from the guiding principle that it should be an overlay to students’ foundational coursework.
“As a minor, it provides an opportunity to learn about the business of sports and develop avenues for career opportunities in the industry,” Milbourn explains. “To this end, Olin will encourage students who are interested in the subject to choose a traditional major and make that the focus of study, as our goal is to teach functional business acumen with applications for the business of sports.”
According to Milbourn, establishing this new academic concentration positions WUSTL as the only top 5 undergraduate business school in the country offering this specialized focus.
“We are very grateful for the generosity of Joe Lacob and his family for supporting an important new academic program that will prepare our students for the next generation of leaders in the many fields of sports management,” says Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
“Sports is a growing industry and in need of managers with a wide range of business skills, including brand management, finance, communications, and sales. With the generous support of the Lacob family, Olin will be able to offer students a unique opportunity to prepare for careers in this dynamic multi-billion dollar industry,” says Dean Mahendra Gupta, the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management.
Lacob is the father of Kent Lacob, a senior in Arts & Sciences and a captain of the men’s basketball team
The Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports program is comprised of three components:
- A minor in the business of sports that will require students to complete 15 units, including 12 foundation credits plus three elective credits.
- The Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports Speakers Series that will bring to campus leading sports management figures three to six times a year to provide insight into a variety of sports-related professions. The series will kick off each year with a keynote speech from a member of the Lacob family or an invited guest of the family.
- The Joseph S. Lacob Business of Sports Internship program that will underwrite several internships for upper class students enrolled in the program. It also will support a part-time career coach to identify job and internship opportunities.
In addition to the coursework, internships and speaker series, the fund will also cover experiential learning opportunities, such as consulting projects and case competitions.
About Joseph S. Lacob
In his role as Co-Executive Chairman & CEO, Joe Lacob is the co-managing member of the Golden State Warriors’ ownership group. He serves on the NBA Board of Governors and is a member of the league’s Competition Committee, Planning Committee and Labor Committee.
Since making a then-record-setting bid to purchase his hometown NBA club – a longtime dream of the Atherton resident – and assuming control of the team on November 12, 2010, Lacob has been the driving force behind many of the creative changes that have transpired with the organization, including several major announcements, prominent personnel additions and an emphasis on transparency. Last season, Lacob’s fourth as owner, the Warriors finished with a 51-31 record and returned to the playoffs for a second-straight season, marking the team’s first consecutive playoff appearances in 22 years (since 1991-92). Off the court, the Warriors were named “Sports Team of the Year” by the Sports Business Journal/Daily, in recognition of the organization’s innovative and successful business practices. Additionally, over the last year, the revamped Warriors Foundation has distributed over $1 million in grants to deserving Bay Area organizations.
In April 2014, the Warriors announced that the team had completed a deal to purchase land in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, where the team intends to build a new state-of-the-art sports and entertainment center. In addition to making monumental commitments to the team’s future, Lacob has taken an active role in connecting the current Warriors organization with its rich history. In 2012, Lacob saw to it that one of the most beloved players in franchise history, Chris Mullin, received the honor of having his #17 jersey raised to the rafters at Oracle Arena, becoming the sixth player in franchise history to have his number retired.
During his first full offseason as owner in the summer of 2011, Lacob recruited two of the most experienced, successful and respected individuals in NBA circles to join the organization, landing NBA Hall of Famer and basketball icon Jerry West as an executive board member, and hiring longtime league and team executive Rick Welts as president and chief operating officer. Additionally, Lacob played a significant role in the hiring of successful sports agent Bob Myers, who is now the club’s general manager. In an effort to connect with the team’s supporters and open the lines of communication, Lacob has engaged with fans via a wide variety of outlets, including in-studio visits to local radio and TV stations, season ticket holder conference calls, exclusive game-night events and direct one-on-one meetings. He has also been a frequent guest speaker at various local and national sports seminars.
Lacob’s NBA and professional sports experience dates back over two decades, including a five-year tenure as minority owner of the Boston Celtics, where he served on the basketball committee. He earned an NBA World Championship ring in 2008 with the storied franchise before selling his minority stake to purchase the Warriors.
Lacob has been a partner of Menlo Park, California, based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers since 1987. Though still a partner in the firm, he has relinquished his managing partner role in order to pursue his lifelong goal of owning and operating an NBA team. In his role as a venture capitalist, he has led investments in over 50 start-up companies across multiple fields in life sciences and medical technologies, the internet and energy.
Lacob earned a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from the University of California-Irvine, a Master’s in Public Health (Epidemiology) from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He credits his Master’s degree in Epidemiology (biostatistics) with providing him a background in statistics that helped drive his passion for sports. It also played a role in his decision to invest in Sportsline – one of the first sports internet sites – and one of Lacob’s earliest sports success stories. He was also a primary investor and pioneer of the American Basketball League, a professional women’s basketball league that eventually lost out to the WNBA. Lacob continues as one of the original partners in the Pebble Beach Company, an effort formed to bring the historic Pebble Beach resort and golf course back to long-term American ownership. Additionally, Lacob has been involved with Stanford basketball for over 25 years and is a fixture in his courtside seats at Maples Pavilion. Lacob currently serves on the Board of Directors of one public company, Align Technology, as well as several other privately-held companies, including Neuropace, SunDrop Fuels, TransMedics, Imoji, and Athos, a wearable technology startup in athletic wear.
In recent years, Lacob has been involved in industry organizations including the American Heart Association and the AHA Roundtable. He has also been very active at Stanford University, serving on advisory boards at the medical center, business school and athletic department. Lacob’s philanthropic interests focus on education, both in the community and with universities. He has also provided scholarships to a number of high potential academic and athletic high school and college students in need.
An avid golfer, Joe has been a longtime participant in the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. He has played in a regular pick-up basketball game, and still does, at least twice weekly for over 30 years at Stanford. Most importantly for Warriors fans, Lacob has been a passionate fan of the Bay Area club that he now owns – supporting his local franchise as a loyal and dedicated Season Ticket Holder since 1998.