NFL Combine "Careers in Sports" Conference

Conference

at the NFL Combine

When: Friday and Saturday, February 20th & 21st, 2009

Where: Hyatt Regency, Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
After registering you can book your room at the Hyatt at our discounted rate.

Who: Anyone 18 years or older

How: Click Here to Register ($399 regular price)
Early Registration Discount $350 extended!

Download 2009 Schedule and Speaker List (pdf)

Sports Management Worldwide would like to invite you to join us at our Annual SMWW Career Workshop in downtown Indianapolis at the NFL Combine. This seminar provides an invaluable opportunity to learn about numerous careers in sports and network with professionals currently working at the highest level of sports. Head coaches, GMs, Directors of Player Personnel and Scouting, ESPN writers, experienced sports agents, former professional athletes and many others will be in attendance.

For anyone that is looking to work in sports, you can't miss this opportunity to meet and learn from sports executives and the SMWW staff, all in the atmosphere of the 2009 NFL Combine! Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the behind the scenes of the upcoming NFL draft; create relationships with key individuals in the sports business community and advance their knowledge of the business of sports. If you have never been in Indianapolis around the NFL combine, you are missing an opportunity to be apart of NFL personnel's biggest events of the year.

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More than 2,500 coaches, team owners and advertisers and more than 220 national journalists from across the country come to Indianapolis for seven days to meet and work out the athletes who hope to be drafted by NFL teams. Right in the heart of the action, this educational experience is an exclusive opportunity to break into the field of sports management. Don't miss it!

The 2009 SMWW Career Conference includes the Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA) Annual Reception on February 20th, from 4-6pm.

Keynote speaker for this event is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

This years event will honor:

Former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will present the award.
Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers honored for the "Rooney Rule," which requires NFL teams with head coaching and general manager vacancies to interview at least one minority candidate.
Marcus Allen, New England Patriots Scout
Jerry Hardaway, Arizona Cardinals Scout

FPA Chairman John Wooten, NFL Legend, and SMWW Faculty, has invited all SMWW Sports Career Conference attendees to join the reception and in honoring this years award winners. In attendance are scouts and coaches from every NFL team. Sports Management Worldwide is honored to be invited and excited to attend this historic event. (February 20th from 4pm-6pm in the Hyatt Ballroom).

Attendance to the conference, which includes the FPA Annual Awards Reception is $325, or college students $199. (Thru January 31st, 2009)

Fritz Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was the first African American head coach in the NFL. The FPA was organized for the purposes of promoting diversity and equality of job opportunity in the coaching, front office and scouting staffs of NFL teams. Click here to learn more about Fritz Pollard Alliance.

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2009 Speakers Include:
Speakers added weekly!

Dr. Lynn Lashbrook- President and Founder Sports Management Worldwide
Jeff Ireland- General Manager, Miami Dolphins
Mark Warkentien- General Manager, Denver Nuggets
John Wooten- NFL Legend & NFL Executive
Kristen Kuliga-NFL Agent, Doug Flutie & more
Will Carroll- Baseball Prospectus & SI.com
Rick Horrow- Fox Sports & CNN Sports (invited)
Mark Washo- 17 year sports executive, MMW Marketing
Jeanette Ehnerd- Total Sports Entertainment GM and SMWW Faculty
Marc Trestman- Montreal Alouettes Head Coach and 17 year NFL Coach, SMWW Faculty
Jack Mills- NFL Agent, 30 Year NFL Agent, clients include Eric Dickerson & many others
Jim Solano- NFL Agent (having represent over 600 clients in 30 years)
Michael Lombardi- NationalFootballPost.com & former NFL Executive
Marty Bechtold- AEG Facilities, Pacers Sports & Entertainment
Reggie Williams- VP, Community Relations, Memphis Redbirds (AAA) & Former MLB player
Tom Blattler- Motorsports Exec & SMWW Faculty
Tom Weisenbach- Indiana Motorsports Association Executive Director
Larry DeGaris- Sponsorship Research & Strategy
NFL Draft Prospects
Kris Kovatovic- Indiana Pacers Inside Sales & Fever Sales/Service Director
Syd Douglas- Rah Rah Rugby, Australia
Greg Hylton- Indianapolis Colts, Vice President Premium Seating & Ticket Sales (invited)
Hemanshu Chaturvedi- HTC Group Managing Director & CEO, New Dehli, India
Russ Lande- NFL Scout/Sporting News.com and SMWW Faculty
Bret Polvorosa- GRIP Inc. Consulting and SMWW Sports Business Faculty
Ryan Latham- Boston Red Sox
Various NFL Draft Prospects
Dr. Chuck Patterson- The Ohio State University
Joe Bonahoom- Director of Baseball, SMWW
Elliot Washington- Director of Basketball, SMWW
Dr. Gary Sailes- Indiana University Sports
Marcus Williams- Director of Football, SMWW Agency
Chase Sbicca- SMWW Director of Student Services
Jeff Brodie- SMWW Sports Career Advisor
Teres Smith- SMWW Sports Career Advisor
PJ Savage- SMWW Sports Career Advisor
And many more!

Entrance Includes:

Friday Conference & Workshop sessions starting at 1pm (February 20th)
Friday night Fritz Pollard Alliance Awards Reception ($100 value) (February 20th)
Saturday Morning pastries and coffee
Saturday Conference & Workshop sessions (February 21st)
Saturday night catered NFL Personnel Reception and Tailgater Party

Questions about the workshop can be directed to workshop@smww.com

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Location:

Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Downtown Indianapolis — State Capitol
One South Capitol Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204

1.888.591.1234 (US, Canada, Caribbean) Local: 317.632.1234
Group Reservation Cut–Off Date — January 31, 2009

Call today to reserve your room and reference the SMWW Career Conference to receive the discounted SMWW room rate.

FAQ:

Who Should Attend?
The Sports Career Conference is designed for individuals with an interest in a sports business career. Via the workshop, discussion groups and keynote speakers you will be introduced and learn in-depth about the job responsibilities of professions in the NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, NBA, NASCAR, WNBA, and minor league sports. Attendees include business professionals wishing to break into new markets, to college students wanting to get their foot in the door to sports agents making a start! A variety of topics covering scouting, management at different levels, agents, player personnel, athletic director, sports administrator, sports marketing, endorsement deals, draft analysis, salary caps, promotions and the inner workings of behind the scenes in almost every sports business career.
What's the Format?
You will have time to ask questions after the individual presentations or panel discussions. There will be social events and other opportunities to meet speakers, fellow attendees, and sports executives. Friday from 1pm till the Saturday night Tailgater party at 7pm is jam packed with speakers and opportunities to network. The Sports Career Conference is held in the headquarter hotel in the middle of all the NFL Combine action near Lucas Oil Stadium. Due to the NFL Combine schedule we are juggling speaking engagements and panels up to the last minute! Each year we have surprise visits from NFL personnel. They literally walk by our meeting rooms all day and we try to squeeze them onto panels between their meetings at the combine.
When should I arrive?
Registration starts on Friday at 11am followed by a conference and workshop session at 1pm. The Friday night Kick Off reception starts at 7:30pm so you can network. Saturday conference and workshop sessions are every hour. We pack the day full of fabulous speakers so that you can glean as much from the short weekend as possible. You don't want you to miss a single opportunity! However, we do keep the event affordable so that those of you flying in and flying out can come late or leave early. Most conferences like this are in the middle of the week. We choose to offer this workshop on the weekend so that those of you working full time can attend. The format is fun, fast and enlightening. Our attendees come from all 50 states, Canada, England, and we have even had some attend from Africa and China.
What should I wear?
Dress is business casual.
What do Sports people say about the event:

"What a wonderful weekend I had at your Sports Career Conference! The conference was informative, enlightening, inspirational, and very educational. It was a classy event with some heavy hitters of the sports industry used as guest panelists. I cannot begin to share with you the great experience I had. Thank you is not enough, but it is well deserved. Most impressive was the number of young people who traveled from all over the country and from abroad to attend the conference. It speaks volumes about the reputation and quality of your organization."
Reggie Williams
VP, Community Relations, Memphis Redbirds (AAA) & Former MLB player

"This is the ’must attend‘ event of the year for those involved in sports management programs who truly care about experiential education, establishing networking contacts with senior level executives, and exposing students to visionary thinkers in the field of Sports Management. Few people in the world can attract this level of talent and put them in one room to share their experiences. The SMWW Career Conference is the kind of student-focused activity that will raise retention rates, career placement rates, and student satisfaction rates."
Ted Bouras
Northcentral University

"As an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Sports Management Program, I found the SMWW conference to be informative and a great way to keep a pulse on what is going on in the sports industries, from professional sports to youth sports, from marketing to sports agency and athletic advising. The information gained and networking opportunities were endless."
Janice E. Wardle
Assistant Professor,
Sports Management & Internship Coordinator
Wilmington University

"Thank you and cheers to the entire SMWW team! The wealth of expertise you gathered across sports industries for all attendees in both panel and networking settings was truly amazing and exciting. I look forward to shaking and baking with the many sports leaders I met at the conference. I am already looking forward to the 2009 conference!"
Paul Martino
Global 500 corporate Director and ESPN Sports Ticker Gameday Statistician

"The Sports Management Worldwide Career Conference is an great event for anyone interested in exploring the world of professional sports. They cover every aspect of professional sports including Motorsports and the importance of the technology used today. Centered in the heart of the amateur sports capitol of America and during the NFL Scouting Combine, Indianapolis is an ideal location at an ideal time for this conference."
Jared Slinde
North Dakota State University
M.S. Sport Management

"This past fall the executive committee of the undergraduate sport management club came to me with the idea that they wanted to attend the SMWW Sports Career conference. To be honest it was not the choice I would have made as their faculty advisor. To my surprise and delight, the SMWW staff provided our students with a wonderful package so that they could afford registration, meals, and lodging in downtown Indianapolis.

Over 41 students from the West Virginia University Sports Management Club attended. It was awesome! Students shared with me their excitement of meeting top level executives in the Sports field at the conference. They were overwhelmed that the conference speakers stayed around after their sessions to meet the students. Students collected many business cards and passed out their resumes to perspective employers. The word of mouth got back to WVU before we did! Students that were not able to attend were disappointed. Students are already planning to attend next year.

From my perspective it is a win-win situation. Students can only learn so much in the classroom. The value of spending three days in the same room with some of the top sport and athletic administrators in the United States is extremely valuable to these undergraduates. As one student said: "It (the conference) was worth every penny!"
D. Floyd Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Sport Management Program
West Virginia University