Sports MBA: Networking Goes Virtual

Sports MBA Student Takes Networking Virtual

Maureen McCarthy

One of the great benefits of SDSU’s Sports MBA (SMBA) program is the strength of its alumni network. Each year, the program invites back several former students, who have gained valuable experience in the sports industry, to come back to the SMBA classroom as guest speakers.  

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, classes have gone completely virtual which has prevented the typical classroom visits from the program’s alumni. 

Despite the change to virtual instruction, this year’s class found a way to continue to utilize the program’s network. SMBA ‘21 candidate Maureen McCarthy took the initiative to reach out to two members of SMBA ‘20 to ask if they would be available to connect through Zoom. Scott Patterson and Tak Matsumoto agreed to connect virtually with the current cohort of students to answer questions about their SMBA experience. 

Matsumoto and Patterson are currently completing their culminating experience this semester working full-time with sports organizations. Patterson is with the San Diego-based clothing brand Vuori, Inc. and Matsumoto with KORE Software in New York City. 

For McCarthy, the virtual panel represented a way for the class to continue to network during a time when in-person conversations and coffee shop meetings are on hold. During this virtual conversation, students had the opportunity to learn from two students who were in their situation just one year ago. 

Sports MBA Program goes virtual with guest speakers

To mitigate some of the challenges of a 20 plus person Zoom call, the class submitted questions to McCarthy in advance. Ideas were presented in a shared spreadsheet and voted on, with the top 5 submissions selected to ask during the meeting. 

Both Masumoto, who is now a Success Associate at KORE, and Patterson, a Production Coordinator with Vuori, credited their success in finding full-time employment to their tireless networking efforts while in school. Each spoke about their experience as job applicants, and discussed how, for both of them, an informational interview led to an eventual job offer. The pair also offered advice to SMBA ‘21 regarding best practices for students to maximize their time and be productive this year, particularly important as they face an uncertain future. 

McCarthy’s efforts to create a connection between her class and the previous one was successful, and this conversation proved to be a format that will be expanded upon with alumni and sports industry executives in the future.

“Our students have demonstrated tremendous resilience in adapting to this new learning environment,” said Sports MBA program director Scott Minto “ It’s been incredible to witness  how well they’ve adjusted to and how creatively they’ve taken their networking and professional development online. This creativity will undoubtedly be an asset for them when they enter the sports industry upon graduation.”

“There are so many questions about our future right now, and while we don’t have answers to most of them, I realized we could get answers to some of them, and from the people closest to our current experience,” said SMBA ‘21 canidate, Maureen McCarthy. “Scott and Tak’s advice was reassuring and encouraging.”