“G
ETTING PAIDfor your passion is the secret to
success.”
For Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, this was the inspiration
behind Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW).
A former NCAA athletic director and current sports agent,
Lashbrook has found that he gets as much joy out of preparing
others to follow a similar path as he does from performing
those jobs himself.
So he started SMWW, the first ever online sports manage-
ment school, in 2002, to help those passionate about working in
the industry turn that dream into a reality.
“From there we blossomed into 30 eight-week online
courses,” says Lashbrook, who has represented hundreds of
professional athletes.
“The first course was Athlete Management to train people to
be sports agents, and now we have 30 that are taught all over
the world. We have students from 162 countries. The courses
are college accredited and we also offer sports management
degrees, masters and doctorates, and we have one-day career
conferences at a wide variety of sport business events.”
Most people come to SMWW looking for a career change.
Classes typically have between 10-25 students and are led by
experts with firsthand experience. Dean Oliver, for example,teaches “Basketball Analytics,” having served as a statistical
consultant for several NBA organizations. Mark Warkentien, the
2009 NBA Executive of the Year, and Carl Berman, Managing Di-
rector of the largest basketball scouting company in the world,
run a “Basketball GM & Scouting” course.
Beyond just learning the tools necessary to thrive in certain
roles (agent, scout, GM, etc.), students are able to work closely
and develop relationships with individuals already well-known
in the sports field. The global faculty consists of over 50 sports
business executives.
“We don’t call it ‘job placement,’ we call it ‘job placement
assistance,’” Lasbrook explains. “We’re going to help you get a
job by giving you a skill set—the what you know—and the who
you know.”
SMWW also hosts conferences around major sports business
occasions, including at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
This year’s event will take place from July 6-7 and provide valu-
able opportunities to network and gain insight about a potential
career in hoops.
“We all hear the line: Do what you love and money will
follow,” says Lashbrook. “SMWW was designed to help you get
paid for your passion, which is the secret to success. Simply put,
monetize your passion.” —Alex SquadronTHE SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS
want to break into the sports world? An online management school helps people
looking to make a career in the sports industry learn the tools needed to become
successful agents, scouts, GMs and much more.THE FUTURE ISSUE
16 SLAMONLINE.COM