“I take pride in how our guys play the game. If you look at our ball club — how we play the game and how we’re respectful — I think that is a reflection of the organization. And I want our fans to kind of really connect with the players,” said Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Industry leaders shared similar insights to students during the Sports Business Summit, which offered attendees a glimpse into the sports industry as well as opportunities for mentorship and networking. Hosted by the USC Sports Business Association, a student organization sponsored by USC Marshall School of Business, the annual event convened thought leaders, executives, founders, media personalities, and one World Series manager for an all-day conference on the industry. The event has exploded in its second year.

“Last year, when this event started, it was five students sitting in Fertitta Hall … One year later, we are now sitting here with the largest student-run event at USC,” said Joey Vargas-Brownlee ’25, SBA vice president and Marshall student, in his introductory remarks.

Panels focused on a wide range of topics, including leadership, talent management, sports finance, college athletics, investment, and the ins-and-outs of running a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

Inside the Dugout

Mark Sweeney, an MLB analyst for FS1, moderated a discussion with Dave Roberts, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mark Kotsay, manager of the Athletics. The conversation, titled “Inside the Dugout: Baseball Fireside Chat,” covered Kotsay and Robert’s decades-long careers in baseball, from their time as players to their new roles as veteran managers.

Kotsay, who’s been the A’s manager since 2022, reflected on what he expects his players to bring to the clubhouse and field as teammates.

“A good teammate tells you the truth,” Kotsay said. “I think that’s part of our culture right now: Our guys are telling each other the truth — when they’re not performing, they’re not hustling, they’re not being good teammates. That culture is somewhat established.”

Roberts has instituted a similar culture in his nine-year stint with the Dodgers, acting as a mentor for his players on and off the diamond. As a former player himself, Roberts understands there’s more to professional sports than what happens on the field, advising students to seek out their own mentors in life.

“Once my playing career was done, I started to understand what a mentor really was and the value of it,” Roberts said. “I have multiple mentors that are not only in baseball or in sports; they’re in finance, they’re in music, they’re in movies.”

Breaking Boundaries in Sports

Michael Rubin, founder and CEO of Fanatics, joined Jason Kelly, chief correspondent at Bloomberg, for a fireside chat that covered his entrepreneurial journey, the new frontiers of sports, and leveraging relationships into partnerships and collaborations. Above all, Rubin stressed two key traits to success: curiosity and relationships.

“Build great relationships and ask lots of questions. You’ll do so much better,” Rubin said.

The conversation also opened up to questions from students, one of whom asked Rubin for advice to young entrepreneurs striving to balance school with the rigors and challenges of running a startup.

“What I’d say is: you have to be fearless,” Rubin advised. “There’s nothing better than being 18, 19, 20, 21. Who cares if you fail? I think you have to go for it, take your shots, not be afraid to fail.”

Learning from Sports Leadership Legends

Angela Ellis, vice president of Original Content and Entertainment at NFL Media, moderated a panel with Bob Graziano ’80, chairman of the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission; Kevin Demoff, president of the Los Angeles Rams; and Mel Raines, president of Pacers Sport and Entertainment.

The discussion, “Learning from Sports Leadership Legends” covered a variety of topics, namely the development of brand within sports, the impact of the Olympics on surrounding communities, and the integral role Los Angeles plays in the global sports landscape.

“This is now the sports entertainment capital of the world,” Demoff said. “When you look at not only what we’ve hosted, but what’s about to come up: you have the NBA All-Star Game in 2026 at the Intuit Dome; then you have the World Cup, the Super Bowl in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028.”

The Playbook of Sports Finance

“As an operator, you have to adapt to the decision maker. You can’t expect the decision maker to adapt to you,” said Justin Quaglia, managing director of Oaktree Capital Management, in the panel discussion, “The Playbook of Sports Finance.”

Quaglia was joined by Mike LaSalle, partner of Shamrock Capital; Ben Enowitz, executive VP at both Endeavor and TKO; and moderator Brett Knight, assistant managing editor at Forbes. In the new world of fragmented media, the panel dissected their approaches to meeting consumers halfway, listening to audiences, and capitalizing on new revenue streams.

“Now, you’re seeing an explosion: all the ancillary opportunities — sports betting, social, YouTube … collectibles,” Enowitz remarked. “All these things that surround IP were just rounding errors. Now, they’re really big businesses, which is leading to a lot more excitement, a lot more growth, a lot more development.”

The Revenue League

With the rise of profitability channels comes the rise of partnership opportunities between teams and businesses. In the panel “The Revenue League,” industry leaders from both sides of the transaction analyzed the state of these collaborations.

The conversation brought together Rob Diefendorf ’93, president and COO of Pitchbook; Ryan Brach, executive VP of Global Partnerships at the Seattle Kraken; Leonard Armato, founder, chairman, and CEO of Management Plus Enterprises; along with moderator Jeff Fellenzer, professor of professional practice of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Even as revenue opportunities multiply, the panelists agreed that sponsorships had a duty to reflect the team’s and community’s values. Brach, who helped launch the Seattle Kraken as an NHL expansion team in 2021, explained how the team decided which partnerships to pursue.

“We knew that the Budweisers or the Coors or the Pepsis and the Cokes were all going to be there. But for us to be successful with this venture, we needed to find those companies that were based in Seattle that had a different vibe to them, that could tell a different type of story,” Brach said.

Beyond the Contract

The panel “Beyond the Contract: Navigating Sports Talent Management” brought together veterans from the representation to break down hot button topics within the field, such as media and branding, the new college athletic landscape, and developing personal relationships in a highly competitive industry.

The panel was moderated by Kristina Pink, NFL reporter for Fox Sports, and included Greg Genske, co-CEO of VaynerSports; Stephanie Mejia, NBA agent at WME; James Dunleavy ’11, NBA agent at Excel Sports; Trevon Smith, NFL agent at Athletes First; and Shetellia Riley Irving, CEO of A11Even Sports.

Smith offered a word of advice to students uncertain if the management world was for them.

“The biggest thing I would say … is to be fearless,” Smith said. “I was determined to be in this space. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer … There’s so many different ways to get in. I would implore you all to be fearless.”