Carthage scores big with first sports management conference

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (shown at left) was the featured guest at Carthage's first Spotlight on Sports conference Sept. 13, 2023. Jim Padilla (shown at right), dean for the School of Business and Economics, moderated a Q&A session.

More than 270 people took part in Carthage’s first Spotlight on Sports conference on Sept. 13, gaining rare access to industry leaders and valuable guidance for careers in sports management.

Attendees included high school and college students, their families, and working professionals. The free, daylong conference featured four topical panel discussions and a candid Q&A with longtime NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

Senior executives Raven Jemison (speaking), executive vice president of business operations for the Milwaukee Bucks, and Andrea Rose, president of the United States Hockey League's Muskegon Lumberjacks, took part in a panel discussion on women's leadership during Carthage's first Spotlight on Sports conference Sept. 13, 2023. “This conference showcased the unique opportunities and resources that our students have to learn about the sports industry,” said Professor Carter Rockhill, director of Carthage’s graduate business program. “We’re extremely grateful to Commissioner Bettman and everyone on the star-studded panels for sharing their brilliant insights. They make ours an elite program.”

The breakout panels covered timely topics like streaming rights, NIL guidelines, and women’s leadership in sports. Among the panelists were Carthage alumni, faculty, coaches, administrators, and several active members of the Sports Management Advisory Council.

Carthage offers a master’s degree track in sports management and a new undergraduate minor in sport business, cultivating universal skills like disruptive innovation and cross-functional teamwork. This past summer, the College also held its first weeklong sports management camp.

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