Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business and Viasystems will host the 2012 Sports Business Symposium, featuring a panel of sports business experts that includes Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Thursday, April 19, at John and Lucy Cook Hall, 3674 Lindell Blvd. at Spring Ave.
The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by program presentations at 6 p.m. The annual event, which celebrates SLU’s sports business academic programs, is free and open to the public however registration is requested.
For much of the first century of modern Olympic history, the economic and financial framework of the Olympic Games was broken. The advent of television and corporate sponsorship transformed that idealism. Now, linking with the five-ring logo is considered good business.
The symposium, Marketing the Rings, will explore the rise of the Olympic movement from an envisioned instrument of peace and brotherhood to a transnational commercial giant of imposing power and influence.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a member of the National Track and Field Hall of
Fame who won three gold, a silver and two bronze medals in track and field, spanning four Olympic Games, will be a featured panelist for the symposium. She set multiple records during her career and still holds the world record in the heptathlon and the American record in the long jump. Recognized by Sports Illustrated as the greatest female athlete of the 20th century, she is a two-time winner of the Jesse Owens Award.
Since retiring from the sport, she has been a community activist via the
Jackie Joyner Kersee Foundation and as a cofounder in 2008 of Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization of professional athletes who get involved in charitable causes and inspire millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support their communities. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for USA Track and Field, the national governing body for the sport.
The UCLA graduate also works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
Farm Foundation to promote the availability and consumption of healthy foods by Americans and is a nationally sought-after speaker.
Joyner-Kersee will be joined by Bruce Hudson (Cook’75), former Senior Director of International Sports Marketing at Anheuser-Busch, and Susan Goldsmith, Managing Director of Partnership Marketing for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Bill McDermott, a past member of the U.S. national soccer team, will serve as moderator of the panel. The voice of Major League Soccer for more than 40 years, he is the longest running soccer broadcaster in the United States and has been called a legend in sports media. He also is the owner of McDermott Design which he established in 1976.
In addition to his sports and business expertise, McDermott has been involved with numerous community projects in St. Louis and developed, with Bob Costas, the Bob Costas Gala and fundraising events for Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center and the Cancer Research Center. Costas says they don’t call McDermott “Mr. Soccer” for nothing.
“He is steeped in the history of the game while also staying current,” Costas said. “He knows it strategically, technically and historically. A one-time excellent player himself, his commentary carries additional credibility.”
McDermott is a proud SLU alum of SLU (A&S, Cook) and the NCAA-winning Billiken soccer team as well as a member of both the SLU and Missouri Halls of Fame.
Visit http://www.slu.edu/x58539.xml to register.
For more information contact Caroline Kaikati at ckaikati@slu.edu
or (314) 977-4103.
