- May 7th, 2006, 8:14 pm
#14667
Here's a story from the Pittsburgh fishwrap on the guy who got our Sport Management program off the ground:
Sport management studies mix business, pleasure at Californiahttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 50644.html
By Ron Paglia
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 7, 2006
At first glance the sport management studies curriculum at California University of Pennsylvania sounds like a lot of fun. And it is, but that's just part of the picture.
"We certainly try to make the course as enjoyable as possible for the students," said Dr. Roy E. Yarbrough, program director of sport management studies at California. "But they also have to understand there's a lot of work involved. It's a serious business, and they have to understand that up front."
Yarbrough, a professor in the Department of Health Science and Sport Studies at the university, has been a faculty member at California since the fall semester of 1999 and played an instrumental role in the Cal U sport management program gaining national accreditation by the North American Society of Sport Management.
"Two of the primary requirements for taking this course are reliability and being willing to learn," Yarbrough said. "Just because you like sports or think you know a lot about sports really doesn't mean much. There's more to it than just fun and games. We try to emphasize to them that they have to be accountable to themselves, as well as to the program and the school."
There are between 250 and 275 undergraduate students enrolled in the sport management studies course each year at California, and another 125 pursue their master's degree through the university's online program.
"I've heard some of the graduate students complain that the online studies are difficult, that they have to read a lot," Yarbrough said. "Well, it's designed that way. How are you going to learn without reading? The same guidelines that exist in our undergraduate studies apply to the online program."
Both programs offer lessons in marketing, advertising, front office administration responsibilities, "everything from emptying the trash baskets to selling tickets the day of the game to being an equipment manager," Yarbrough said. To complement those studies, Cal U students, with Yarbrough's help, seek internships. During the last 20 years, Yarbrough has assigned and directed more than 2,000 student internships with professional, semi-professional, Olympic, national and local sport teams or clubs, and public and private schools.
Yarbrough has been actively involved in sport management since 1986 when he co-developed sport management studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., to be one of four nationally certified programs. He is a national instructor for the American Sports Education Program and a certified recreational sport specialist. From 1989-2003, he served as historian for the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association and has been an active member of the North American Society for Sport Management since 1988.
"The student internships provide work experience as part of a career preparation program," Yarbrough said. "According to a study conducted by the Regional Internship Center in Pittsburgh, students feel there are three important qualities of an internship. These are learning a lot, having a good supervisor or mentor and making valuable contacts."
"Internship programs provide the opportunity for students to apply theoretical principles from the classroom into the real-world environment, to determine if additional study is needed by the student, and to identify any strengths or weaknesses in the classroom experience," Yarbrough wrote in a paper for the National Sports Forum's Inner Circle publication. The NSF Inner Circle includes a select group of marketing, sport management, entertainment, education and business leaders from across the country.
"The value of internships as a teaching method lies in experimental opportunity," Yarbrough said. "The National Association of Colleges and Employee revealed in its 2004 Experiential Education Survey that employers offered full-time jobs to 58 percent of their interns and a 2005 EES showed that 45 percent of employers offered a 6.5 percent higher starting salary to incoming hires with internship experience. Access is the key, and that access often begins with contacts. Access offers students an opportunity to function in professional work situations, rather than in simulations."
Yarbrough's students have gained internships with such professional sports organizations as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, Washington Wild Things, Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the Indianapolis Speedway, to name just a few. One of his students, Jeff Lytle, of Eighty Four, is currently serving an administrative internship with the Altoona Curve, a Class AA Minor League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Also part of the SMS curriculum at California is working with the university's football and basketball teams.
"The kids do it free, of course," Yarbrough said. "Their duties with the teams are very diversified and are designed to give them a much better, day-to-day idea of what goes into operating a varsity athletic program on the university or college level. They learn how schedules are made by working with the athletic director and the coaches; they learn about ticket sales, refreshments, the whole gamut of behind the scenes operations. And, yes, that includes how those dirty uniforms and socks are cleaned after every game."
All of this intense involvement benefits the students when they are seeking an internship or trying to enter the job market, Yarbrough said.
"The vice president of CBS Sports recently asked me why they should hire one of our students, and my answer was plain and simple, 'They don't know it all and they're willing to continue learning,'" Yarbrough said. "They can go into the workplace well prepared because of our program, but they also go there with an attitude that no job is too small or too tough for them. They know they'll be putting in long hours and paying their dues. They're prepared to face disappointments but to never be discouraged."
As another preview of what to expect in the "real world," Yarbrough schedules his sport management classes at 8 and 9 in the morning.
"It's designed to show them that the workday begins early," he said. "If they're sincere about wanting to get something out of this program, they're going to be on time for every class. We don't cater to anyone. It's up to the student to be here. One of the best things we can hear from an employer or someone who is utilizing our interns is that our students are reliable. It makes us think, 'Hey, we must be doing something right.'"
Yarbrough said 60 women are enrolled in the course.
"The women bring a different and welcome perspective to the program," he said. "Quite frankly, they keep the boys in line and put them on notice. Because they work together on projects, the men learn quickly that harassment will not be tolerated in any workplace."
Yarbrough brought solid credentials to his assignment at California University.
"I had been out of the education field for a few years and was rather eager to return," he said. "A friend told me that California wanted to introduce a sport management program based on what we had developed at Liberty University. I'm very pleased that the opportunity arose and that I accepted, and I'm extremely grateful that the university has been so supportive of what we do. Those who had planned the courses at California did a great job. They made my work easy."
In addition to his work at Liberty University (1980-1994), Yarbrough also was an associate professor and chairman of the faculty personnel committee at Neumann College in Aston, where he taught in both undergraduate and graduate programs including classes in sports marketing, promotions, finance and management.
The son of a used-car salesman, Yarbrough likes to kid that he used education as a way to "not follow in my father's footsteps." But he's also quick to hand out a business card that reads, Yarbrough Enterprises, Yarbrough's Used Car Sales and Residential Rentals. The business is located on Route 40 East in Vandalia, Ill. The owners are Roy Yarbrough and his brother, Del Yarbrough. Jack L. Scott, the Yarbroughs' cousin, manages the business.
"My father was a hard-working man who knew how to sell cars and sell himself," Yarbrough smiled. "He was an inspiration to us."
Yarbrough's success in both the business world and academia stems from his willingness to start at the bottom and work his way to the top, something he has done in many different areas and at many different times. He also is a firm believer in having some fun in doing all that, and strives to pass those concepts on to his students.
"Ninety percent of our graduates have found jobs," Yarbrough said. "The other 10 percent just don't want to relocate. The students must ultimately choose where they want to work, contact their desired employer and present a resume. But I firmly believe the internships they realize and the degrees they receive because of our program mean more to our students because they have earned them."
Yarbrough wants his students to be successful. At the 2003 National Sports Forum in Pittsburgh, he was able to introduce Cal U's sport management program to professionals from major and minor league teams and corporations throughout the athletic industry.
"We were one of only four schools that attended the conference," Yarbrough said. "I think that gives Cal U an advantage in placing interns locally and nationally. We're being looked on as a model program here at California. Out of 350 schools nationwide with sport management programs, California is one of only 30 accredited by the North American Society of Sports Management. And through NASSM evaluations, our program will remain current with trends in the industry and hopefully get better."
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