Learfield IMG

Aaron Rodriguez

September 8, 2020 

Class Make-up Assignment

Cohort 21S

 

Learfield IMG

 

Learfield IMG is a sport marketing and ticketing company located in the agencies, consultants, and service providers sector of the sports industry. Their vision is to build the team, grow the company, have fun., and love and serve others Their mission is to place tremendous emphasis on people, providing excellent services to their partners, and cultivate a company that creates innovative solutions. Their core values align with their mission statement and embody these pillars through their company culture. Their first pillar is “Build the Team '', they do this by understanding that their work is a collective effort and recruit great people for those goals and once they are recruited they embrace them into their company fully by encouraging each other and considering everyone like family. Their second pillar is “Grow the Company” they do this by serving their employees so they can focus on serving their customers, being agile and open-minded, and looking for the win/win. Their third pillar is to “Have Fun”, they do this by celebrating victories that are big and small, dreaming big-and chasing the dream, and figure out ways to make work fun for everyone. Their final pillar is love and “Serve Others”, they do this by doing what's right, being truthful, candid, and present, and by being passionately friendly and curious 

 

The customers that Learfield IMG must cater to are conferences, networks, and universities. They provide a multitude of services to them and connect them with companies that would be interested in using the school's platform to enhance the image of their product and create value for both the university and the product. With the merger between Learfield Sports and IMG College, they both bring unique resources and capabilities to improve their business. Learfield Sports brings their reputation and clientele while IMG College brings its skills and expertise in ticketing operations. Given these skills and clientele base, they now have the capabilities to reach more customers at a higher level of service. 

 

Conferences generate the most revenue for them as they not only give them access to the universities but also special events such as bowl games. They have been focusing on the inbound logistics of the sports industry by investing and expanding into athletic training facilities both in operations and ownership. Despite this focus on inbound logistics, their greatest opportunity for growth is with broadcasting as they currently broadcast 240 sports in 200 countries. With their current broadcasting locations and the technological growth in the industry, there is a great opportunity for growth.

 

In the industry, there are five key competitive forces and they are buyer power, supplier power, the threat of substitution, the threat of new entrants, and competitive rivalry. The first is buyer power, buyers have very weak power in the industry. Since Learfield Sports and IMG College merged buyers in the college sports industry have had fewer options to get their content out which significantly reduces buyer power. The second is supplier power, supplier power is also weak as entry barriers are high and there is a small pool of competitors. This consolidation has made the industry tough for other companies. This is the primary reason for weak threats to substitution as well as threats of new entry. To find the same product there is a limited number of places people can go and there is little differentiation between firms. Going outside the ticket sales market of Learfield IMG could also be high as well as risky because you must rely on the trust of an unknown seller on the street or other online forums. This is also the reason why there is a weak threat of new entrants. This difficulty in becoming a trusted source and building a reputation is the reason for a weak threat of new entry. There are too many obstacles for a company to be competitive in the industry. Despite being weak in all the other forces the industry is strong in the competitive rivalry. With such few companies in the industry due to the merger of IMG and Learfield Sports, this has created an intense rivalry in the industry. Companies must find strategic advantages to differentiate their product and become attractive to buyers.

 

The industry is very competitive and to succeed there are three key factors. Those factors are partnerships, ease of ticketing platform, and diversity in services. The first is partnerships. Partnerships are essential to the success of a company as they will be providing the content of games that will attract sponsors, ticket sales, and broadcasting rights. Companies must have strong partnerships with networks as well because they will be the ones who can air games provided by the Universities and Bowl Games by the Conferences. The second key success factor is the ease of a ticketing platform. Ticketing platforms are a key revenue generator, not only for the ticket sale numbers but also these are essential for broadcasting rights deals. This shows the level of interest in teams and having an easy to navigate platform will increase the willingness of fans to come to games and enhance their experience. 

The final factor is diversity in services, Universities and Conferences will want to be able to come to one company for all their needs, and diversity of services will allow them to cater to the needs of their clients.

 

 

Business Model

 

AEG

 

AEG is a sporting and music presenting company that owns and runs venues and other prime real estate and provides content and affiliated services. They are located in the sports facilities sector of the sports industry. However, they also touch on the agencies, consultants, and service providers sector of the industry as they provide event management services. Their competitors include ASM global, The Madison Square Garden Company, and Live Nation. All three compete with them directly as they are all venue operators and live experience operators. However, on the team ownership aspect of AEG, they compete with the other teams in their respective leagues. 

 

Their main resource is their venues as this allows them to coordinate their events and generate their revenue. This requires them to have the capabilities to operate the events. These capabilities include their reputation of logistical knowledge and understanding of the respective markets by knowing what events will attract people to their venue. These become their competitive advantage over other competitors as their multiple venues allow them to host events in many different cities while their logistical knowledge and reputation make them an attractive operator for live events. This makes them a perfect fit for the industry because they not only have the expertise for events, but they also have the locations to hold events anywhere in the world. 

 

Given the massive holdings and expertise needed to become successful, there are five key success factors needed to compete in the industry. Those factors are value and quality, venues, hospitality factors, information dissemination, and marketing and sales. The first is value and quality, this is important for success because this is the basis of a company's reputation. They must produce value to those whom they operate events for at a high quality to make them a returning customer. The second factor is venues, venues allow a company to be able to extend its reach. Having more venues in multiple locations allows a company to book a whole tour for music groups or to be the venue for a multitude of sporting events and this will increase the variety of events the company can operate. The third factor is hospitality factors, not only does an operating company have to have a good reputation and many locations but they also have to be able to execute the events when they are given the contract. Their execution of hospitality will leave a lasting impression on patrons of the event and will make the people hosting the event be happy with the operator. The fourth factor is information dissemination, in operating an event there are a lot of moving parts to the success of an event. This means that everyone will have to be on the same page or else the event will fail due to confusion. Information dissemination is the best way to do this because it allows everyone to know what is going on in all aspects of the event at all times. The final factor is marketing and sales, operating companies must be able to market and sell their venues to event managers. This can be achieved with previous event success and being able to sell them on the fact that they can do it again. The company must also be able to market that they can make the event even better and show the ideas that they have to excite more people to want to come to the live event. 

 

In the live event presentation industry, there are many political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. The first factor is political when constructing or renovating a venue a company must understand that they need to work with the city to finish the project. They must be able to work with city officials to receive proper funding as well as follow any codes and regulations they may have. The political climate is not only important for new venues but it is also important for operating events. Political factors are important to understand as venue operators must understand the city officials and whether or not they will be helpful in their pursuits with their venue. The second factor is economic, the economic factors are very important a venue must understand if the city has a strong economy to understand if they will develop a new venue or if they will bring a large event. Either a city must have the infrastructure to support the event which will mean they have a strong economy. The city must have proper lodging, transportation, and ancillary experiences to complement the venue and the events hosted there. A strong economy is also important because they will need to understand if they can sell tickets in the city to bring people to the venue. If the economy is strong then the people within the city will be coming to the venue. The third factor is social, the social factor is very important, this will determine what events that a venue is willing to operate in certain markets. They must understand what the community around them is interested in and what social experiences they will bring to enhance their time at the venue. The fourth factor is technological, technological factors are very important. Venues and operating companies must be able to have the latest technology at their fingertips as they need to make sure that they have the proper equipment for the planning and execution of events as well as cutting-edge technology to excite fans about coming to their venue. The fifth factor is environmental, environmental factors are extremely important to new venue construction. Companies must make their venues environmentally sustainable as more fans of events and the public at large grow in concern over this issue. Environmentally sustainable venues will be able to bring in more events and people to their venues. The final is legal factors, Ordinances will need to be followed to make sure that everyone is safe, and the proper authorities will have to be present to ensure safety. The legal factors are important in maintaining order and ensuring safety. 

 

 

philosophy 3330

Final Exam Prompt

Aguilar Jose

California State University, Los Angeles

PHIL 3330-04

1) How does Sartre, in his essay “Black Orpheus,” define the poetic-political movement of Negritude? Your account of this definition should reference, and reflect your engagement with, writings by Damas, Césaire, and Senghor.

In order to understand how Sartre defines the poetic political movement of negritude we must understand it’s the transformation of black men and how he comes to this understanding of Negritude. Sartre begins his essay by laying out a depiction of how it felt as a European to see these individuals changing, while still trying to grasp at what they once had. Not feeling at ease with the feeling of lacking the privileges they once held and being brought down to the same level of the very people they colonized finding solace nowhere. Not understanding their words through poetry seeing them as an attempt to bring shame to them, however these poems were not about Europeans their poetry is meant as an awakening to consciousness, a hymn by everyone for everyone. Stating that this is a world in which they cannot understand nor venture in to. He then wants to bring awareness to white men what black men have already realized, also mentioning that through this poetry, in the black man’s present condition, he must first become conscious of himself. Therefore, black poetry in its current time is the only great revolutionary poetry. Bringing to light that white proletariats rarely use poetic language to speak of their suffering, anger, or pride because talent has lost its meaning in a culture where claiming that talent is more widespread in one class than another. Stating furthermore, that black workers are no less gifted than white workers, recognizing their present circumstances of the class struggle is what keeps the workers from expressing themselves poetically. Sartre then mentions that the black man through gaining professional, economic, and scientific now how he will someday be able to control business management. Through this he will develop a profound practical knowledge of what poets call nature, but his knowledge is gained more through his hands than through his eyes: Nature to him is matter, this crafty, inert adversity in which he works on with his tools; matter has no song. The black man must also be in a constant state of political calculation, precise forecasting, discipline and organization of the masses because for them to dream is a luxury they can’t afford. Rationalism, materialism, positivism the themes of the black man's struggle are favorable for his creation of poetic myths. Stating the oppressed class must find itself, this self-discovery however, this is not to say it is a subjective examination of oneself but recognition of the objective situation of the proletariat by determining the circumstances of production or redistribution of property. Unified by the struggles they face workers are not usually acquainted with the contradictions that fertilize the work of art and that are harmful to the continued practice. And in order to situate themselves regarding the forces around them, this requires them to determine both their exact position in their class and their class function in the party. the poetry of the future revolution has remained in the hands of well-intentioned bourgeois who found inspiration through their personal psychological contradictions in the contrast between their ideals and their class, uncertain of the old bourgeois language. Like the white man the negro is also a victim of the capitalist structure of our society.

This situation reveals to Sartre apart from the color of his skin with certain classes of Europeans who like him are oppressed, this incites him to imagine a privilege less society in which skin pigmentation will be considered a mere fluke. Sartre feels that regardless of the situation the black man is a victim of it because he is a black man. And he is oppressed within the confines of his race, needing to become aware of his race. Giving an example that a Jew a white man can decline that he is a Jew, while the negro cannot deny that he is a negro. His back is up against the wall, formerly insulted and enslaved picks up the racial slurs thrown at him draws himself erect and stands proud proclaiming he is a black man face to face with white men. The unity that will come eventually, bringing together all oppressed people must be preceded by what he calls the moment of separation of negativity, and that anti-racism is the only road that leads to the abolition of racial differences. Stating that a black man cannot count on a distant white proletariat dealing with his own struggles before they are united and organized on their own. This discovery is different from what Marxism tries to awaken in the white worker, to the European worker class consciousness is based on the nature of profit and present conditions of ownership of the instruments of work, based on the objective characteristics of the position of the proletariat. This transitions into race consciousness which is based on the black soul, a certain quality common to the thoughts and conduct of negroes which is called Negritude, thus the black man who asserts his negritude by means of a revolutionary movement immediately places himself in the position of having to look within himself, either because he wishes to recognize himself to have objectively established traits of the African civilization, or because he hopes to discover the essence of blackness in the well of his heart. This brings us to the black man who asks his colored brothers to “find themselves” will try to present to them an exemplary image of their negritude looking into his own soul to grasp it. Attempting to be both a beacon and a mirror, the first revolutionary being the harbinger of the black soul, the half prophet and half follower who tear blackness from himself in order to share it with the world. In brief he will be a poet in the literal sense of vates (prophet). Stating that black poetry has nothing in common with heartfelt writing, it is functional and serves a purpose, it answers a need that needs being defined in precise terms. And in this case the subject of that matter is the single idea to reveal the black soul, in which black poetry in its evangelical state announces good news that blackness has been rediscovered. However, this negritude does not fall under the soul's gaze all by itself, the prophet has gone through white schools he has stolen from his oppressor. And it is through this contact with white culture that his blackness has passed from immediacy of existence to a meditative state. In choosing to do so he has become split already being exiled from himself he reveals himself, so he begins by exile. Sartre compares black peoples exile from Africa is comparable to the exile of the black man and his soul from which the negro is exiled from. An ever-present negritude haunts him he turns around to look squarely at his negritude it vanishes and the walls of white culture, its silence, its words, its mores rise between it and him. The walls of this culture prison must be broken down, it will be necessary for his return to Africa someday, thus the theme of returning to his native country and the descent into the glaring hell of his black soul are mixed up in the vates (prophecy) of his negritude. The struggle the black man has within himself, his tireless descent into himself makes Sartre think of Orpheus and his going to claim Eurydice from Pluto. Through letting himself meditate on his tormented self, singing of his angers, regrets, hatred, his torn life between civilization and his old black substratum. It is through this that the black man becomes his most lyrical not only speaking to himself from within he speaks to all negroes. It is when he is suppressed by the serpents of European culture that he becomes his most revolutionary, for he then undertakes to ruin European knowledge he has attained, and this spiritual destruction symbolizes a great future in which black man will take arms to destroy their chains.  Sartre discusses that for one to understand one’s self one must be Irish for example but to be Irish one must also think Irish, to think in Irish. And for the negro and the prophets of negritude they are forced to write their gospel in the language of their colonizers. It is because of this that black man across the world have no common tongue, so in order for the oppressed to unite they must use the language of their oppressors so while rejecting their colonizers culture with one hand they also accept with the other.

This would not matter but because far away vocabulary forged miles away are not suitable for him to furnish himself with the means to speak of himself creates a disconnect. He goes into explaining how negritude is a definable or describable concept. Sartre states that it is not true that the black man speaks in a foreign tongue he was taught as a child since he is at ease with using said language the thinks in terms of the technician. However, Sartre explains that one must identify the difference that separates what he says from what he would like to say. Whenever he speaks about himself this foreign tongue steals his ideas from him, bends them in a way to mean what he wanted. Rendering him not able to speak of his negritude in a precise fashion, creating this frustration when a language is supposed to be the means of direct communication. Even though this foreign language creates difficulty the “black evangelists” must answer the colonist's ruse with a similar but inverse ruse. Since their oppressor is present in their language the black man must speak the language in order to destroy it. Giving an example of how the French poet dehumanizes words in order to give them back to nature while the black man defrenchifizes them in order to crush them. Sartre feels that it is only through poetry that the black man can communicate and since French lacks the terms and concepts to define negritude these black poets will use allusive words never direct reducing themselves to silence in order to evoke it. It is the black man’s self-portrayal, his personal way of utilizing the means of expression to his disposal that seems poetic to Sartre. Upsetting hierarchy poetizing “the blackness of innocence” “the darkness of virtue”. Bringing to light that black poets don’t want to be poets of the night but accepting of both day and night, they want to be poets of the promise of dawn in which they welcome. Furthering this notion that there is blackness in white and whiteness in black, a state of being and non-being referencing Césaire in a poem that describes whiteness in black and blackness in white in the form of day and night. In addition to alluding to the tension between the coexistence of black and white by writing “our beautiful faces like the true operative power of negation”. Césaire also further goes into describing how black is black is not color, but the destruction of borrowed clarity from the white sun, night is no longer absence it is a refusal. The humiliated negro asserts his rights through the private aspect of darkness which establishes its value, “liberty is the color of the night” renouncing previous notions by destroying them. Negritude like liberty is a point of departure and a goal, a matter of making negritude pass from immediate to mediate. Having the black man find death in white culture in order to be reborn with his black soul. It is through this that the black man discovers himself and becomes what he is, not through his knowing not his existential struggle in exiling himself from him. The black poet attempts to use his origins/culture to find himself attempting to render himself possessed by his people's negritude, hoping that this will awaken sleeping instincts from within him. Through this the black man has more of a connection to his culture through his poetry while the French poet cannot recreate the same effect due to centuries of poetry that separates them from a similar process being achieved. Césaire attempts to back track unto himself, words go beyond themselves not to allow words as a diversion towards the heavens or earth. Quite the opposite they work in a strange and flexible way, both solid and liquid/black and white/day and night, taking the form of what is ascribed of them. Not limiting one’s self under the superficial crust of reality, in order to touch one’s soul and waken the timeless force of desire one must plunge into the breast of nature and through nature one can achieve the affirmation of his right to be unsatisfied. However, Césaire is not the only black man to take this approach Senghor states that it was more a cultural movement than a review. Through Marxist analysis of society, stating that if one is to compare lero to Césaire we can come to the realization that they have dissimilarities. Through this comparison we find that surrealism is one thing that could deliver a man from his taboos and help him express his entireness. Césaire destroys not all culture but rather white culture, he brings to light the desire for revolutionary aspirations of the oppressed negro, touching a concrete from of humanity. Césaire finding from within himself the inflexibility of demands and feelings, tying his words together brought together by his furious passion.

Through Césaire the great surrealist traditions are realized taking on a definitive meaning, a black man taking the European movement and turning it against them giving it a thoroughly and defined function. Césaire's originality in his writing lies in his directed concentration of his anxiety as an oppressed negro unto the world's most free and metaphysical poetry at the time. He also takes on negritude “like a cry of pain, love, and hate”. His words do not describe negritude they create it and compose it under his views. So, Sartre feels that it is something that can be observed and learned, stating his subjective method of defining negritude becomes objective. Césaire externalizes his black soul when others try to internalize it. Senghor states “what makes the negritude of a poem is less its them than its style, the emotional warmth which gives life to words, which transmutes  the word into the word” coming to the notion that negritude is not a state nor a definite grouping of vices and virtues or attitudes towards the world. Césaire portrays negritude as an act more than a frame of mind, an inner determination in which a black man takes from his outside and changes it making it his own. Césaire also depicts his black brethren not as inventors nor explorers but giving beauty to the resources available to him. Césaire defines negritude as “patience" appearing as if it is taking the form of passiveness. This act of negritude is an act of one’s self, through this Césaire feels once they have acted on nature a black man reclaims himself and his outside. Sartre feels that white man knows everything but only scratches the surface of all that he knows, unaware of things. While negritude is the comprehension of things through an instinctive connection to it, the sources of his being and origins are identical. Sartre compares negritude to a sort of androgyny, in which the black man encompasses all it means to exist harmoniously with nature. Césaire also evokes this “righteous patience” that ties to the harmonious existence with nature however it also speaks of having patience against suffering it is something that comes from within the negro.

Sartre beings to discuss how the black man endured centuries of slavery, slavery being a past fact that white men have not experienced. Black people having a collect memory in common with respect to this colonization. Sartre quotes pascal in his statement that man experiences an irrational composite of metaphysics and history, his greatness unexplainable, his misery unexplainable if he is still as god made him, in order to understand man one has to go back to the simple basic fact of his downfall. Through this Césaire calls his race “the fallen race”, the black man discovers of his memory that it is not his own, it belongs to that of the white man. Referencing a comparison to religion that to the black man the white man’s religion is a hoax, an attempt to have the black man share the responsibility for a crime that was not of his own accord, for he was a victim. Negritude in its past and future is then inserted into universal history, it is no longer identified as a state or existential attitude, it is a “becoming”. This notion furthers the black man’s claim in his place in nature his suffering, capitalistic exploitation, has awakened in him a sense of revolt and love of liberty more than others, pursuing the liberation of all, while working to set himself free. Senghor distinguishes between degrees of negritude, questioning whether negritude is necessity or liberty? Whether it is given fact or value? The object of empiric intuition or a moral concept? A conquest of mediation? Or does mediation poison? Sartre feels that negritude is a shimmer of being and needing to be, makes you as you make it. Something carries more importance than that however, that being the negro. Not wishing to dominate the world but the abolition of all ethnic privileges asserting his solidarity with oppressed people of every color. Césaire feels though that white symbolizes capital while black symbolizes work, when writing of black men of his race he writes through the adversity created by proletarian struggle. Negritude as seen through a Marxist is described as destroying itself to an end. Sartre also describes negritude as not a state it goes beyond itself, he calls it love. When negritude declares abandonment of itself it then finds itself. Although internally the black man finds race in which he must tear from himself. Therefore, negritude is dialectical not only relating to the reversion of something ancestral, but it represents going beyond a situation defined by free consciousness. Adorning itself with a sorrowful sense of beauty that can only find expression in poetry. Negritude is the content of the poem, it becomes the poem like a thing existing in the world, mysterious, open, obscure, and suggestive it becomes the poet itself.

2) Chapter 5 of Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks is the most widely read section of the text. It is also one of the most unusual and challenging. What do you understand the author to be doing in this chapter? Include a treatment of the way the author references Sartre’s “Black Orpheus,” and aspects of the Negritude Movement. Additionally, you should discuss how the references to the Negritude movement in this chapter fits into the author’s treatment of Negritude in the book as a whole (chapter 8 is particularly important in this regard).

sports management personal statement

            Sports have been a large part of my life, it has been the catalyst to all the values which I hold today. At an early age I was introduced to many sports such as tennis, soccer and basketball. These after school activities were a large part of my childhood and this would allow a release from home life and the loneliness of my parents not being home due to them being in the military. Every practice would be a time for me to enjoy myself and just be a kid. This would then be carried on at home where I would dream of taking the last shot at the NBA finals or the winning home run in the World Series or the winning goal at the World Cup. My childhood was all about sports and when I was not playing the sports I was watching it and idolizing the athletes on the field and wanting to be like them. Those times watching games were also a way for my father and me to bond. This was the couple of hours a week we could share and talk about whatever amazing catch was made or how the pitcher was doing so well and was striking everyone out. These moments are the moments that made me see the grit a determination of individuals showing the ups and downs in a couple hours and showing how they could overcome these obstacles and make me believe that whatever I face I could do the same. In middle school I was taken to a new place because of the military which was Italy. In this new land I was afraid, I hadn’t known anyone and didn’t know how to meet new people. In an effort to make new friends my parents put me in the environment which I knew the most which was sports. The first sport which came up was soccer. This sport was where I was most familiar at the time because I had been playing in recreational leagues since 5 years old. On the field I was able to make a lot of new friends and have the thrill of competition. In the winter came Basketball, this sports was something I was also very familiar with but I had never really done competitively. This was the first time which I had played organized basketball and when I started to truly love the game. The opportunity showed me how basketball was more than just putting the ball in the hoop, but had an elegance to it and a strategy for success. The final sport of the year was baseball. At the time baseball was something I had never tried before but I had always watched on the screen. I would go out in the backyard after watching games and hit tennis balls over the fence and imagine winning the world series for my hometown Padres but never saw a pitch thrown at me. However, In that first year in Italy this became my favorite sport. It was the biggest sport on the base and was a whole community kind of thing so everyday after school we would play baseball even if there was no practice. Playing baseball would go until we couldn’t see the ball and then we would play catch afterwards. Games would be with anyone and everyone, baseball and softball players would come to play and on the side argue which sport was better, but in the end we knew we had so much passion for the sport which we called our own. After that spring baseball carried on into summer and this is where I saw what real “travel ball” competition was like. We played to become the Italian representative for the European Championship. Our team practiced long and hard and had our coaches yelling at us till they were blue in the face but at the end of the day they knew how to make us feel like we did a good job and we were in a safe and fun environment. This competitive spirit was taken to a new level my freshman year of high school. The first sport that came that year was tennis. Tennis was another one of those sports which I was very familiar with and had played for a long time. High school sports in Europe was a whole new experience because I played people from all over the world. I met people from Spain, Germany, Asia  and all over Italy and this feeling it gave me was like being a professional. Each week we would go to another city in Italy and would have to leave school a couple of days early. We would ride a bus from a range of 2-10 hours and then play our game and head back home and the results would be announced at school the next day. These high school years were exciting because I had to plan how everything had to be done. I had to plan when I was going to do my homework, practice and find time for other fun things. This made me more responsible and was a new thing that sports taught me and thats planning and organization. This continued through my freshman year in the winter when I played basketball and we took home a European Championship and when I played baseball and we placed fourth at the European tournament. These team sports also taught me about teamwork and brotherhood. This showed me how others are willing to sacrifice for each other and be unselfish to reach a common goal. Other than my experiences as an athlete sports has impacted me with my experiences as a fan. Being a military kid caused me to move around a little but I lived in San Diego for most of my high school experience and I was able to see how involved sports teams were to the military community. They would come to the base every year and provide tickets to veterans. I was able to have once in a lifetime opportunities to meet players and attend sporting events that every sports fan could only dream of. These experiences have developed a love for sports and what it can teach an individual and is why it became my goal to become a General Manager of a Sports team and help others see the inspiration that athletes are to the world and give an experience to the fans and give them the same joy I was able to feel. These values have continued through my time in high school and now in my time in college. In a lot of points of time in college I thought it was the end of the road for me that I would not be able to pass a class or accomplish something but the grit which sports has instilled in my through the years has been able to help me succeed where I thought I would fail. The teamwork I had learned in sports as well has also carried on through college. During school I had many personal projects as well as school projects where I had to learn to work with others quickly and complete a task. Sports have helped me become who I am today and this masters program can help me cultivate these skills and become an even better version of myself.

            The University of San Francisco was a school I had never heard of until I saw them at my campus during a grad fair. As I approached the table I felt very welcomed by them and as I looked more into the program I felt that this could be an environment where I would be able to grow and turn my love of sports into a career. The alumni network which they displayed was impressive and I can see the type of schooling environment which I will be able to learn in will help me in my career.The format of the school as mostly working with teams is a perfect environment for me because it will allow me to use skills taught in classes as well as teamwork in a real world enviorment. I learn best when I use the skills I learn instead of just a test which this program can provide. Sports have made a great impact on my life and through the program at the University of San Francisco I will be able to learn how teams do the things that have shaped me into the man I am today.

reccomendation letter

Dear Admissions Board,
       I would like to recommend Aaron Conrad Rodriguez for the master’s program in sports management at your institution. Sports management has always been a dream of his which he has work tirelessly to achieve at his time at California State University of Los Angeles. At his time in this university he was highly involved in his classes as well as in his organization of Alpha Phi Omega. In classes he would participate often and provide great insight into the discussions in classes to further the education of all students. His great attitude in the classroom helps create a positive environment for students where everyone wants to be engaged in the classroom. His work ethic outside the classroom is unparalleled and he will stop at nothing to finish a project or get a concept down.  In his organization of Alpha Phi Omega, he took on multiple positions such as Service Vice President, Public Relations Director as well as a Marketing Director for a benefit concert called the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert. In his position as Public Relations Director he was able to recruit hundreds of new members and maintain the growth of their chapter as well as create the foundation to start intramurals sports within the organization. Aaron was constantly in contact with the director of the sports league and highly encouraged members to participate in its activities. As the Marketing director for the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert for “Together We Rise” he was an integral contributor in the recruitment of talents as well as raising of funds.  As Service Vice President he was able to provide a multitude of service events which provided thousands of hours to the campus, community and nation. The biggest projects he accomplished as Service Vice President was the construction of sweet cases for the organization of “Together We Rise”. Sweet cases provided comfort to the youth of the Los Angeles area giving them a bag and essentials for their survival and education. Aaron Rodriguez would be a great asset to your program due to his love for sports, rare work ethic and immense contributions to his campus, community and nation.

Dear Admissions Board,
       I would like to recommend Aaron Conrad Rodriguez for the master’s program in sports management at your institution. Sports management has always been a dream of his which he has work tirelessly to achieve at his time at California State University of Los Angeles. At his time in this university he was highly involved in his classes as well as in his organization of Alpha Phi Omega. In classes he would participate often and provide great insight into the discussions in classes to further the education of all students. His great attitude in the classroom helps create a positive environment for students where everyone wants to be engaged in the classroom. His work ethic outside the classroom is unparalleled and he will stop at nothing to finish a project or get a concept down.  In his organization of Alpha Phi Omega, he took on multiple positions such as Service Vice President, Public Relations Director as well as a Marketing Director for a benefit concert called the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert. In his position as Public Relations Director he was able to recruit hundreds of new members and maintain the growth of their chapter as well as create the foundation to start intramurals sports within the organization. Aaron was constantly in contact with the director of the sports league and highly encouraged members to participate in its activities. As the Marketing director for the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert for “Together We Rise” he was an integral contributor in the recruitment of talents as well as raising of funds.  As Service Vice President he was able to provide a multitude of service events which provided thousands of hours to the campus, community and nation. The biggest projects he accomplished as Service Vice President was the construction of sweet cases for the organization of “Together We Rise”. Sweet cases provided comfort to the youth of the Los Angeles area giving them a bag and essentials for their survival and education. Aaron Rodriguez would be a great asset to your program due to his love for sports, rare work ethic and immense contributions to his campus, community and nation.

Dear Admissions Board, 

       I would like to recommend Aaron Conrad Rodriguez for the master’s program in sports management at your institution. Sports management has always been a dream of his which he has work tirelessly to achieve at his time at California State University of Los Angeles. At his time in this university he was highly involved in his classes as well as in his organization of Alpha Phi Omega. In classes he would participate often and provide great insight into the discussions in classes to further the education of all students. His great attitude in the classroom helps create a positive environment for students where everyone wants to be engaged in the classroom. His work ethic outside the classroom is unparalleled and he will stop at nothing to finish a project or get a concept down.  In his organization of Alpha Phi Omega, he took on multiple positions such as Service Vice President, Public Relations Director as well as a Marketing Director for a benefit concert called the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert. In his position as Public Relations Director he was able to recruit hundreds of new members and maintain the growth of their chapter as well as create the foundation to start intramurals sports within the organization. Aaron was constantly in contact with the director of the sports league and highly encouraged members to participate in its activities. As the Marketing director for the “Forget-Us-Not benefit concert for “Together We Rise” he was an integral contributor in the recruitment of talents as well as raising of funds.  As Service Vice President he was able to provide a multitude of service events which provided thousands of hours to the campus, community and nation. The biggest projects he accomplished as Service Vice President was the construction of sweet cases for the organization of “Together We Rise”. Sweet cases provided comfort to the youth of the Los Angeles area giving them a bag and essentials for their survival and education. Aaron Rodriguez would be a great asset to your program due to his love for sports, rare work ethic and immense contributions to his campus, community and nation. 

personal SWOT

Strengths

·         Ambitious

·         Good Public Speaker

·         Goal Oriented

·         Resiliency

·         Social Skills

·         Experience in Social Media

·         Willingness to learn new things

·         Don’t trust people easy

·         Understanding of many cultures

Weaknesses:

·         Temper

·         Empathy

·         Gossiper

·         Personal Emotional Expression

·         Help to many people at the same time

·         Only have theoretical understanding of the industry

Opportunities

·         Sports Management Graduate School

·         Cal state LA alumni who works at the Clippers

·         GI Bill

·         Part of an International Service Organization

·         Been to many countries all over the world

·         Graduating soon

Threats

·         People who come from more prestigious schools

·         Capstone

·         Few Connections in the sports industry

·         Lack of work experience  

·         More creative people

·         Smarter people

grad school personal statement

Personal Reasons

Sports have always been a large part of my life and is the catalyst to all the values which I hold today. At an early age I was introduced to playing the sports of tennis, soccer, and basketball and became a fan of football and baseball from my father’s love of the sports. These after-school activities were a large part of my childhood and this would allow a release from home life and the loneliness of my parents being away from home while serving in the military. The unique experience of being a military child who was also able to move to a new country at the age of 12 give me once in a lifetime opportunity in sports. Every practice would be a time for me to enjoy myself and just be a kid and not worry about my parents being in dangerous situations while defending the country. Following practice my enjoyment and obsession of sports continued at home where I would dream of taking the last shot in the NBA finals, hitting the winning home run in the World Series or the kicking the winning goal at the World Cup. My childhood was all about sports and when I was not playing I was watching it and idolizing the athletes on the field and wanting to be like them. These moments are the moments that made me see the grit a determination of individuals showing the ups and downs in a couple hours and showing how they could overcome these obstacles and make me believe that whatever I face I could do the same. The times which I really saw this was while watching football games. When I saw a team have a heartbreaking loss it showed me that sometimes even if you try your hardest things still may not go your way. Specifically, I remember watching in 2009 when the team lost their play game to the New York Jets because of a missed field goal. At the time I was crying and so sad and mad that all that work was in a losing effort but now I see that that is just how life is sometimes. In contrast, I was also able to see on every game winning drive by Tom Brady that with enough hard work and belief in you and your team there can be success.

 At the age of 12 the military had stationed our family to Italy. In this new land I was afraid, I didn’t know anyone and struggled to meet new people in the beginning. In an effort to make friends my parents put me in sports. The first sports season which came up was soccer. This sport was where I was most familiar at the time because I had been playing in recreational leagues since I was 5 years old. On the field I was able to make a lot of new friends and have the thrill of competition. In the winter came Basketball, this sport was something I was also very familiar with, but I had never really done competitively. This was the first time which I had played organized basketball and when I started to truly love the game. The opportunity showed me how basketball was more than just putting the ball in the hoop but had an elegance to it and a strategy for success. The final sport of the year was baseball. At the time baseball was something I had never tried before but I had always watched on the screen. I would go out in the backyard after watching games and hit tennis balls over the fence and imagine winning the world series for my hometown Padres but never saw a pitch thrown at me. However, in that first year in Italy this became my favorite sport. It was the biggest sport on the base and was a whole community kind of thing so every day after school we would play baseball even if there was no practice. Playing baseball would go until we couldn’t see the ball and then we would play catch afterwards. Games would be with anyone and everyone, baseball and softball players would come to play and, on the side, argue which sport was better, but in the end we knew we had so much passion for the sport which we called our own. After that spring baseball carried on into summer and this is where I saw what real “travel ball” competition was like. We played to become the Italian representative for the European Championship. Our team practiced long and hard and had our coaches yelling at us until they were blue in the face but at the end of the day they knew how to make us feel like we did a good job and we were in a safe and fun environment. This competitive spirit was taken to a new level my freshman year of high school. The first sport that came that year was tennis. Tennis was another one of those sports which I was very familiar with and had played for a long time. High school sports in Europe was a whole new experience because I played people from all over the world. I met people from Spain, Germany, Asia  and all over Italy and this feeling it gave me was like being a professional. Each week we would go to another city in Italy and would have to leave school a couple of days early. We would ride a bus from a range of 2-10 hours and then play our game and head back home and the results would be announced at school the next day. These high school years were exciting because I had to plan how everything had to be done. I had to plan when I was going to do my homework, practice and find time for other fun things. This made me more responsible and was a new thing that sports taught me and thats planning and organization. This continued through my freshman year in the winter when I played basketball and we took home a European Championship and when I played baseball and we placed fourth at the European tournament. These team sports also taught me about teamwork and brotherhood. This showed me how others are willing to sacrifice for each other and be unselfish to reach a common goal. Other than my experiences as an athlete sports has impacted me with my experiences as a fan. Being a military kid caused me to move around a little but I lived in San Diego for most of my high school experience and I was able to see how involved sports teams were to the military community. They would come to the base every year and provide tickets to veterans. I was able to to meet players when they visited the military base and attend sporting events that every sports fan could only dream of. For training camp when the Chargers used to be in San Diego they would always have one day where they visited the military base, and this was a time where I could meet players and get some balls signed and watched how they worked on their craft. This inspired me to become a better athlete and a harder worker in life. The most exciting sports event I went to was in 2018 I was able to go to the Rose Bowl. This game showed me the dedication of fans and was where I enjoyed my first “big game” live.  These experiences have developed a love for sports and what it can teach an individual and is why it became my goal to become a General Manager of a Sports team and help others see the inspiration that athletes are to the world and give an experience to the fans and give them the same joy I was able to feel.

Professional Reasons

These values have continued through my time in high school and now in my time in college. In a lot of points of time in college I thought it was the end of the road for me that I would not be able to pass a class or accomplish something but the grit which sports has instilled in me through the years has been able to help me succeed where I thought I would fail. The teamwork I had learned in sports as well has also carried on through college. During school I had many personal projects as well as school projects where I had to learn to work with others quickly and complete a task. My time in college has also enhanced my love and determination to get into the sports industry because it has shown me the general idea of what it means to be a marketer in the professional world. I was able to be part of many research projects about groups of people and has intrigued me about how people create preference due to their lifestyle based on income, where they live and many other factors. In school I was also able to see how companies are still trying to figure out social media and how my skills in social media can be a great asset to companies in the future. While I was in college I was able to meet a lot of elite athletes and seeing them train showed me what all the business parts of sports management are for and even being able to help them continue by navigating through the NCAA.

Academic Reasons

 As I approached the table for the University of San Francisco I felt very welcomed. Upon further research into the Sport Management program I felt that this could be an environment where I would be able to grow and turn my love of sports into a career. The format of the school as mostly working with teams is a perfect environment for me because it will allow me to use skills taught in classes from the University as well as teamwork in a real-world environment. I learn best when I use the skills I learn instead of just a test which this program can provide. The alumni network which is spread across the nation they displayed in the brochures and pamphlets was impressive and I can see the type of schooling environment which I will be able to learn in will help me in my career and as a graduate of this program I will contribute to the impressive network already established. My sports journey has been long and spanned across continents and I look to continue it at the University of San Francisco.