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The Euroleague Basketball Institute Sports Business MBA tipped off its new program earlier this month in a welcome meeting, with 16 students from nine different countries starting a journey in conjunction with Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania that will conclude in January 2023.


Tipoff for new EB Institute Sports Business MBA

The Euroleague Basketball Institute Sports Business MBA tipped off its new program earlier this month in a welcome meeting, with 16 students from nine different countries starting a journey in conjunction with Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania that will conclude in January 2023.

Due to safety protocols the first session took place online, with the students being introduced to the program structure, the e-learning platform and the six online modules they will follow. They also received presentations from Euroleague Basketball executives including Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball CEO.

One student, Victor Gomez, captured the motivations of many of the group as he explained why he signed up for the program:

"It's kind of like a romantic story because I was lucky enough to be in the Final Four in Vitoria, and when I was there, working in the events industry, I felt that somehow at one point in my life I should be working close to the basketball environment, because since I'm a kid I've been a basketball fan, playing, coaching. And then unfortunately because of COVID I had more time, so it was the perfect timing to dedicate myself to the studies of the MBA."

Mikhail Ratts, from Russia, added: "I like the program a lot because it gives a great overview of how the business operates. It gives a great structure in terms of knowledge because nowadays you have a lot of information but it's sometimes hard to structure it, and this is what the program provides. So far it's going pretty well; my expectations are met."

It is planned for the remainder of the program to follow an in-person format, including two sessions in Kaunas and a series of events at the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin.

Throughout the program, the students will interact with Vytautas Magnus University professors, guest academics and industry experts to follow their online modules and prepare a scientific-research-applied project, before culminating with their final thesis.

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Head coaches from the 7DAYS EuroCup came together at the Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops in Barcelona this week to discuss the new look and rising status of the competition heading into the new 2021-22 season.

EuroCup coaches plan for new-look competition

The EuroCup has a revamped format for the coming campaign, with an 18-game regular season followed by single-game knockout rounds from the round of 16 onwards.

Evgeny Pashutin of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar is particularly excited by the new structure for the latter stages, saying: "For sure, it will be more pressure because it’s win or go out. You have to be ready for each game and everybody will have to be sharp: players, coaches, organizations, everyone. It will be really interesting for fans and the media, and I am excited about it."

The bulk of the EuroCup coaches' workshop was an in-depth discussion with the competition's officiating department, allowing both sides to go into detail about how the game rules are interpreted and applied to make the on-court action better each season. The session was led by Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball's Senior Director of Officiating, who started by emphasizing the importance of ensuring that players, coaches and officials all have the same expectations in the interpretation and application of the rules.

Later in the session, there were video analyses of several foul situations, including the defensive semi-circle, act of shooting, landing space for shooters, traveling, post play and screening, with the aim of reducing misunderstandings and further strengthening the important relationship between coaches and officials.

Carles Duran of Joventut Badalona said: "There is a lot of communication between coaches and referees, especially with Richard Stokes, who is always open to having fluid communication. It is super-important that we all have the same criteria, and this is the right moment for us all to meet so that we have no doubts once the season starts. I believe the organization does its best to have that fluid communication."

Nenad Canak of Lietkabelis Panevezys added: "It is always important to try to understand things better. For sure, it is very helpful for us, coaches, to clarify some things. I think that the most important thing that coaches must have is good communication with the referees during the game. This is really important in basketball."

Head Coaches Meeting in Barcelona

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The Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops tipped off with meetings for the head coaches of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs in Barcelona on Monday and Tuesday.


EuroLeague coaches look to future at annual workshop

Monday's first session was opened by Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu, announcing Ergin Ataman of Anadolu Efes Istanbul as the winner of the Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year award, as chosen by his peers in the room.

Bertomeu was also keen to thank the coaches for their important contributions to completing a full and exciting 2020-21 season despite the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the difficult situation, we had to take some uncomfortable decisions, but we wanted to finish the season according to the calendar for the benefit of all the clubs, players and fans," Bertomeu said. "I am very grateful to all of you for your cooperation during this challenging season."

The session continued with an overview of the action on the continent's courts over the past 12 months, from the uncertainty of last summer to the eventual finale in Cologne, with an emphasis on the uniquely competitive nature of the season.

The evolution of the EuroLeague was discussed, too, as the coaches were shown details of how the competition's five-year-old joint venture partnership with IMG has led to a marked improvement in the quality of the product for fans to enjoy through television coverage and digital content.

The coaches also heard about the organization's plans for the next few years, with an emphasis on the importance of continuing to connect with digital audiences, making deeper investments into the quality of the product, and ensuring clubs operate with sustainable business models, a priority for both the league and individual clubs.

Concerning the upcoming 2021-22 season, head coaches heard about why FC Bayern Munich and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne are becoming EuroLeague licensed teams and about the wild card status of ALBA Berlin, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and Zenit St Petersburg. They were also given an overview of the season calendar and some of the complexities involved in its execution, such as varying arena availability, preferences of television partners, and the aim of regularizing the travel demands placed upon players.

All the topics discussed were aimed at continuing to give fans the best possible experience of the game. Georgios Bartzokas of Olympiacos Piraeus spoke for all his fellow coaches in expressing his hope that those fans will be able to return to arenas next season: "We have a very special connection as a club, as a team, with our fans. You know how very important our warm crowd is for Olympiacos. And every coach has the same opinion – fans are very important for the atmosphere of the game."

The workshop continued with a day-long meeting on Tuesday with the competition's officiating department. The session was led by Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball's Senior Director of Officiating, and allowed the coaches and officials to analyze together the intricate details of the on-court action to gain a shared perspective on how best to interpret the rules to make the game even more exciting for the fans.

Dimitris Priftis, head coach of EuroLeague returnee UNICS Kazan, explained why sitting down with the officiating department is invaluable: "The meeting with the referees is a long one and also very helpful. We clear up some things, exchange some opinions and express our questions to the officiating department. Building a better relationship with the referees is very important because they are a part of the game and we need to cooperate with them. We are not in separate positions. We are not opponents. We have to be friends and build a good relationship with them."

Andrea Trinchieri of FC Bayern Munich summed up the positive mood of the workshop as he said: "There are a lot of things going on and I believe that hearing what is coming in the future for the EuroLeague is very important in order to adjust because being capable of adjusting is the most important thing – how to play, how you build a roster, which are the goals of the EuroLeague, how to expand and implement the whole product."



Head Coaches Meeting in Barcelona 

The Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops tipped off with meetings for the head coaches of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs in Barcelona on Monday and Tuesday.

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The annual Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops, which bring together coaches, players and club executives from a range of specialties to collaborate on plans for the future in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, are set to tip off next week for the 2021-22 season.


EBI Workshops arrive to plan new season

All discussions during the workshops, which last from June to September, are aimed at enhancing the standards of the competitions across all categories for the purpose of making each and every game experience more exciting for the fans.

EuroLeague head coaches will open the workshops when they meet on Monday, June 21, and Tuesday, June 22, in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss their views on the future in the competition. Included in their gathering is a day-long session with the Euroleague Basketball Officiating Department to review the season just finished and look at how rules and their interpretations can make the game better in the upcoming season. Head coaches from the EuroCup will meet with the Officiating Department on Wednesday, June 23.

For the second season in a row and the first time in person, all EuroLeague team doctors will gather in Barcelona on Friday, June 25, to exchange ideas on injury prevention and treatment of players, as well as to further their efforts in guaranteeing the health and safety of all game participants, including fans, during the ongoing pandemic and beyond.

Following the most dramatic season in competition history, media directors from all 18 EuroLeague clubs open the second week of workshops by meeting virtually on Monday, June 28, with a focus on innovative ways of delivering all that drama across ever-expanding communications platforms and bringing fans closer and closer to the action and the stars.

The EuroLeague's marketing and ticketing directors take the floor the next day with separate virtual sessions that share the mutual aim of offering both current and prospective partners and ticket-buyers a range of options and services that not only meet their current needs but anticipate new ways of connecting them with the game.

On Wednesday, July 7, the EuroLeague Clubs Business Meeting in Barcelona gathers executives from across the continent for two days' worth of discussions on best practices in the sports market and strategies for enhancing earnings in a pandemic-altered business climate.

The workshops resume in early September with four more collectives, headed by EuroLeague Players Association representatives for each team, making their contributions to the planning process. The players will take part, as well, in the two-day One Team Annual Workshop to strengthen the future impact of Euroleague Basketball's renowned corporate social responsibility program. EuroLeague security directors and EuroCup media directors will complete the workshop agenda in September, just in time for all parties to hit the ground running for the new 2021-22 season!

The annual Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops, which bring together coaches, players and club executives from a range of specialties to collaborate on plans for the future in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, are set to tip off next week for the 2021-22 season.

The 2021 class of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute has successfully graduated after going through 16 months of hard work.

EB Institute celebrates latest group of graduates

Their efforts culminated in mid-January, when the students defended their final master theses in front of a commission led by Rita Bendaraviciene, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. The panel also included all six module leaders and Euroleague Basketball representatives.

One of the students was Gediminas Navickas, a former professional player who is now coordinates the Zalgiris Kaunas youth program. He explained the value of the program, saying: "For me it was very important to understand the basic ecosystem of sports business. I see a lot of this in the Zalgiris office but the background of sports business, that's what I learned in the program. I needed this and it was really valuable for me."

The journey for this group of students started at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona back in September 2019, with a week of sessions giving an insight into the daily operations of a major international sports league by interacting with Euroleague Basketball executives, including a roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO. The students also had their first contact with the module leaders, who introduced their respective online modules.

Christie Miliordou from Greece, who now plans to pursue a career focusing on mental health in sports, appreciated that personal touch, saying: "The most important for me was the people I met, people from different nationalities, different backgrounds. A lot of people from the sports world, experts, people from Euroleague, and I really enjoyed collaborating with these people because we did a lot of team projects."

"This is a life-changing experience," he said. "You grow not only as a professional within the sports business with but also as a human being. If you plan to elevate yourself to the next level in the sports industry, this is the place to be."

The latest edition of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute got underway last week in an online tip-off meeting, with 18 students from 10 different countries starting a journey that will conclude in June 2022.


Sports Business MBA underway with online tip-off session

The start of the 2020-22 program, which works with Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania to equip students with advanced professional knowledge and skills in the field of sports business management, was postponed due to the Covid-19 virus but is now fully up and running.

At Monday's first session, Rita Bendaraviciene, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Vytautas Magnus University, welcomed the students, who were then introduced to the program structure, grading system, timetable and the e-learning platform.

The students then had the opportunity to ask questions in a roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, as well as interacting with Euroleague Basketball senior executives who delivered presentations. They included Roser Queralto (Chief Business Officer), Alex Ferrer (Marketing & Communications), Jose Luis Rosa-Medina (Corporate Partnerships & Licensing), Luca Scafati (Business Operations) and Abi Martin (Corporate Social Responsibility and Development).

One of the students is Akeem Vargas, a former ALBA Berlin guard and ex-German international who is still playing in Germany with BG Goettingen. He is starting to look forward to his post-playing days by taking the Sports Business MBA, and said: "It's a multicultural program that's built on great networking experience and the knowledge of a great university. The first week has been absolutely amazing. Great content, great knowledge, and what I liked most about the video conferences is that you can ask questions, dig deep and, when you really want to know something, they will always have an answer that they are willing to share with you."

Another member of the playing community is Lea Favre, who is studying the program while recovering from injury after playing college basketball in the United States. She said: "The first week was very interesting. It was dense, a lot of information, but they did it so well with all the presentations. They made sure it was interactive, we could speak, ask questions, we had some videos to watch. Overall it was very good and I'm excited to start."

Many of the other students are hoping to use the program as an entry path into the sports industry, such as Philipp Roedel from Germany who said: “If I dedicate so much of my free time after work to studying I think it should be focused on a topic I’m really passionate about, which is the case with sport and particularly basketball. That’s why I decided the program by Euroleague Basketball Institute and Vytautas Magnus University would be the right one for me. My hope before I started the program, and I think it’s a realistic one, is that the program will enable me to move into the sports industry in the future. I think the program will definitely provide me the tools that are needed to be successful in this industry.”

Similarly, Alex Volanti from Italy noted: "The presentations were really in-depth, going into details, and they were super-eager to answer our questions. I was impressed by the organization they have, by the roadmap they have, how they are taking the key points and going to the direction for a bright future. They are taking a new generation, a new digital approach. I really liked the direction things are going in and I think it will be very successful."

The students will now continue to interact with Vytautas Magnus University professors, guest academics and industry experts over the next 15 weeks to complete three online modules and prepare a scientific-research-applied project.

The second session will then take place in Cologne during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May, when students will defend their term paper, attend presentations from industry leaders and gain a unique behind-the-scenes experience at one of the biggest sporting events in Europe.

The latest edition of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute got underway last week in an online tip-off meeting, with 18 students from 10 different countries starting a journey that will conclude in June 2022.

The 2022 and 2023 classes of EB Institute's Sports Business MBA came together recently in Kaunas, Lithuania, home of Vytautas Magnus University and Euroleague Basketball club Zalgiris Kaunas, for a hybrid session of in-person and e-learning classes.

EB Institute's MBA students meet in Kaunas

Their first in-person session in the course, due to safety protocols that had kept classes on-line previously, was full of activities.

The students defended their term papers and participated in master thesis battle sessions, absorbed exclusive presentations from sports business professionals, learned first-hand how Zalgiris Kaunas runs its operations, and experienced various cultural, educational and entertainment activities.

Amid a total of six online modules making use of the course's e-learning platform, the next in-person session is set for this coming May, when the students will go behind the scenes at the Euroleague Basketball's flagship event, the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.

The class of 2022 is due to complete its studies the month after the Final Four while the class of 2023 is scheduled to conclude one year from now, in January 2023.

Our test news

The Sports Business MBA brings a unique 360º educational model on sports business management, featuring online learning, face-to-face sessions and practical training in a sports business context. The e-learning consists of weekly lectures and assignments with end-of-module exams, Euroleague Basketball case studies and the preparation of academic papers, including an MBA thesis. 

The in-person sessions take participants to different destinations in Europe where they can enjoy access to four knowledge transfer centers: at the headquarters of Euroleague Basketball in Barcelona; at the Vytautas Magnus University campus and EuroLeague Basketball club Zalgiris Kaunas in Kaunas; and the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.

Euroleague Basketball and Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) have officially opened the application process for the 2022-24 Sports Business MBA by EB Institute.

2022-24 Sports Business MBA - Launch of Application Procedure

The MBA offers maximum flexibility and sustained interaction with professors, guest lecturers and sports industry experts, allowing existing and aspiring sports management professionals to enhance their professional skills and develop a career in one of the most exciting and fast-growing sectors in the world.

Students enrolling in the course will be equipped with all of the necessary tools to become professionals in a broad range of sporting companies, organizations and endeavors, including clubs, leagues, international and national federations, sports marketing agencies, sponsors, technology providers and media outlets, to name a few. The course awards 90 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) to graduates.

Applications for the Sports Business MBA must be submitted by July 31, 2022. For more information please visit: <https://www.sportsbusinessmba.net> 

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