Euroleague Basketball and Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) have officially opened the application process for the 2021-23 Sports Business MBA by EB Institute.

Application registration starts for 5th Sports Business MBA by EB Institute

The blended-learning MBA allows existing and aspiring professionals in the sports industry to enhance their knowledge without sacrificing work commitments. It also provides engaging networking opportunities, starting with fellow students from different parts of the world and different academic and industry backgrounds, continuing to the interaction at in-person sessions with sports professionals, and extending to access to all 251 EB Institute alumni, many of them already working in the sports industry.

The Sports Business MBA focuses on a modern approach to sports business, consisting of six modules over three academic semesters, including internship and group work opportunities, before submitting a final MBA thesis. Students will obtain both systemic understanding and working knowledge of all major areas of contemporary sports: Business, Marketing, Communication, Management, Economics & Finance, Law & Governance.

In addition to the six VMU module leaders and Euroleague Basketball senior management who deliver curricular content, six guest academics and six industry experts will share their knowledge and experience to inspire students' minds. The guest academics hail from Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris, the University of Bologna, Birkbeck University of London and LaSalle URL in Barcelona.

The MBA consists of four knowledge transfer sessions, starting in September 2021 with the first in-person session, which will take place at Euroleague Basketball's headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, where the students will meet and learn from Euroleague Basketball executives.

In January 2022, the second in-person session will take students to VMU's campus and Zalgiris Kaunas in Kaunas, Lithuania, to focus on the academic course components and learn from the club and arena management.

The third in-person session falls in May 2022 at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, where students experience full immersion by spending five days behind the scenes at one of the largest sports events in the world and also listening to presentations from a selection of industry leaders.

In January 2023, the fourth in-person session will take place on VMU's campus in Kaunas, Lithuania, where students will defend their MBA Thesis during a Viva, as well as celebrate a graduation ceremony in the basketball heartland of Lithuania.

Students enrolling for the course will be equipped with all of the necessary tools to become professionals in a broad range of sporting companies, organisations and endeavours, 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.

The applications for the Sports Business MBA must be submitted by July 31, 2021.

[Apply Now](https://www.sportsbusinessmba.net/)

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.

7DAYS EuroCup head coaches came together on Wednesday to look forward to 2020-21 regular season in the last meeting of the July sessions of the Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops.

7DAYS EuroCup head coaches prep upcoming season

The central feature of the meeting was a discussion with the Euroleague Basketball officiating department to review on-court situations in order to reach a common understanding of what are the best ways to enhance the game with the best interests of the fans uppermost in everyone's mind.



To that end, the head coaches saw a review of officiating issues and statistics based on the incomplete 2019-20 season, which ended prematurely prior to the quarterfinal phase due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball Senior Director, Officiating, presided over the meeting and outlined changes to the Official Basketball Rules that will come into effect next season.

Then the coaches engaged in a series of six discussions of officiating criteria, each lasting from one-half to one hour. The issues covered were unsportsmanlike fouls; act of shooting and jump-shot landing space; freedom of movement off the ball; freedom of movement in post play; travelling; and behavioral issues including flopping.

"After one of the best EuroCup seasons yet was cut short unexpectedly, it's gratifying to see the EuroCup head coaches at work together already to revive the aspirations of their clubs and the fans," Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. "The 7DAYS EuroCup will enter in its 19th season next September and the outstanding level of coaching we witness every year is fundamental to understand the relevance and level of the competition."

Their meeting fell two days before the coaches learn the names of their first opponents next season at the 7DAYS EuroCup Draw for the 2020-21 regular season. The 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup features 24 teams from 15 countries. Friday's draw starts at 13:15 CEST and will be streamed live at the official Euroleague Basketball channel on YouTube, on the official EuroCup Facebook page, and at EuroCupbasketball.com.



The Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops continued apace on Monday and Tuesday as head coaches from throughout the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague met with Euroleague Basketball executives to discuss the steps forward to the competition's return for the 2020-21 season, starting on October 1.

EuroLeague head coaches take the stage at EB Institute Annual Workshops

They met to discuss the steps forward to the competition's return for the 2020-21 season, starting on October 1.

The gathering honors a long tradition of exchange between Euroleague Basketball and its important stakeholders, in this case head coaches, who met virtually for more than 12 hours over two days to talk about everything from finances to flopping and multiple subjects in between.

Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball's President and CEO, opened Monday's institutional meeting by updating the coaches on the organization's objective to reaching a European Framework Agreement with the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (EHCB), keeping the health and safety of all participants as a priority going forward, as it was when the 2019-20 season was canceled before completion due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

"Coaches are more than stakeholders in the EuroLeague; they are an integral part of making our game better each season for the fans," Mr. Bertomeu said. "As such, we value the input and opinions they express at these annual meetings and throughout the year. Their concerns are our concerns, and we cherish the opportunity to work together to resolve them."

The head coaches were also briefed on the EuroLeague brand strategy and positioning, building on the authenticity, cultural impact, creativity and pioneering spirit that long-term market research showed to be the values identified with the EuroLeague by fans and stakeholders alike.

Next, they received a review of the competition's finances, including breakdowns of the general revenue sources and expense structures of the clubs, along with Euroleague Basketball's efforts for clubs to achieve the necessary economic stability needed to foster consistent long-term growth for all participants.

Several EHCB proposals, including the introduction of the Euroleague Basketball Dispute Resolution Chamber, were put into place last season, which ended with a settlement agreement between the clubs and head coaches when the season was cancelled. They discussed EuroLeague club proposals to introduce force majeure contract protection mechanisms in the uncertain economic environment due to COVID-19 while all parties continue to work on a European Framework Agreement.

Dr. Ignacio Muro, Euroleague Basketball Medical Officer, shared the study made of club medical staffs this past season, discussing the varying requirements from public health authorities in different countries due to COVID-19.

The coaches were back together on Tuesday to meet with Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball Senior Director, Officiating, to analyze in-game situations so as to have a common understanding of rules and their interpretations going into the new season. Among the issues discussed in their eight-hour session were rule changes, unsportsmanlike fouls, landing space on jump shots, freedom of movement situations, travelling violations and behavioral issues including flopping.

The July sessions of the EB Institute Annual Workshops will conclude on Wednesday with a meeting of 7DAYS EuroCup head coaches with the Euroleague Basketball officiating department. The workshops will continue in early September with meetings of EuroLeague players, security managers and One Team representatives.



The Euroleague Basketball Institute Annual Workshops continued apace on Monday and Tuesday as head coaches from throughout the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague met with Euroleague Basketball executives.

The 2018-20 and 2019-21 classes of the Sports Business MBA came together for the first time in Kaunas, Lithuania, for their respective fourth and second in-person sessions. The Sports Business MBA class of 2021 was the first to arrive and the students started their week by presenting midterm papers, which they had prepared during the first part of their studies under the supervision of the module leaders. The students also heard the first lectures of the following modules, sports management, sports economics & finance, and sports law & governance.

"Overall I’m very happy, relieved and really excited because I had to keep up with all the assignments and deadlines in such a demanding program and I was able to do it," said Eleni Manoura, a former basketball player and office coordinator at Mondera.

"It was hard in the beginning, but now I feel more confident with the topics and I believe that I will gain a lot of knowledge in this program," added Artem Pervyi, the director of Eastern Europe sports consulting at Nomos LLC.

The students also had some fun and group bonding with a beer tasting session at the Volfas Engelmann brewery and a trip to Trakai and Vilnius before continuing the transfer of knowledge from the Zalgiris Kaunas senior managers. The students learned from presentations and practical knowledge on topics such as marketing, ticketing, experience economy, strategy, communication and sports analytics. They also benefitted from a behind-the-scenes tour of one of Europe’s best basketball arenas, Zalgirio Arena.

"It was very interesting! Zalgiris Kaunas is like a phenomenon at this moment, they give you the possibility to understand how this is possible, how they made this possible," exclaimed Michele Diracca, marketing intern at Aquila Basket Trento.

For the class of 2020, it was the culmination of a unique learning experience that started at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona back in September of 2018. The students defended their final master thesis in front of a commission led by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management of Vytautas Magnus University. After successfully graduating, students collected their graduation caps and gowns for the graduation ceremony in the University’s Big Hall, where they received their respective diplomas.

"It just feels amazing to be able to finish the program," Begum Unal, production coordinator at DAZN Germany, said. "This program lets you meet a lot of great minds from sports and basketball as well and it helps you to deepen your knowledge on the field."

"Honestly, I feel much more confident in myself because I got a lot of practical knowledge, which I already implemented in my job," said Oleksiy Yefimov, General Manager of AS Monaco Basket.

Both classes ended the intense week with the wonderful experience of attending a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game at the sold-out Zalgirio Arena.

Sports Business MBA classes meet in Kaunas for in-person sessions

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The 2019-21 class of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute, delivered in collaboration with Vytautas Magnus University, began their studies last week with the first in-person session at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. Twenty-two students from 12 different countries started their 16-month journey by participating in the tip-off meeting.

Rita Bendaraviciene, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at Vytautas Magnus University, welcomed the students in the opening session. The students were then introduced to the program structure, grading system and timetable and were trained on the e-learning platform. They were also introduced to the six online modules by the respective module leaders and received a detailed explanation about the requirements for their term paper.

Aside from the academic introduction, students had the opportunity to ask questions in a roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, and to participate in team-building activities and solve several case studies in groups, which were given by the 12 Euroleague Basketball executives who delivered the presentations. Among them were Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer, who spoke about event strategy; Eduard J. Scott, Chief Operations Officer, who gave a presentation about basketball operations; Jose Luis Rosa-Medina, Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships & Licensing, who talked about stakeholders in sports; Luca Scafati, Director of Business Operations, who introduced BOCS to the students; and Abi Martin, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Development Projects, who addressed the importance and growth of the One Team Project to the Euroleague Basketball community.

"Having worked with the Euroleague Basketball organization before as a participant in the league, the Sports Business MBA studies allow an inside look at the other side of the fence," said Rokas Mickevicius, Director of Marketing & Communication for AS Monaco Basket. "In other words, it introduces and gives knowledge not only about the principles and standards this organization implements in its work, but also it gives a wider understanding of what a modern sports organization is and how it should be operated in order to reach success on and off the field."

Maria Kourtali, sponsorship manager of Onside added, "It was a unique experience that offered us a generic scope of the modules and allowed us to have a deeper insight into Euroleague Basketball."

"I was pleasantly surprised by the entire organization from EuroLeague Basketball and the University," said Lutz Heck, Business Account manager at FC Bayern Basketball. "I just felt welcome and it was super easy to get in touch with the other students and professors because all of them were friendly and open. It was clear that all of us want to make progress with this MBA. The first session showed me that my decision to do the MBA was absolutely right."

"I think I will not be very original saying that it was a great experience for me and all of us," Gediminas Navickas, Team Manager of Zalgiris Kaunas, added. "It was amazing to hear the stories about how the league was created and developed during these years, becoming an example for basketball clubs and organizations. I was impressed by how open the representatives were during the session. I am looking forward to starting the studies. I can't wait for the students to come to Kaunas for the second session and to visit Zalgirio Arena. They will see how many things Euroleague Basketball taught us."

Students will now interact with the professors of Vytautas Magnus University, guest lecturers and industry experts over the next 15 weeks to complete three online modules and prepare a scientific-research-applied project. They will then travel to the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, for the second in-person session, where they will defend their project in front of the Term Paper Defense Committee and spend two full days visiting Zalgiris Kaunas and Zalgirio Arena, learning from the club and arena management.

Next class of Sports Business MBA tips off in Barcelona

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With the desire of making the business of basketball as vibrant as the games themselves, executives from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup descended upon the annual Euroleague Basketball Business Summit in Barcelona on Wednesday to incubate ideas for engaging loyal and new fans with unique experiences in order to enhance club revenues in the season ahead.

To reach those goals, more than 90 business professionals from clubs in both competitions, among 160 guests total, welcomed a cross-section of speakers on subjects ranging from partnership strategies and tech injections to arena design and attracting new, more diverse customers and fans. The attendees were welcomed by Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, who said that the leagues and the clubs must align strategies under a strong brand umbrella that shares consistent principles, values and experiences with fans.

"We have huge potential to grow, and that's why we are here today," he said. "If we want to continue being a disruptive entity, different from all the other European organizations, we should invest in the people and embrace the technology that will help us develop our business, will help us to talk more and better to our fans, will help us to improve their experience, to improve our product, and as a consequence, to grow our business."

Summit emcee Marshall Glickman, CEO of G2 Strategic Global Sports Business Solutions, congratulated the assembled clubs for the progress he has seen as an outside Euroleague Basketball Business Advisor working with them on through the organization's two-year-old Business Operations & Club Services (BOCS).

"This is a league that's on the move," Glickman said. "Change is happening here at a faster pace than I expected. Keep up the good work. The purpose of this summit is to inspire all of you to continue to move forward."

There was inspiration in the story of a two-year old Major League Soccer franchise, Minnesota United FC, whose Chief Revenue Officer, Bryant Pfeiffer, told attendees how millennials and in-arena attractions are at the heart of the club's quick success in a small market saturated with long-established sports entertainment alternatives.

"Our focus was to create something magical and rich...We needed a fan experience that was different to anything else on offer in our market," Pfeiffer said. "And to do that, we had to listen to our fans."

Mounir Zok, Managing Director at N3XT Sports, spoke of new opportunities in the sports industry through technology. He pointed out how the industry's revenue sources are fragmenting; how star athletes offer branding synergy opportunities to leagues, clubs and sponsors; and how, when everyone in an arena has a smart phone in their pockets, digital is part of the fan experience.

"When you think about in-venue and digital engagement with fans, it's a hand-in-hand relationship," Zok said. "The better your venue experience, the better digital experience you have. And the better digital experience, the more people will want to come to the venue. Think of it from a holistic perspective."

Zaheer Benjamin, the new Head of Global Partnerships Strategy at Real Madrid, focused on the fact that data underlies commercial strategies to a greater and greater extent, allowing clubs to make the best-informed business decisions possible.

"How reliable is your data? I can't overstate how important it is, as a first step, to have consistent and reliable data," he said. "Basic access and reporting is a prerequisite to more detailed analytics."

A success story from within the Euroleague Basketball family was told by Une Jurkstaite, the Chief Business Officer of Zalgiris Kaunas, whose club raised its average EuroLeague attendance above 14,800 last season, in part by using loyal fans to attract others who had not witnessed the electric atmosphere at Zalgirio Arena before.

"We are very lucky. We are in the business of passion," she said. "Fans care about what we do, and if you just ask them, they have tons of ideas. You just have to be there to listen to them."

Ron Turner, Principal at Gensler, a world leader in arena design and construction, gave an overview of the newest trends in venue structures meant to serve the emerging fans of the future. Those trends include, among others, well-equipped gathering places inside arenas for fans who want to walk around more; a game experience that extends outdoors before and after games; and premium spaces where fans can be in touching distance of the athletes as they go to and from the playing floor. "There's a new fan out there now," Turner said. "People say millennials, but that doesn't mean anything. Every year they are different. If you don't change, you die. You can't keep doing the same thing all the time."

Innovative ideas fill the EB Business Summit

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For a second consecutive season, head coaches from the 7DAYS EuroCup wrapped up the first week of the EB Institute Annual Workshops by spending two days together learning about and giving their input on the competition's plans moving forward into the 2019-20 season and beyond.

The 24 teams from 15 countries that are registered for the next EuroCup season represent a geographical expansion that will bring the growing quality of the competition to more and more fans.

"We're extremely happy to welcome all the EuroCup head coaches to our headquarters, not only to show them what we have all achieved but also to present our projects for the season to come and, most importantly, to listen to them," said Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball said. "I feel very proud of the list of teams that will participate in the 2019-20 EuroCup, representing 15 different countries and forming one of the strongest group of teams in competition history."

On Thursday, many of the coaches had a first opportunity to hear about the Euroleague Basketball business structure, to understand the finances at the league and club level, and to be briefed on ticketing best practices. A review of the 2018-19 EuroCup season included updates on across-the-board growth in attendance, viewership and reach of television broadcasts, as well as double-digit increases in visits, page views and visit duration on the competition's official website, EuroCupbasketball.com. The coaches were also informed of potential changes in the near future to the avenues of access to the EuroLeague for EuroCup teams.

"For us, the coaches, the business side of basketball is becoming as important as what happens on the court. We are open to innovations and new ideas that can improve the game of basketball," Selcuk Ernak of Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul said. "That the organization shares its knowledge with us and asks for our opinion is very useful. We have to do all we can to take our clubs and ourselves to better levels."

"I have been to many of these meetings in the past, but what makes this one different from all other is the approach, more business-oriented, more American-style, who are the best in this business," Alfred Julbe of Limoges CSP. "It is really good to have this approach and to link sports with business and marketing."

Among the information directly affecting their teams, the coaches were presented a study, produced by the Euroleague Basketball Medical Officer, of injuries and illnesses in the EuroCup last season. The data was broken down by amounts of injuries; how often they happen in certain months, on certain days, in what quarters of games; whether guards, forwards or centers suffer more of them; whether they were more frequent in games or practices; and which body parts were hurt more, among other factors.

On Friday, the EuroCup coaches again met with the Euroleague Basketball Officiating Department to hear about upcoming changes in the game rules and to discuss on-court game situations. The eight-hour sit-down with Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball's Senior Director of Officiating, served the vital purpose of reaching an understanding of how to make EuroCup games better for both the protagonists and fans.

"The EuroCup is a strong competition. It is hard to play against so many good teams. The organization is getting better and better, in all aspects, and meetings like this prove it," UNICS Kazan coach Dimitris Priftis of UNICS Kazan said. "Regarding the game, it is also more and more interesting for fans. Hopefully, it will be even better next season."

Application registration starts for 5th Sports Business MBA by EB Institute

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