Alumni and sports industry luminaries celebrate 50th anniversary of Mark H. McCormack’s Department of Sports Management at UMass Amherst: UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – The McCormack Department of Sports Management at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special weekend of events June 10-12. The celebration includes a golf tournament, dinner, multiple gatherings and presentations, including a panel discussion between high-profile alumni and industry leaders on Title IX.

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Events for the weekend include presentations on the latest faculty research from the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management, a presentation from the McCormack Archivist, a celebratory dinner and a Title IX panel. The full list of activities can be found online. Media representatives are cordially invited to participate in the Title IX panel discussion.

Title IX is the federal civil rights statute, passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibiting sex discrimination in schools or other educational programs funded by the federal government.

“We are pleased to celebrate this major milestone with many friends of the department, alumni and current and former faculty members,” said Professor Steve McKelvey, current chair of the department. “A large part of the success of the McCormack Department of Sport Management is our strong and broad network. Our community includes sports industry superstars who are always willing and enthusiastic to mentor, advise and engage with students and young alumni. This reunion event is an opportunity to bring everyone on campus together to reminisce about our school days while also having serious conversations about the challenges of the sports business.”

Since it was founded as an institute for sports science in 1971 with a focus on the history, philosophy, psychology and sociology of sports, the institute has developed into a comprehensive sports company over the past five decades and is now housed in the Isenberg School of management. Its faculty members are known for their award-winning research, and their students appreciate the commitment to experiential learning. McCormack alumni remain engaged and involved with the school and include numerous sports industry executives in C-suite positions.

Some of the sports industry leaders who will be attending the reunion events include:

• dr Bernie Mullinwho spearheaded the program’s evolution from “Sports Studies” to a Sports Business curriculum
• Glen Wonglongtime department head
• Bill HubbardCEO of Tokio-Marine HCC, the world’s largest insurer of major sporting events
• jeff priceChief Commercial Officer, PGA
• Burke MagnusPresident, ESPN
• David WrightChief Marketing Officer, US Soccer Association
• Nancy Gonsalves, Deputy Director of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee
• Adina ErwinExecutive Vice President, BSE Global
• Jeffrey Pollackmost recently President and CEO, XFL
• Jeff TwinsVice President, Boston Celtics

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management was first established as the Department of Sport Studies in 1971 by Professors Harold VanderZwaag and Guy Lewis. Over the past 50 years, the department has evolved to include athletic business and was among the first athletic management programs to be housed in a business school.

The program began to develop its business focus in the late 1970s when Professor Bernie Mullin was hired in 1977 to teach marketing and other business-related courses. Professor Glenn Wong, who chaired the chair from 1987 to 1998, was brought on board in 1979 to teach the programme’s first sports law courses, some of which were the first of their kind for the sports industry. In 2001, the department created a unique MBA master’s degree in sports management. In 2002, the department moved to the Isenberg School of Management on the initiative of the then head of the institute, Lisa Masteralexis. In 2010, it was renamed the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management, after IMG founder.

For more details, see this history of the department, its academic programs, and alumni networks.

Media please note: Professional photographs of weekend events are available upon request.