An idea put into practice
Chris later described the origin in a 2014 SportsPro interview. During a conversation with Princeton athletics administrator Jamie Zaninovich about a charity basketball tournament, he learned about a sports-business conference at Stanford. He returned to his dorm room and began planning a Princeton event.
The first symposium took place on December 8, 2006, with support from the Princeton Varsity Club and the university's Career Services office. Its 25 speakers represented different parts of sports business. Chris's aim was to help students understand the available career paths while giving established professionals a practical way to contribute to the next generation.
2009 · reaching students across campuses
By its fourth edition in December 2009, the Princeton Sports Symposium drew approximately 150 students from more than 20 colleges, alongside dozens of industry professionals. Princeton Alumni Weekly described Chris's aim of introducing students to the breadth of careers in sport.
A broader institution
The symposium developed into Sports Symposium Inc., a nonprofit focused on accessible sports-business education. Student planning committees worked alongside an executive director, a board, an advisory committee and a Young Leaders Committee. Annual events were complemented by a fellowship and the SportsPro 10 NEXT awards.
After its initial years at Princeton, the event moved to the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, Columbia in 2012 and Harvard in 2013. It returned to Princeton in 2014. By that ninth annual edition, the organization had featured more than 400 different speakers and attracted students from over 50 colleges and universities.
The breadth of sports business
The 2014 program shows the range of the organization's work. Sessions examined digital media, athlete representation, college athletics, sports analytics, entrepreneurship, international talent, diversity, sponsorship and the economics of professional leagues. Career and partnership workshops translated broad industry discussion into specific professional tasks.
A Shark Tank competition added an entrepreneurial component, asking participants to explain an opportunity, define a value proposition and respond to questions about market potential. The format gave students a view of both established institutions and the work of creating something new.
An international extension
In May 2014, the Global Sports Symposium brought the format to Emirates Stadium in London in conjunction with London Business School. Its agenda covered club brands, sponsorship valuation, data, international expansion and sports media, alongside a career workshop. The extension connected the organization's educational purpose with a broader international sports-business community.
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