Sports Business Society's Competitive Edge

Alex Zalesne ’18 was passionate about playing soccer and a fan of all Philadelphia sports teams when he became a Cornell freshman in fall 2014.

He was thinking about sports as a business career, but feared he would find limited options, until after two years with the Cornell ILR Sports Business Society.

“SBS helped me understand how many different ways there are to break into the sports industry,” said Zalesne, the co-president of the Sports Business Society with Ben Gilman ’18. “I thought I could be an agent or work in a front office and that was about it, but SBS brought in so many people who have great positions in the sports industry to educate us.”

Gary Stolper ’07 and Stephen Berger ’08 founded the club in 2006 with the help of Kevin Harris, director of ILR Student Services, who has continued as adviser.

The student-run meetings spark lively sports industry discussion among members, who say engagement is eye- and door-opening. Blog, magazine and radio show productions reach the wider Cornell community.

But, it’s the speaker series that often features alumni who have made careers in sports that gets the most attention from members.

Students have a great advantage from an ILR School education and access to significant networking opportunities, Zalesne said. “You learn what you want to do by participating in SBS, then other members and new connections help you figure out a way to get there.”

Ian Capell ’20, vice president of radio for the group, said that last spring, speaker DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the National Football League Players Association, spent 15 minutes with him after addressing the group. “I learned a lot more about the association, with ideas of what I should be doing to prepare for my career.”

Thanks to his club affiliation, Capell said he was able to introduce some of the panelists from the stage at the Cornell ILR Sports Leadership Summit.

Last summer, the club helped him find a volunteer position at the Hashtag Sports innovation conference in New York City, and he’s using his club connections to pursue an internship for next summer. “The society gives members a competitive edge,” he said.

Margot Werner ’19 was a standout ice hockey player growing up in Chicago and knew she wanted to work in the sports industry. She joined SBS as a freshman and is now the vice president of events.

She interned in sponsorship sales for the National Hockey League during the summer, landing a 15-minute private career chat with Commissioner Gary Bettman ’74, and is already planning next summer’s internship, perhaps with a sports law firm. She said the biweekly SBS meetings transformed a hockey fan into a more-informed sports professional.

“I love listening to all arguments around sports issues,” Werner said.