Internship fair targets sports fans

As On-Campus Recruiting hits top gear, sophomores and juniors are running around campus dressed in suits, hopeful to land a job.

But for those seeking a career path outside the corporate world, Penn has another option — sports.

This Friday, the Undergraduate Sports Business Club hopes to change Penn’s career outlook by offering a formal sports internship fair.

“If you want to work for a team or a media agency, there is really limited selection,” USBC President Royce Cohen explained. “We said, ‘Let’s try to rope in as many companies as we can and have a sports OCR for one day.’”

According to Cohen, representatives from Versus, Comcast, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New Jersey Nets and more will be on hand at Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to speak with potential job seekers.

Along with the Wharton Sports Business Initiative, the USBC, a student-run organization, has a dual purpose in spreading information about the sports industry and helping students obtain internships and other positions in the field.

The group — which began in 2005 — continues to grow and has set its sights on something bigger.

Penn recently secured a bid to host the 6th annual Ivy League Sports Symposium , which will take place in the fall.

Founded as the Princeton Sports Symposium by Princeton graduate Chris Chaney in 2006, the symposium was rebranded two years ago as the Ivy Sports Symposium with the help of current Wharton senior Brandon Bagley.

“Within a year we were able to shift from the Princeton mentality,” Cohen said. “We got all the other Ivy Leagues schools on board for the event and reached out or started a sports business club at each one.”

Since its inception, the Symposium has featured 180 speakers from around the world representing every facet of the changing sports industry. Last year, the event hosted National Hockey League Commissioner and Cornell graduate Gary Bettman as well as the President of EA Sports Peter Moore. Topics ranged from Athlete Marketing and Advertising to the Business of Motorsports.

In a sports town like Philadelphia, this conference will have a reverberating impact throughout campus, according to Cohen.

“So many students from Penn were involved in it and instrumental in converting it [to the Ivy Symposium],” Cohen continued. “We have the facilities, and we are located in a metropolitan area like Philadelphia, which will really also help the revenues and attract the caliber of speakers we want.”

The USBC has formed a special planning committee to help set up the logistics of the conference, which was attended by over 350 students and professionals in 2010. Royce hopes the committee can target Ivy League alumni working within the professional sports industry.

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