Banking on Baseball

After discerning key marketing insights from Dr. Tyler and Dr. Cobbs' Know Rivalry research lab, and with consideration of MLS’s unique ability to deliver brand awareness at a league and club levels through the ownership model, students will identify several local markets that present strong fan interest in rivalries and could pay off greatly for a smart new sponsor. With the Heineken Rivalry Week program currently in use as a benchmark, students will apply the case theory to prospect a new food-at-home sponsorship category. The case provides an engaging and differentiated narrative to team students ways in which they can apply MLS rivalry research in a responsible way, to sustain the best parts of fans’ passions while leveraging a new partner to promote the narratives of MLS rivalries.

For nearly a century, owners of U.S. professional sports teams have lobbied respective governmental bodies for public subsidies to build stadiums and arenas across the country, using franchise relocation as leverage. Myriad justifications have been used as a defense for the public subsidization of this private enterprise, ranging from the economic impact of capital intensive projects to the psychic regional benefit of being a host city to a professional sports franchise. But do these justifications hold up under increased scrutiny? In this case, students are placed in the position of the Mayor of Oakland as she is faced with a dilemma regarding publicly subsidizing a new Raiders stadium. Students will examine the issue through the lens of multiple key stakeholders, and will ultimately have to decide whether the city should utilize public funds to keep the Davis family happy and the Raiders in Oakland, or withhold funding for public good and risk the franchise relocating elsewhere.

A long time sponsor of FIFA, National American Brewing Company (NABC) is fresh off a wildly successful 2014 Men’s World Cup activation when scandal rocks FIFA’s leadership group and casts a shadow on all involved. As the optics get worse and pressure mounts from media, fans, and internal stakeholders, NABC has a decision to make, one that may shape the future of their sponsorship portfolio and directly impact their business for better or worse. Students are tasked with conducting a cost benefit analysis on both sides of the issue, and creating a management recommendation to senior leadership outlining both the company’s path forward, and a communication plan to execute it. Learning opportunities abound from this real world case touching business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sponsorship management.

While some believe that managers generally operate under one distinct style of leadership, research has revealed that most successful leaders can shift between six styles of leadership in order to foster an optimal organizational climate. These styles can be used in different environments, and are spotlighted in this case as students are presented with contextual evidence of leadership styles from the sports industry. While reviewing six sport leaders, from commissioners to coaches to media executives, students will work through leadership typology and think critically about purposeful strategies to improve organizational behavior.