Organizational Leadership

As the 1970 World Cup came to a close, IMG looked towards internationalization with eyes on a particular global star: Brazil's Pele. IMG was becoming a global sport management giant; Pele was entrenched as the most recognizable and marketable soccer star in the world. And yet, the process was anything but smooth. Pulled from UMass Amherst's digitized McCormack/IMG archive, this case features gems from the 1970 affair: hand-written letters from Mark McCormack to Pele's camp, copies of Pele's initial IMG contract, and a fact sheet outlining Pele's commercial rights and demands. Students peer inside a very different time for the marketing of sport icons, and learn from history's lessons.

This case outlines Minor League Baseball's (MiLB) strategic resource allocation towards diversity and inclusion, and practical steps MiLB has taken to activate its core mission and values in the sports market - most notably through its 2019 Pride campaign and Copa de la Diversion platform. Written in collaboration with MiLB's staff, the case includes data and results from the 2019 Pride program, background research on the league's organizational structure and mission, and a robust theory section highlighting subject-specific academic literature to help educate students on current trends. Written from a management lens, the theory outlined herein includes substantial analysis on the societal shifts towards the LGBTQ community, economic benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion in marketing initiatives, and the LGBTQ sport consumer. Lastly, students are tasked with applying MiLB's model to a new U.S. market through analysis of relevant data on state equality measures, and dynamics regarding the market, population and community in question. The case fosters a greater understanding of diversity and inclusion policy and practice in sport organizations.

This case study places the student in the role of the first Black team president in NFL history, Jason Wright. The case study is intended to provide students with an opportunity to explore the historic nature of Wright’s hiring in the context of the Washington Football Team’s contemporaneous brand identity crisis. In addition, students will be expected to study the one hundred year- history of the NFL through its racial hiring practices, both on and off the field of play. WFT, then known as the Washington Redskins, was instrumental in the exclusion of Black players from the league and was the last NFL team to integrate. WFT’s actions in 2021 to hire a Black team president and to change their team nickname from an insensitive Native American slur provide students with an opportunity to critically examine and integrate an historic progression with a current racial and social justice challenge with multiple dimensions.

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.

Written by the MLBPA's former Director of Communications Greg Bouris, this case takes students inside the history of communications challenges relative to smokeless tobacco usage in professional baseball. The case examines a myriad of stakeholders involved in the private, and public, messaging surrounding this 'hot button' issue, from players, to public advocacy groups, to teams, to Commissioner Bud Selig and the United States Congress. With careful consideration of the nuances surrounding collective bargaining and the underlying legal framework binding the league to its labor union, the case demonstrates how a communications team should tactfully manage a complex issue amidst changes to policy, public sentiment, and labor positioning. After absorbing the theory and facts of the case, students are tasked with drafting strategic position statements written at varying points of time within the overall case timeline.