FEATURE STORIES
FHSU alum partners with alma mater by DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN
D
r. Lynn Lashbrook describes his time at Fort Hays State University as “magical.” Now the president of a global sports business, this Tiger alum hopes to make life magical for other FHSU students. Lashbrook’s company, Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) out of Portland, Ore. – a global leader in sports business education – is partnering with FHSU to offer online sports management classes taught by leaders in the sports management industry. Students who complete SMWW classes can transfer up to six hours of academic credit to Fort Hays State through the Credit for Prior Learning program. Fort Hays State is the first university to join forces with SMWW in such a partnership, which
Photos submitted by DR. LYNN LASHBROOK
Lashbrook calls a “game-changer in a trillion-dollar sports business.” “This takes us to a new orbit, and what a great chance to get the word out about Fort Hays State around the world,” Lashbrook said. “It gives FHSU a chance to connect with sports worldwide.” SMWW works with the hiring staff of professional franchises and can offer a huge network for students who might want to pursue a career in any number of professional sports arenas, including baseball, football, basketball, hockey, car racing, rugby, Esports – and even cricket. A career in sports management was the farthest thing from Lashbrook’s mind when he graduated from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kan., in 1966. He was a sports fanatic growing up but was small in stature. He didn’t see ROAR
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much playing time on his high school football team. That didn’t deter his enthusiasm for sports, though, and he stayed on the team all four years. “I was the smallest kid in the largest high school in the state,” Lashbrook said. His determination didn’t wane even after breaking his leg his junior year at KC-Wyandotte. He got a break of another kind when a relative who lived in Hays leveraged his connections with a colleague of the FHSU football coach. That colleague, Standlee V. Dalton – the university’s registrar – told Tiger coach Wayne McConnell about a budding football player in the Kansas City area. Soon thereafter, Lashbrook received a recruitment letter in the mail from Fort Hays State. Lashbrook thought it looked like a form letter, but that didn’t faze the
SPRING/SUMMER 2022
