Magical

by DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN photos submitted by DR. LYNN LASHBROOK

FHSU alum partners with alma mater

Dr. 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 Lashbrook calls a “game-changer in a trillion-dollar sports business.”

Lashbrook with ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

“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 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 confident youngster. It was the chance he needed.

He had never been west of Topeka but decided to check out Fort Hays State.

“I was looking at the Tiger roster and saw that one of the D-backs weighed 138 pounds,” he said. “I weighed 139, so I calculated that I could play college football.”

The walk-on who had no aspirations of attending college – let alone playing college football – was offered a scholarship after his second game. He went on to start all four years for the Tigers and never missed a game.

After graduating from FHSU, Lashbrook went on to earn his master’s from Springfield College in in Massachusetts and then began working on his doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

Lashbrook with Matt Moore, the back-up quarterback for the Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs.

One weekend on his way home to Kansas City, he stopped by Hays to say Hi to some folks in the athletic department.

Dr. Russell Bogue – chair of the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Department (HPER) – offered Lashbrook a one-semester job to fill in for a professor on sabbatical.

That professor never returned to campus, and Lashbrook stayed on at FHSU for seven years.

In addition to teaching several HPER classes, Lashbrook served as an assistant track and field coach under the legendary Alex Francis.

He went on to teach at several other universities through the years.

While teaching at Oregon State in the mid-1990s, he and his wife, Liz – then a sales executive with a fitness club – decided to start a sports management company. Today, SMWW has 30,000 alumni in 163 countries, and soon many of those could be FHSU alumni as well.

In addition to leading SMWW, Lashbrook has also served as an NFL agent for 25 years, representing more than 100 players ranging from free agents to first-round selections.

In 2009, he received the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest recognition given annually by the FHSU Alumni Association.

Lashbrook returned to Hays several times the past year while working with FHSU personnel on the online learning partnership and even spoke to a class during the spring semester.

The seasoned college instructor still feels right at home in front of the classroom and looks forward to teaching one of the first classes under the FHSU partnership.

“I’ve been an educator my entire career, and I love teaching,” he said. “I can hardly wait.”

Fort Hays State is looking forward to the partnership as well.

“He is a former college professor who is well respected all across the country – and the world,” said Dr. Steve Sedbrook, chair of the Health and Human Performance Department. “This will be a high-quality learning experience.”

“We see a bright future and have high expectations with this partnership,” Sedbrook added. “His organization is very large, the largest online sports management in the country.”

All the SMWW classes are online, making them accessible anywhere in the world.

“The online component is huge in the challenging landscape of enrollment these days, and Fort Hays State is the best there is in online education,” Lashbrook said. “It’s a winwin situation for everyone involved.”

Lashbrook is thrilled to be involved with Fort Hays State again.

“Fort Hays State was a magical place back then,” Lashbrook said, “and it still is. Look what it did for someone who had no future. My whole career started with Fort Hays State, and it’s so special that 55 years later, I’m able to partner with my alma mater.”

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