U OF G HOME TO FIRST CANADIAN
SPORTS BUSINESS INSTITUTE
A global leader for advanced research in sport business and leadership
In November, the University of Guelph launched the first
“Sport is an enormous global industry looking to reach $80
Canadian sports business institute, a global centre for
billion in North America alone by 2022. It’s a huge business,”
research and teaching that will bring together scholars and
McRoberts said. “The data and information we get from the
industry leaders, including IOC member Richard Pound.
institute will help with strategic decisions. There’s not a single
The International Institute for Sports Business and Leadership (IISBL) is intended to make U of G a thought leader in the multibillion-dollar world of sports. The only one of its kind at a Canadian university, the institute will bring together faculty members and grad students as well as an advisory board of industry leaders chaired by Pound,
sport organization that doesn’t have some type of analytics unit spitting out data to make short- and long-term decisions.” The institute is also intended to champion equity, diversity and inclusion, attract graduate students, seek private and public funding, and develop research partnerships with global universities.
a member of the International Olympic Committee and a
McRoberts, an adjunct CBE faculty member, said this new
globally recognized champion of doping-free sport and fair
venture combines that college’s expertise and the University’s
play.
high-profile athletics programs.
Institute members will study aspects of the fast-growing
From championship teams, to award-winning student-athletes
sport industry, including events, facilities, professional sport,
and coaches, to more than 7,000 youngsters enrolled in the
participation sport and links to health and wellness, said
Junior Gryphons program through minor sports, he said,
Prof. Norm O’Reilly, IISBL founding director and a leading
“The Gryphon brand is one of the most recognized university
international scholar in the business of sports.
sports brands in Canada.”
“We want to be an engine for solving problems for industry,”
Sport management programs have grown worldwide,
said O’Reilly, a professor in the School of Hospitality, Food
including 17 university programs in Canada. The IISBL at U
and Tourism Management (HFTM) who joined U of G this
of G will be the only centre focused on sport business and
past summer as assistant dean of executive programs with
leadership in the country.
the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics. CBE will run the institute jointly with the Department of Athletics. Director of Athletics Scott McRoberts will serve as associate director of the institute.
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