Sports Business Institute

U OF G HOME TO FIRST CANADIAN SPORTS BUSINESSINSTITUTE

A global leader for advanced research in sport business and leadership

In November, the University of Guelph launched the first Canadian sports business institute, a global centre for research and teaching that will bring together scholars and industry leaders, including IOC member Richard Pound.

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, a member of the International Olympic Committee and a globally recognized champion of doping-free sport and fair play.

Institute members will study aspects of the fast-growing sport industry, including events, facilities, professional sport, participation sport and links to health and wellness, said Prof. Norm O’Reilly, IISBL founding director and a leading international scholar in the business of sports.

“Sport is an enormous global industry looking to reach $80 billion in North America alone by 2022. It’s a huge business,” McRoberts said. “The data and information we get from the institute will help with strategic decisions. There’s not a single 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.

McRoberts, an adjunct CBE faculty member, said this new venture combines that college’s expertise and the University’s high-profile athletics programs.

From championship teams, to award-winning student-athletes and coaches, to more than 7,000 youngsters enrolled in the Junior Gryphons program through minor sports, he said, “The Gryphon brand is one of the most recognized university sports brands in Canada.”