by Kirk Wakefield – November 2012
Baylor offers the only business major in Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) in the country.
About us:
The S3 Mission. To faithfully live lives of integrity marked by a strong work ethic in order to influence and transform relationships in the sports industry one person at a time.
S3 Admissions: Baylor is a highly selective university and the S3 program selects up to 24 exceptional Baylor business school applicants to the program in the spring of their sophomore years. Read more here.
Our Faculty: The S3 program director is Dr. Darryl Lehnus and professor of professional selling classes. The S3 executive director is Dr. Kirk Wakefield and professor of fan behavior and research instruction. Our CRM professors are Dr. Jeff Tanner and Dr. Gina Green.
Our training: Housed in the marketing department in the Hankamer School of Business (#45 Business Week national ranking), students receive a business degree with a major focused on professional selling and marketing of sports. Students may select one of three S3 tracks: ticket sales, media/sponsorship sales, and customer relationship management (CRM). Read about course requirements here. All S3 classes are held in our dedicated classroom, which includes a conference role play room with video recording capabilities, a 24-seat call center and media lab, and 32-mobile seat classroom.
Our Advisory Board: Consists of over 60 elite organizations including pro teams across every major league and leading corporate/agency sponsorship partners. The board provides (a) internships & jobs for S3 majors, (b) curriculum input and frequent active participation in class presentations and projects, and (c) content for the Baylor S3 Report.
S3 Program Distinctives:
- AT&T Challenge: Students compete in teams to create brand activation strategies for AT&T and a partner property such as the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and the Cotton Bowl. Judges include Jason Simpson and Bill Moseley from AT&T, industry expert Dan Migala, agency representatives from The Marketing Arm, and executives from the property.
- Sales projects: Students gain experience improving communication and selling skills through our on-campus internship selling special events for the Shell Houston Open, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, the Valero Alamo Bowl and others.
- Summer junior internships: All S3 majors work for a pro team or corporate partner from our S3 Advisory Board between the junior & senior years at Baylor. This valuable experience often leads to job offers during the senior year before graduation.
- Placement: Since 2006, over 100 graduates have accepted positions with professional sports teams and organizations. Seniors interview throughout the year with board members and typically accept positions before graduation.
