As the NCAA often states in its advertisements during March Madness, 98% of student athletes (over 450,000 a year) work professionally in activities other than athletics. But after spending so many days in the field or at the gym, some graduates haven’t had as much exposure in the business world. Enter Beast Mode.
Retired NFL star Marshayn Lynch has partnered with Endeavor and digital sports platform Overtime for a free two-week online course designed to jumpstart a career in the sports and entertainment business. While the Level Up: An Athlete Accelerator program is open to anyone interested in such work (applications are available on the Endeavor Impact website), it will focus on current and former athletes as well as service participants from historically excluded tiers. As an official non-profit partner of Level Up, Sports Biz Camps, which serves underrepresented high school and college students, will also have automatic access to the course.
“I’ve always said that I’ve learned a lot of life lessons through gaming,” Lynch, client of Endeavor’s WME agency, said in a statement. My business partner, BSheng [Bryon Sheng, chief marketing officer of Lynch’s various ventures]And for the last few years I’ve been enjoying Endeavor’s summer program. “We’re starting to play with the industry trifles from our experience and hope to share a few more ‘audiences’ this summer.”
Level Up will kick off June 20 with a “Sports as a Platform” session led by WME Sports Co-Chairs Josh Piat and Karen Brodkin, plus Executive Director of Overtime Dan Porter. Every day at 5:00 pm ET for the next 10 days, attendees will hear from speakers including journalist Cari Champion, Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall, ObsidianWorks co-founder and CEO Chad Sterling on topics like marketing, financial books and physical health management. .
“For the most part, Overtime is about empowering the next generation of athletes and fans to achieve their dreams,” said Porter, who previously oversaw Endeavor’s digital business (formerly known as WME-IMG). “We are proud to work with my former colleagues at Endeavor and Marshawn Lynch to provide exclusive access to industry and thought leaders as college athletes prepare to begin their careers.”
June 23 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and as such, Level Up will also host a panel focused on women in sports leadership, featuring Taylor Rooks of Turner Sports and Bleacher Report, as well as the athlete relations manager for overtime. , Shi Dawson.
“The prospect of athletes entering the business side of our industry could be surprising if they no longer have a big name or established connections,” Romola Ratnam, senior vice president and director of impact and inclusion at Endeavor, said in a statement. “Our hope for this course is to help current and former athletes develop the tools to build a career in the sports and entertainment industry that they thrive on after their game days.”
Other Endeavor virtual apps include the Summer Series and NXT, which have seen more than 24,000 participants in the past two years. To date, the company has hired more than 50 graduates from its various virtual education and training programs.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
