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FAX Program Overview - Teaching Sports and Culture

Twenty students from various places around the world, including the United States, attended the Fusion Arts Exchange (FAX) American Sports Brand program at Texas A&M in effort to learn about sports in the United States. However, the international group took away more than knowledge of sport business management-they embraced six unique cultures and learned a little bit more about themselves.

From July 11 to August 17, the Center for Sport Management Research and Education hosted students from Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela, and the United States for the inaugural FAX in Sport Management summer program. The program, developed by program directors Dr. Mike Sagas and Dr. Gregg Bennett, was funded by a $280,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State.  The program will continue for two more summers, a total of $840,000 in funding.

When asked why she wanted to attend this program, Elizabeth Sheaheen from the University of Dayton said, "Why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you want meet people from six countries who are all different and yet all similar?  We have different flags and religions, but we all have the same issues about what we're going to do as 21-22 year olds."

Through this program, Sheaheen and fellow participants developed unique friendships with people around the world, gained knowledge of different countries and cultures, and for the American students, heard first-hand testaments of how others perceive the United States.

"I spent time with so many people and had so many opportunities," says Lorena Sanchez Barrios from the Universidad del Zulia in Venezuela. "My dad says that if the opportunity to travel elsewhere occurs, I shouldn't focus on the place, but the culture.  Lots of the things we did and saw were dreams that I had once had-dreams that came true." 

The goal of the program was to fuel dynamic undergraduate student leaders with an interest in social leadership, public policy, business, and other aspects of sport management in the United States. The primary aim of the program is to enhance and create a deeper understanding of United States society, culture and values through an intensive and thorough study and understanding of the formation, development and business practices of the American Sports Brand.

"In the first week, we met Coca Cola, Adidas, and Disney-I never thought we'd meet them," said Andrizil Yoesoef from the University of North Sumatra in Indonesia. Paul Quillia from Indiana University had similar thoughts and was impressed that he was able to speak with sports executives from every American sport.

"Being able to get first-hand knowledge from people like this is a one of a kind thing," said Quillia. "No other institution can offer this."

"This was a great opportunity for us to share many of the best practices found in the US sport industry, which is likely the best model for understanding the sport product as a business," says Dr. Mike Sagas, Associate Professor of Sport Management and Director of the Center for Sport Management Research and Education. "The Center is very excited to have fostered this multicultural learning experience and we hope to continue in the on-going activities after the exchange."

Throughout the program, participants attended professional seminars, panel and roundtable discussions, and lectures.

The students and staff also made a number of sport-related site visits, had an opportunity to shadow a number or professionals in the field and participated in numerous hands-on workshops related to sports business. The educational study tour of the program took the group to Orlando, Washington, DC, and New York City. The students were exposed to tours and professional lectures and workshops with sport organizations across the sport industry spectrum, including NASCAR (Daytona International Speedway), Major League Baseball, the NBA, Major League Soccer, the PGA Tour, and the NFL.  The program also exposed participants to six professional sporting events, including the Yankees and Orioles game at Yankee Stadium on August 13.

"I got to see things that I never imagined I could-the space station [NASA] and Disney," said Olatunde Ifeta from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Major topics that were covered included marketing sports properties; sponsorship alliances; athlete, owner and fan relations; event management, revenue streams in sports, economic development through sports in the US and around the world; contractual negotiations and sport law; media licensing and other forms of licensing; women's sports history and development; politics and sports, and the globalization of American sports.

"It is impossible to learn one sport in a short amount of time-for some people it takes years," said Anna Popova from the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality in Russia. "Here, in five weeks, I've learned everything about U.S. sports, especially the sports that we don't have in Russia-baseball and American football."

For American student, Paul Quillia, it was amazing that he could use his ability to teach baseball and football to students from other countries, and took pleasure in showing them a passion for American sports.

During the closing ceremony, held August 10, Dr. Gregg Bennett, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, addressed the group saying that he was proud of our country for supporting the Fusion Exchange. "I'm proud of breaking barriers," he said. "This exchange changed my life; it made me a better person and it made me appreciate people."

For more information on this program, please visit http://csmre.tamu.edu/asb.htm.

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