For an eighth year in a row, the EB Institute Annual Workshops will bring together professionals from across the spectrum of Euroleague Basketball clubs during the first two weeks of July to set the stage, in a spirit of brainstorming collaboration, for the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup seasons.

As has become a tradition, players from all EuroLeague clubs – 18 total for the new season – will do the honors of launching a fortnight full of workshops when they arrive EuroLeague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona on Monday, July 1, to learn more about the organization and its future plans at the EuroLeague ELPA Player Representatives Meeting.

The players will be followed on Tuesday by the EuroLeague head coaches, who will remain for two days' worth of meetings, the first being a traditional round table to offer their input about the organization's newest initiatives and proposals. On Wednesday, the head coaches meet directly with the Euroleague Basketball Officiating Department to discuss and debate game-related issues of importance. The same process is repeated when head coaches from the 24 teams of the next 7DAYS EuroCup gather for meetings on Thursday and Friday.

The second week of EB Institute Annual Workshops commences on Monday, July 8, with the arrival of media directors from all 18 EuroLeague clubs for a day-long meeting centered on the upcoming plans in their field of communications, media relations and content development. On Tuesday of that week, the EuroLeague's marketing and ticket directors meet jointly for a morning session and split up into groups for the afternoon in talks devoted to their specialties of selling the competition to sponsors and fans alike.

Both groups will be joined on Wednesday, July 10, by the chief business officers of both EuroLeague and EuroCup clubs for the Euroleague Basketball Business Summit, a highlight of the EB Institute Annual Workshops. In addition to presentations by various leaders in the industry of sports business, the summit will feature the announcement of the Devotion Marketing Awards from the previous season.

On Thursday, July 11, the EB Institute Annual Workshops pause for a day while the scene shifts to Munich, Germany, for the ECA Shareholders Meeting to finalize all organizational aspects of the 2019-20 season and to discuss future projects and strategies. On that occasion, the winner of the Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year award will be revealed, as well.

On Friday, July 12, the EB Institute's Annual Workshops finish in Barcelona with the EuroCup Clubs Meeting, to be followed by the 2019-20 EuroCup Draw, which will be broadcast live to fans through EuroCupbasketball.com and the competition's related media channels.

EB Institute Annual Workshops tip off Monday

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The Sports Business MBA by EB Institute class of 2020 came together recently for their second in-person session in Kaunas, Lithuania. The five-day agenda was split into three days of studies at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) and two days of learning from management and staff at Zalgiris Kaunas and Zalgirio Arena.

One key component of the session was the presentation of the students' mid-term papers, which they had prepared with the help of appointed module leaders serving as individual supervisors. In the classroom, students heard lectures on such topics as sports economics, finance, law and governance, while hearing from the head of youth development at the Lithuanian basketball federation and an American Football club in Kaunas.

They picked up practical knowledge by going behind the scenes to learn more about Zalgiris and Zalgirio Arena. The five days also featured some fun and group bonding with a beer tasting session at the Volfas Engelmann brewery and trips to Vilnius for some sightseeing and the Nemencine forest to visit the Soviet Bunker Museum. The session ended at Zalgirio Arena, where the MBA students attended a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game between Zalgiris and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.

The Sports Business MBA's class of 2020 features students from across Europe, including Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Greece, Russian Federation, Ukraine and Lithuania. They MBA combines in-person sessions with an e-learning platform.

"The last months have been such a valuable experience for me," Ioanna Beriou from Greece said. "Starting from the end with my visit to Kaunas and touring around Zalgirio Arena to discover from key personnel how everything operates so successfully was really amazing. Learning within a multicultural environment and from inspiring professors is something that empowered me even more. I am really eager to start the next sessions, to further enhance this unique experience."

"The trip to Lithuania means that we have finished the first semester and that we will start with the second one," said Tjasa Pavlic from Slovenia. "It was great to meet the professors and my classmates in person again and talk with them. The session was a wonderful experience, especially because we got a lot of useful information about the operation of one of the best-organized clubs in the EuroLeague and we were able to attend the Zalgiris game against Panathinaikos."

The session from January 14 to 18 was the second of four in-person sessions the students will attend during the course. Their initial meeting took place at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. They will next meet for their third session at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, in May. There, students will witness what goes into running a world-class sporting event and take advantage of the many global industry leaders in attendance for additional lectures that will further shape their insights into the sports business. The fourth and final session back in Kaunas will take place in January 2020, with the viva exams and graduation ceremony.

Sports Business MBA students learn at Final Four

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The inaugural class of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute proved a resounding success after 16 months' worth of hard work and scholarship that culminated in mid-January with graduation ceremonies at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The last of four in-person sessions in the MBA program saw all students defend their final theses in front of a commission, led by Rita Bendaraviciene, the university's Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management, that included all six module leaders and a Euroleague Basketball representative.

Thus culminated a unique learning process that had begun at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona back in September of 2017, with the students embedded over a week in the day-to-day operations of a major international private sports league. The first session introduced the course modules of Sports Business, Sports Marketing and Sports Communication and included a roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO.

The students, who hail from all over Europe, North America and Africa, came together again for five days in January of 2018 at Vytautas Magnus University for in-person classes to augment their ongoing instruction on-line. Two of those days were spent on lectures from Zalgiris Kaunas senior management and site inspections at Zalgirio Arena, among Europe's most-advanced sports and entertainment venues.

Their next stop was last spring's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Serbia, where in addition to going behind the scenes at a major international sporting event in real time, they received lectures from 11 high-profile industry leaders from companies such as AEG, Spalding, Special Olympics, IMG and Desigual. This month, back in Kaunas, their thesis topics ranged from co-branding to IOT ecosystems and event management in developing countries, with each having been developed over months under the guidance of a supervisor, true to the individual counselling ethos of the program.

"Vytautas Magnus University and Euroleague Basketball did an outstanding job to raise this MBA degree programme to the highest level," new graduate Juste Ivaskeviciute said. "Things got very serious from the first weeks. But that is why now it feels so rewarding. It is my sixth year in the sports business field, but the theoretical insights provided by the professionals and industry leaders were unique and inspired to look at my work from different angles."

The unique mix of professionals from the academic and sports words, including stakeholders from industry, leagues and federations, made the first Sports Business MBA by EB Institute a truly ground-breaking endeavor. The second class of the program is currently underway and actively preparing a new group of international students for success in sports business.

"Starting with the second generation, we will convey additional sports business knowledge from six guest professors from La Salle URL, University of Bologna, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, as well as from six industry experts from global companies like Desigual, FC Bayern Munich, Adidas, NBA, Nike, German National Anti-Doping Agency," Dean Bendaraviciene said. "All this mastery is disseminated to an audience from around the world, because of the diverse list of countries of our students, including Canada, Romania, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Lithuania, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Ukraine and Russia. This amount of knowledge, depth of experience and geographic breadth confirms our expertise in sports, academic excellence and 360-degree education."



Sports Business MBA by EB Institute produces its first graduates!

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The Union of Lithuanian Sports Federations recently recognized the excellence of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute, awarding it the organization's prize for that country's best sports initiative in 2018.

The award was voted from among three candidates chosen by the Lithuanian public before the winner was selected by the eight-member Lithuanian Sports Management Awards Working Group. In assessing candidates, the working group took into account the criteria of professionalism, innovation, creativity and management efficiency.

The Sports Business MBA by EB Institute equips students with advanced professional knowledge and skills in the field of sports business management. Taught jointly by Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and the Euroleague Basketball Institute, it is a truly international educational project, benefiting from an extensive global network of academicians, industry leaders, experts and social partners for contemporary sports business and world-class online learning opportunities.

The Sports Business MBA, which covers three 20-week semesters spread over 16 months, takes its participants on a unique journey to Barcelona, Kaunas and each season's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four host city, the next being Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain in May. Students go behind the scenes at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona and at the Final Four while learning from Vytautas Magnus University and industry leaders to obtain a systematic understanding and working knowledge of all major areas of sports business.

The MBA program upgraded a decade-long master's program that had focused on sports management and sent hundreds of alumni from all over the world onward in careers at clubs, leagues, federations, companies, media and more. The two-year-old Sports Business MBA by EB Institute in collaboration with Vytautas Magnus University now takes that initiative forward to help prepare a new generation of sports executives.

Sports Business MBA by EB Institute recognized by Lithuanian federations

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A new class of professionals-in-the-making tipped off the 2018-19 Sports Business MBA by Euroleague Basketball Institute with a week-long opening session that introduced them to the course and gave them a first-hand look at the inner workings of a private international professional sports organization.

The first session of four that the students will have together across 16 months took place at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, and featured a diverse look at the company's philosophy and operations.

Students from Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine hit the ground running with five full days of classes with professors from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and executives from Euroleague Basketball. Among the enrollees are Okeksiy Yefimov, General Manager of 7DAYS EuroCup club AS Monaco; Apostolos Tsagarakis, Technical Director of the International Swimming League and Ioanna Beriou, Director of Sponsorships & Corporate Communications for Onside.

“I was really impressed with the first week of the Sports Business MBA.” said Oleksiy. “It overcame all my expectations. All week long from 9:30 until 6:30 we had a great opportunity not only to listen but also to share opinion and exchange experience with the Euroleague Basketball top management. The lectures and practice sessions that were given by the academicians were great. They have activated all my previous knowledge and let me read and analyze my previous experience totally from a new point of view.” Iaonna said ”I had an exciting first week into the course! We have a great team of students with multidisciplinary and multicultural backgrounds, combined with an exceptional line-up of teachers made it a great learning experience.”

The opening session began with a welcome by Rita Bendaraviciene, Dean at the Faculty of Economics and Management at Vytautas Magnus University. University professors Giedrius Jucevicius, Vilija Biciunaite, and Ausra Pazeraite introduced, respectively, the sports business, sports communication, and the sports marketing modules of the course, while Renata Legenzova discussed with students their term paper requirements.

A roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, let the students ask questions about the company. Among the other Euroleague Basketball executives who gave classes, Eduard J. Scott, Chief Operations Officer, focused on the Basketball Operations area; Rowena Younes, Director, Events, spoke about what goes into organizing a EuroLeague Final Four, one of the most significant sports events on the continent; Stephen Dobson, Director, Digital & Content Marketing, addressed the expanding field of sponsored digital content; Jose Luis Rosa-Medina, Senior Director, Corporate Partnerships & Licensing, explained the essential role of stakeholders in sports; Milos Nenadovic, Manager, Business Operations, talked about the evolution of ticketing; Luca Scafati, Director, Business Operations spoke about the EuroLeague Business Operations & Club Services; whilst Yolanda Jaramillo presented the Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations.

A second session, to be held at the university in January 2018 will include a full day of learning from Zalgiris Kaunas staff at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. The students will regroup in May for four days worth of classes with specially invited leaders in the sports business industry and behind-the-scenes access at the 2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The closing session brings the class back to Vytautas Magnus University in January 2020 to defend their MBA Thesis during a Viva and celebrate their graduation ceremony in a basketball heartland.



2018-19 Sports Business MBA by EB Institute second edition up and running

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he application period for the 2018-19 Sports Business MBA by EB Institute is entering its final month and the dates for the four in-person sessions have been set. Applications for the 16-month program, run jointly by Euroleague Basketball and Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), must be submitted by August 26, 2018.

The blended learning MBA allows existing professionals in the sports industry to enhance their knowledge without sacrificing work commitments. It focuses on a modern approach to sports business, consisting of six modules over three academic semesters, including internship and group work opportunities, before submitting a final MBA thesis.

In addition to the six VMU module leaders and Euroleague Basketball senior management who deliver curricular content, six guest academics and six industry experts will share their knowledge and experience to inspire students' minds. The guest academics hail from Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris, the University of Bologna and LaSalle URL in Barcelona. The industry experts all work at well-known entities, such as FC Bayern Munich, Desigual, German National Anti-Doping Agency, Adidas, Nike and the NBA, representing companies and organizations at the forefront of the industry.

The course awards 90 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) to graduates. The MBA uses blended learning, featuring the latest e-learning tools offering maximum flexibility and sustained interaction with professors on a unique 14-month journey, with four in-person sessions included.

The opening sessions will be on September 24 to 28, 2018 at Euroleague Basketball's headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. The second in-person meetings will take place at VMU's campus in Kaunas, Lithuania, on January 14 to 18, 2019. The third session will coincide with the 2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain on May 15 to 19, 2019. VMU will host the fourth and final session on January 20 to 22, 2020.

Past graduates have gone on to work in many different prestigious roles in the European and international sporting world, including positions with clubs, federations and private businesses.

For more information please visit www.euroleague.net/ebinstitute

Dates finalized, registration underway for next edition of Sports Business MBA by EB Institute

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The recent Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four not only turned Belgrade into the epicenter of world basketball for a weekend of elite competition and passionate crowds, but the city also became a place of higher learning from May 17 to 20. The Serbian capital in general and Stark Arena, in particular, served as classrooms for the students of the Sports Business MBA by the Euroleague Basketball Institute, who came to Belgrade for their third of four in-person learning sessions in the program. The students had an opportunity to listen to a variety of lectures from 11 high-profile industry leaders from the world of sports business while getting a behind-the-scenes look at the organization of an event on the great scale of the Final Four.

Euroleague Basketball and Vytautas Magnus University combined their resources to bring an A-list of speakers to Belgrade for lectures to the MBA students. The lecturers included industry leaders Tadd Reilly, Vice President, Fruit of the Loom/Spalding International; Dawn Smyth, Director, Domestic Development, Canada Basketball; Markus Fest, Director Special & Corporate Events, AEG Europe; Miroslaw Krogulec, Director, Organisational Development Sport, Special Olympics; Davor Ristovic, General Manager, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade; Xavier Bidault, Commercial Director, Basketball, IMG Media; Ibrahim Erkan, Director of Operations, Turkish Basketball Federation; Daniel Geey, Partner, Sheridans; Mustafa Erogut, Executive Director, Istanbul Basaksehir FC; Cem Karamuersel, Accounting Director EMEA, Nike; and Jordi Balsells, Vice President, Desigual.

In addition to privileged access to sports industry executives, the students got a first-hand look at many Final Four ancillary events, such as the Opening Press Conference at Kalemegdan Fortress, which was also the scene of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague FanZone, for which they were given a guided tour to understand the synergy between Euroleague Basketball, sponsors and fans. In order to prepare for their Master theses, the students also had a full day of "battle sessions" with their module leaders from the Vytautas Magnus University. Finally, they were able to attend an alumni dinner to meet previous graduates from EB Institute masters.

"I had the privilege to officiate at the Madrid Final Four in 2008 and have been present as a spectator at many others Final Fours, but after my experience of 19 years in the EuroLeague as a referee, to be in the Belgrade as a student of the Sports Business MBA was very special, without any question," student Spiros Gkontas said. "I had the chance to see all the details of the preparation and the execution of such a unique event and the hard work from hundreds of people for the success of it. As a student of the Sports Business MBA, I discovered another world behind the scenes that is also interesting and impressive. We met sports professionals from different sectors who shared with us their unique experiences. Belgrade is a fantastic basketball city; the hospitality was excellent; and I feel blessed I had the chance to live it. This is the real basketball."

The Sports Business MBA sessions held over four days in Belgrade made up the third of four on-site phases in the 13-month course, which is coordinated by Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas. The students had previously met in Barcelona in October 2017 at Euroleague Basketball headquarters for five days of focus on a transfer of knowledge from Euroleague Basketball senior management. The students also met in January in Kaunas for a prolonged academic session. After their experience at the Final Four in Belgrade, the students will return to Kaunas in November for their fourth and final on-site session to present the Sports Business MBA students final projects.

"The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade was all about business insights and felt more like the beginning of a finish line for us," student Juste Ivaskeviciute said. "Market leaders gave us a very wide perspective on the business area, from the value perception of raising young players to sports events management and motivational speeches. Meeting alumni of the program was more like a family meeting in which sharing experiences and expectations was a priceless exchange of information. The dedicated professors made the first steps toward the MBA thesis topic so easy and inspiring that now there are even more options to choose from than before the session!"

Final Four served as classroom for Sports Business MBA students

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The 2017-18 class of the Sports Business MBA by EB Institute came together last week for their second in-person session in Kaunas, Lithuania. The five-day agenda was split into three days dedicated to lectures from academic and Lithuanian industry leaders, which were held at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), and two days of lectures and site inspections from Zalgiris Kaunas and Zalgirio Arena.

In addition to presentations from the six module leaders, students heard from industry leaders including KPMG Senior Manager Edvinas Zukauskas, Svyturio Brand Manager Ieva Raciene and Lithuanian Basketball Federation Secretary General Mindaugas Spokas. Zalgiris Kaunas and Zalgirio Arena senior management shared their expertise in communications, ticketing, arena management, basketball operations, security, event management, finance and governance.

"It was a unique experience to be in Lithuania, the land of basketball,” said Turkish national and Canada resident Omer Seymen. “It was great to be able to meet with Zalgiris Kaunas representatives, learn from their experience and visit one of the most special venues in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague both for a live game as well as studying the building from top to bottom. This second session gave us a chance to get together with our classmates once again, improving our group dynamics even further. It was also a great opportunity to visit VMU, meet with the professors in person and be able to spend quality time with them."

Spanish student Javier Pesquera, who currently resides in Sweden, also took away valuable knowledge and experience from his time in Kaunas. “Honestly, even though I had high expectations for the Sports Business MBA's second session, the access that we had to an elite club like Zalgiris Kaunas really surprised me, not only due to the level of hospitality they showed us, but how they explained their business at all levels. When it came to the academic lecturers they went above and beyond their call of duty, staying late with us after the schedule and showing us around the campus and city with a level of implication rarely shown by any professor in my previous studies."

In the current class, students from cities as diverse as Toronto, Lagos, Madrid, Bucharest, Athens and Istanbul have been using in-person sessions combined with an e-learning platform. The January 15 to 19, 2018, meeting was the second of four in-person sessions the students will attend during the course. After their initial gathering at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, the students will next meet in person at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade, Serbia, this May for lectures from global industry leaders at the third session of the Sports Business MBA, which will further shape their insights in the sports business. The fourth and final session back in Kaunas will take place in October, with the viva and diploma ceremony.

For more information please visit www.euroleague.net/ebinstitute

Sports Business MBA by EB Institute holds second session

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This week has marked the opening session of the new 2017-18 Sports Business MBA by Euroleague Basketball Institute. The first of four sessions in the 13-month-long course took place at Euroleague Basketball headquarters in Barcelona from Monday, September 18 through Friday, September 22, 2017. Students of nine different nationalities – from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, Lithuania, Nigeria, Romania, Spain and Turkey – are enrolled in the course.

This year Euroleague Basketball Institute is venturing in a new direction for the course by collaborating with Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania on a Sports Business MBA program. Previously, a Master in Sports Management and Marketing had been co-organised with Ca Foscari University in Italy for the past 10 years. Among the current students in the class are Zalgiris Kaunas Marketing Director Juste Ivaskeviciute, Euroleague Basketball Official Spiros Gkontas, Nigerian basketball team President Daniel Ngerem of Lagos Warriors, and Steaua Bucharest General Manager Ionut Georgescu.

The opening session began with an introduction by Rita Bendaraviciene, Vytautas Magnus University‘s Dean of the Faculty of Economics. Several of the finest Vytautas Magnus University academic professors were present in the first session, namely Vilija Biciunaite, Ausra Pazeraite and Renata Legenzova, to introduce the first three modules of Sports Business, Sports Marketing and Sports Communication. This was followed by a roundtable discussion with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO.

The transfer of knowledge from Euroleague Basketball senior management to students took place over the following four days. Chief Operations Officer Eduard J. Scott, Chief Business Officer Roser Queralto, Global Marketing Partnerships & Licensing Director Jose Luis Rosa-Medina, Marketing & Communications Director Alex Ferrer, in addition to other colleagues, presented the company’s inner workings in Basketball Operations, Marketing and Communications, Digital, Brand & Sports Marketing, Legal, Global Expansion, Financial Fair Play, Events, Communications, Ticketing and Sponsorship.

“As a basketball fan and, moreover, as a hardcore Euroleague Basketball fan, learning from the management of Euroleague Basketball about the business was incredibly amazing,” student Begum Unal said. “We have discussed the current operations and the future of European basketball. It was a challenging week working in a highly international group with classmates living on four different continents and everyone has a different opinion on the same topic. I wish that we could spend a longer time in Barcelona as the discussions we had were enlightening and deepened my point of view in many aspects."

Following this opening week the class will continue their distance learning with academic and professional staff until they meet for the second session in Kaunas, Lithuania, in January. Vytautas Magnus University staff will host the students on their campus and there will be a full day spent at Zalgirio Arena, where the class will go in-depth with arena staff and Zalgiris Kaunas employees. The third session will be in May in Belgrade, Serbia, during the 2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. Industry leaders will present to the students in parallel with behind-the-scenes access to the main event at Kombank Arena. The closing session brings the class back to Kaunas in October 2018, where students will defend their MBA theses during a Viva and celebrate their graduation ceremony in a basketball heartland.

“Working in the Romanian basketball business, applying for the Sports Business MBA was the obvious choice for me," student Catalin Naziru said. "Euroleague Basketball promotes high standards in sports business. The experience at their headquarters was truly amazing, starting from hospitality, knowledge, networking and information delivered by the professionals. I'm proud to be one of the first people who will study this MBA and to be able to apply this knowledge.”

First session tips off new Sports Business MBA

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