My fifth
year at U of T was the most exciting and enjoyable one of them all. I didn’t
work for most of the summer of 2012 – except for about 1 month, working for a
sightseeing company and pretty much standing in the heat for 9 hours straight (and I love shade).
But that allowed me to save up some cash to fund my summer aka a trip to NYC with
my girlfriend Harriet and my friend Sal (future law school roommate) and his girlfriend
Josine.
I was anxious to start planning with Natan for the 2012-2013 UTSB line up.
Even though I didn’t take part in the founding of the club, I still felt like I could play a big part
in cementing its legacy at U of T. The first Conference took months of planning
and the organization didn’t actually appear on anybody’s radar until halfway
through the school year. Natan and I now had the benefit of a summer of
planning as well as the ability to stage events throughout the whole school
year. I want to just recap the experience we had from start to finish because
it was TOUGH but I would never have wanted it any other way – it was well worth
it.
If you know anything about Natan, it’s that he travels the world (and he’s an only child). He is currently in Berlin …. ‘studying’ for a summer course. At this point last summer, he was planning to be in Europe for Euro 2012, then take a summer course somewhere in Europe, and then finish off his vacation with time at his family home in, you guessed it, Europe (Croatia). That left us with a few weeks before he left to put together a game plan for the coming year and then, after only knowing me for a few months, he had to trust that I could head the ship until he was back in the country. What I didn’t know what that this would result in daily Skype calls from a shirtless Natan on a beach somewhere. I think we talked about the same thing every day, just to put him at ease. Anyhow, it was funny back then and its funnier now.
Before he left, we decided to implement a structure so that, when we are long gone from U of T, UTSB can still exist and have some continuity. Taking from my experience on SMCSU, we redesigned the UTSB Council and Executive and we implemented monthly meetings. We took dozens of applications for spots on our council and finally decided on our executive and council members. Now came the hard part – how were we going to top what we did in the first year?
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| Chuck Swirsky, January 2013 |
The only thing that was set in stone was that we would be holding the 2nd
Annual Sports Industry Conference in March 2013. Yet we had about 9 months between
then to fill! We wanted UTSB to be the hottest thing on campus. So, with the
help of our Student Outreach team, we were present at as many orientation week
events as possible. This increased our exposure on campus and also attracted
more students to our group (we had over 500 members sign up during the first
week of school). I also reached out to
Chuck Swirsky (who I had been in contact with from when I was organizing a charity
hockey tournament in high school), former Toronto Raptors play-by-play man, to
take part in a meet & greet before a Toronto Raptors vs Chicago Bulls game.
Yet, we still had to plan exactly HOW we were going to build momentum towards our marquee event in March. We wanted something that would attract students, sponsors, administration, and other sports industry executives. I think the exact phrase we kept saying was ‘How can we put UTSB on the MAP?’ One idea was to have both Brian Burke (former Leafs GM) and Bryan Colangelo (former Raptors GM) as keynotes at our event. True story – we were in contact with both. But considering the NHL was in a lockout, Colangelo was about to get fired, and that Burke organizes a similar conference in the fall, we couldn’t set anything in stone. Anyhow, we decided on an event – the first ever U of T Sports Speaker Series which would consist of hopefully 2 keynotes and a panel that was about the Development of Sports in Canada.
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| The Development of Sports in Canada Panel - (Left to Right) Michael Downey, Steve Montopoli, Rowan Barrett, Darryl Boynton and Moderator Jeff Valks |
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| Myself, Fran, Ian Troop and Natan |
But Natan and I still felt like there
was somebody we really wanted to top off the event and take it to
that next level. We knew who we wanted as our headliner; we just didn’t know
how to get him. The story about how we convinced Paul Beeston to speak at our
event should actually be a blog post of its own. Mr. Beeston is the President
& CEO of the Blue Jays & Rogers Centre; he was the first employee of
the Toronto Blue Jays (back in the day) and he has had experience in the MLB
head office as well. Safe to say, he is the epitome of sports & business in
Canada.
Imagine trying to get a hold of a man who doesn't communicate, at least in his business life, by cell-phone or
email and doesn't use a computer. Luckily for us, the Blue Jays had generously
donated $1000 to UTSB for the first conference, so we had something to lead
with. Through some detective work, we got a hold of Mr. Beeston’s assistant’s
email. We reached out to her and asked her for a meeting. To our surprise, she responded! We sent her
our preferred dates to meet and waited. After that, we didn't hear back from
her. Over a month later, the two of us just couldn't wait any longer and didn't want to keep bombarding her with emails. I called the number that was in her
email signature. I don’t think the phone rang more than once when somebody
picked up and said, “Paul Beeston speaking”. I was not expecting him to pick
up. Mr. Beeston has an amazing sense of humour but it’s pretty intimidating
when you first talk to him on the phone. After asking him if we could meet to
discuss his involvement in our event, he responded “but who am I? People don’t want to hear from me.” I
essentially begged him to meet with us, and he agreed.
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| Natan, Paul Beeston, Myself - Sports Speaker Series |
When Natan arrived back from his Europtrip, we met with Paul Beeston in his
blue suede carpet office, complete with World Series’ Trophies. Natan and I persuaded
him to come out to our event and take part in a Q&A session which we
offered to host. He eventually agreed (and also gave us a nice chat about how
to make in the industry) and then jokingly told us that he never wanted to see
us again.
In the end, the first ever U of T Sports Speaker Series was an absolute success. We booked an intimate room and sold out the event. The presentation of the event was very important to Natan and I; we knew that a solid event could pay dividends for us in terms of sponsorship and leverage for the Sports Conference. And it did. We had invited some U of T administration to our event and one of those in attendance was absolutely blown away by the event. He turned out to be the Director of Corporate Relations at the University of Toronto, Darryl Chow. After meeting with Darryl after our event, we put together an agreement that would provide UTSB sponsorship in the amount of 30,000$ over three years from MBNA Canada Bank (U of T MasterCard). For an organization that held a sports industry conference with under $3,000 in sponsorship money, we knew that we now had the means to take UTSB to the next level.
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| Me, Natan, Darryl, Malcolm and Nikolas |
Anybody who says that money makes problems go away is crazy. For
us, the 10,000$ for the year didn't mean we could now be comfortable, it meant
we had to work 10 times as hard. We had to prove our worth and we had to spend
this money wisely. Planning a conference with nearly 300 guests is a logistical
nightmare if you aren't organized. In comes in Francesca Turco – I talked about
her earlier. I had reached out to Fran towards the end of our last year on
SMCSU about possibly joining UTSB as the Director of Logistics. The position
requires a crazy level of commitment and organization, and she seemed like the
perfect candidate. Turns out, she wasn't .... just kidding. She really took
things into the next gear once planning for the conference started. Through
Fran’s dedication we were able to book the Royal Ontario Museum as the venue for
our Conference.
**NOTE: we went from a very budget auditorium at U of T in our first year, with
temporary stands, to one of the largest museums in North America which is
situated just steps from our school and in the heart of Toronto. Thank you
MBNA.**
With the ROM, we had a huge space and, to be honest, not one of us thought that we could fill all of the empty space well enough – it just kind of came together when the conference arrived.
With the ROM, we had a huge space and, to be honest, not one of us thought that we could fill all of the empty space well enough – it just kind of came together when the conference arrived.
Natan
and I then went to work trying to get an extensive speakers list. We had
planned to have 3 keynote speakers, one Q and A session, and 2 panels. I want
to give a quick recap of who we got and how we got them because I think it’s
important to note that there are so many ways to make contacts (and this isn’t
just for the sports industry!)
We
had already confirmed Gerald Woodman, Director of Sporting Good at Adidas
Group, who was supposed to speak out our first conference but couldn't make it.
Gerald has a very entertaining and interactive keynote, and his path to his
position was only a result of hustle and hard work! Over the summer I had the
pleasure of meeting with Gord Kirke. I had met him at an event earlier in the
year and asked if he would be willing to speak – he immediately agreed and was
generous enough to meet with me just to chat as well. Mr. Kirke is regarded as
one of the most successful sports lawyers in the world, and he never actually
intended to work in sports. What my talk with him taught me is one thing – you need
to be a great lawyer first before you can do anything further. He also banks almost daily at my girlfriend’s
branch and I hear that they gossip about me all the time, so I guess that’s
flattering.
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| Couldn't believe Kevin Weekes was speaking at our event! |
Our other keynote speaker was former NHL-er and current On-Air Personality,
Kevin Weekes. We were connected with Kevin through our Creative Team, Made in
Regio. Made in Regio are a group of U of T kids who have taken the sports media
world by storm developing some of the best creative pieces. They had done work
with Kevin and graciously reached out to him for us. For myself, having heard the name Kevin Weekes while I was growing up as a huge hockey fan, having him there was
surreal.
Natan had a previous connection with Dave Krikst, who is the producer for Cabbie Presents and Off the Record on TSN. He brought his buddy Cabbie and took part in a Q&A, hosted by one of our council members, Daniel Bruno. Our Marketing/Business Panel included some past connections: Leah MacNab (NBA Canada – attended our first conference), Dave Shaw (UFC Canada – Natan met him over the summer), Josh Epstein (Newport Sports – Natan cold-emailed him), Dan Quinn (NFL Canada, another cold email).
The idea for our first panel, dedicated to Sports Law, was my brainchild. My intention with that this second year of UTSB would demonstrate that there are so many types of job opportunities in the business of sport and not just the ‘traditional’ business jobs. Our first year was geared more towards commerce/accounting/business students. This law panel would help attract a different crowd. Natan enlisted Kris Mychasiw who is a prominent agent in the Track and Field world. The problem was, there was only one other person we could actually think of to be on this panel and he happened to be probably the most famous sports agent in Canada – Don Meehan.
True story – I had emailed Mr. Meehan’s agency, Newport Sports Management Inc.(which represents over 100 NHL players) in June of 2011. I still have the email where I said that I was interested in learning more about a career as a sports agent/lawyer and whether or not they had internship openings. To my surprise, I received a response from Mr. Meehan himself, informing me that the summer intern positions were full until 2013. As disappointing as that was, the fact that he personally responded meant so much to me. Fast forward a year and a half later and I reached out to him to speak on our panel – he accepted.
For the rest of the law panel, I reached out to my friend Nick Rossi who
happened to be the President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society at the
University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He had expressed interest in
collaborating and I had known Nick from his time at St. Michael’s College. Nick
went to work and invited some influential lawyers to speak on the panel. He
confirmed Daniel Ages (Lawyer for the NHL) and David Goldstein (Lawyer and member
of the Sports Law group for Cassels Brock – the #1 Sports Law Practice in
Canada). He also approached Len Glickman (Partner, Cassels Brock) to moderate
the panel. Safe to say, our Law Panel was a huge hit and it wouldn't have been possible
without Nick. These panelists have been very helpful to me on a personal level as I begin the law school process.
Natan had a previous connection with Dave Krikst, who is the producer for Cabbie Presents and Off the Record on TSN. He brought his buddy Cabbie and took part in a Q&A, hosted by one of our council members, Daniel Bruno. Our Marketing/Business Panel included some past connections: Leah MacNab (NBA Canada – attended our first conference), Dave Shaw (UFC Canada – Natan met him over the summer), Josh Epstein (Newport Sports – Natan cold-emailed him), Dan Quinn (NFL Canada, another cold email).
The idea for our first panel, dedicated to Sports Law, was my brainchild. My intention with that this second year of UTSB would demonstrate that there are so many types of job opportunities in the business of sport and not just the ‘traditional’ business jobs. Our first year was geared more towards commerce/accounting/business students. This law panel would help attract a different crowd. Natan enlisted Kris Mychasiw who is a prominent agent in the Track and Field world. The problem was, there was only one other person we could actually think of to be on this panel and he happened to be probably the most famous sports agent in Canada – Don Meehan.
True story – I had emailed Mr. Meehan’s agency, Newport Sports Management Inc.(which represents over 100 NHL players) in June of 2011. I still have the email where I said that I was interested in learning more about a career as a sports agent/lawyer and whether or not they had internship openings. To my surprise, I received a response from Mr. Meehan himself, informing me that the summer intern positions were full until 2013. As disappointing as that was, the fact that he personally responded meant so much to me. Fast forward a year and a half later and I reached out to him to speak on our panel – he accepted.
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| Complete Law Panel |
Our conference line-up was rounded out. We had 300 guests confirmed to attend. The venue was shaping up. Yet we still had one more idea we wanted to implement. Natan and I reached out to several companies, as well as the U of T Career Centre, in hopes that we could create a mini Job Fair at our conference. The response was overwhelming with over a dozen companies signing up for booths at the career fair, including Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and SDI Marketing. All in all, we knew that we had provided an unparalleled experience for our attendees and hopefully provided all of them with the tools to pursue a career in the industry.
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| The team |
An event of this magnitude was very stressful but rewarding to organize. It is
probably one of the proudest accomplishments of my life, and I think Natan
would concur. Without Fran’s hard work, it just wouldn’t have come together.
There were so many little nuances that had to be dealt with and Fran came
through – I actually don’t think she lost her cool once!
We passed on the UTSB torch to Malcolm Mo and Daniel Bruno who have some amazing things planned (they've told me). I can’t wait to see how much further they will go because I see in them what I saw in Natan and I last year – a feeling of wanting more, bigger, better. They will do great things. Check out UTSB, spread the word! www.sportsandbusiness.ca
Natan and I used to always joke about coming back one day and speaking at the UTSB conference. I wish I will be even half as accomplished as the people who we had at our events this year. If not, I would even appreciate a pity invite, but hopefully it’s because I’ve actually accomplished something. But I would still accept a pity invite.
Up next:
I move to Windsor next week. So hopefully before then and definitely before the start of orientation, I will talk about why I decided to go to law school and what I want to do. And then from there the fun and games begin. I hope to update this blog as frequently as possible with updates on my law school journey.
We passed on the UTSB torch to Malcolm Mo and Daniel Bruno who have some amazing things planned (they've told me). I can’t wait to see how much further they will go because I see in them what I saw in Natan and I last year – a feeling of wanting more, bigger, better. They will do great things. Check out UTSB, spread the word! www.sportsandbusiness.ca
Natan and I used to always joke about coming back one day and speaking at the UTSB conference. I wish I will be even half as accomplished as the people who we had at our events this year. If not, I would even appreciate a pity invite, but hopefully it’s because I’ve actually accomplished something. But I would still accept a pity invite.
Up next:
I move to Windsor next week. So hopefully before then and definitely before the start of orientation, I will talk about why I decided to go to law school and what I want to do. And then from there the fun and games begin. I hope to update this blog as frequently as possible with updates on my law school journey.
