An engaging event featuring distinguished speakers took place on Wednesday, February 18 at DEREE-ACG to introduce the newly launched Sports Management program (September 2015) to current and prospective students. The presentation, entitled “Educating Managers for the Business of Sport,” covered all aspects of the new program offered by the DEREE School of Business, and outlined the country’s need for Sports Managers. It also shed light on the business aspect of major sports events and athletic achievements.

The Upper Level of the John S. Bailey Library was packed with students, members of the faculty and staff who attended the event to find out more about the program through engaging speeches.

ACG Provost Dr Thimios Zaharopoulos welcomed the audience, saying that the launch of the Sports Management program is in line with the overall ACG mission as it combines Greek heritage and Greece’s history in sports with the professionalism, successful practices and values deriving from the US system, its experience and knowledge.

Dr Annie Triantafillou, Dean ad interim at the DEREE School of Business, presented the program structure highlighting its main components: coupling business functions with a specialization in sports, providing students with multi-disciplinary knowledge that will help them excel in a variety of sports-related career paths, and offering students amazing internship opportunities towards applying class knowledge in the professional world.

Dr Antonis Klidas, member of the multi-disciplinary academic team that put a lot of effort during the last two years into developing the program, took the stand to welcome the audience and to introduce the keynote speaker, Dr Dikaia Chatzistefanou.

Dr Dikaia Chatzistefanou, Reader in Olympic Studies & the Social Analysis of Sport Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK, delivered an engaging speech on the innovation and leadership aspects of sports management, outlining the multidisciplinary skills a successful Sports Manager must have through real-life examples from major sports events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.

Sports journalist Sotiris Triantafyllou was the moderator of the panel discussion, featuring the following distinguished speakers:

Makis Asimakopoulos, PhD
Sports Manager and Senior Sports Consultant

Sofia Bekatorou, BS
Olympic Gold and Bronze medalist in Sailing

Thanos Karagrounas, MSc
Founder & Managing Director of HIBOU Alliance

Sakis Kostaris, MSc
Communications Manager – Sport Manager at the Hellenic Paralympic Committee

Nikos Lepeniotis, MBA
Head of Marketing and Corporate Partnerships Division, Olympiacos Basketball Organization, President of the board of the Sport Business Institute

Vasilis Minoudis, BSc
Director of HPVPA (Hellenic Professional Volleyball Players Association)

In their speeches, members of the panel gave their personal insights into Sports Management, varying from the athlete’s point of view expressed by Sofia Bekatorou, to the challenges of organizing an event and managing a “celebrity” team expressed by renowned sports managers. Through the speakers’ experiences, the audience was introduced to the sports market environment, was informed on the various career paths a Sports Manager can follow (event organization, athletes’ agent, leisure/recreation, sports tourism, etc), and was motivated to explore the Sports Management program as an option that will be of significant value to the country’s future in developing the new generation of champions.

The Sports Management Program began in September 2015

To find out more about the Sports Management program, please click here