Bravehearts

The Worcester Bravehearts in conjunction with the Worcester Railers will host the region’s first Sports Management Summit to promote discussion and idea-sharing about the growing sports industry in Central Massachusetts. The event will take place on Friday, January 18 at Worcester State University’s Wellness Center and will feature a job and internship fair, panel discussions throughout the day, and a keynote address by the Commissioner of the American Athletic Conference, Michael Aresco.

Click Here To Register For The Worcester Sports Management Summit


The Summit’s purpose is to help connect college students and those interested in a career in the sports industry with professionals from consulting firms, event marketing companies, and sports teams. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with hiring managers, ask questions to professionals in the panel sessions, and hear from Aresco as he shares his journey that includes time at ESPN and CBS Sports before taking over at the American Athletic Conference. The Summit is scheduled to run from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Afterwards, guests also have the option to sign up for a behind-the-scenes tour of game operations at the DCU Center at 4:30 hosted by the Worcester Railers Hockey Club before they play Newfoundland at 7:00 PM.

The entire event is sponsored by TD Bank, a well-known brand in the sports industry because of its naming rights agreement with TD Garden and the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race.

“With Sports Management majors on the rise at Central MA schools such as Nichols, Assumption, Becker, and Anna Maria College, the Bravehearts want to be a leader in the sports industry by helping those students connect with executives who could provide them career opportunities," said Bravehearts General Manager Dave Peterson. “We hear from so many applicants who have a desire to work in intercollegiate athletics, so I think they will particularly connect with Mr. Aresco and his remarks at the end of the day.”

Michael Aresco was named to his current position on Aug. 14 2012, and had his contract extended to Aug. 1, 2022, by The American’s Board of Directors in 2017. He has overseen the strategic reinvention of the conference – one that spans geographically from Connecticut to Texas. His tenure has included an impressive string of successes. American Athletic Conference teams have won four NCAA Championships and three New Year’s Six Bowl games since the 2012-13 academic year. The American was named in 2016 a finalist for the Sports Business Journal League of the Year award, the only entity from college athletics to be so honored. The formation of the conference was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 10 best decisions of college football’s last 10 years.
 
Among the milestones reached during Aresco’s tenure have been the introduction of the American Athletic Conference Football Championship in 2015 and the launching of a dynamic Power 6 branding campaign, which aligns The American with its peer conferences and celebrates the competitive success that the conference has enjoyed at the highest level of collegiate competition.
 
Prior to joining the Conference, Aresco served as executive vice president for programming at CBS Sports and was responsible for all college sports programming for CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network. His keynote address will begin at 2:00 PM and he also is expected to take questions from the audience.

Guests will also have the opportunity to ask questions to dozens of other industry professionals during the panel discussions in the morning. Sessions will feature between 2 - 4 panelists representing different companies in the  sports industry, and topics will include Community Relations, Ticketing, Event Management, Esports, Sports Betting, and Sports Start-Ups. Panelists are already confirmed from teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, New York Mets, New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Hartford Yard Goats. Prominent sports & entertainment companies such as New Hampshire Motor Speedway, MGM Springfield, and DMSE Sports — the management firm of the BAA Boston Marathon —  will also contribute to the panels. A mega-panel about “The Future of Sports” will include several panelists from the morning sessions and will commence at 1:00 PM.

A full list of participating organizations can be found here.

Tickets for students and recent graduates are $30 and can be purchased here while tickets for non-students are $40. All tickets include lunch and a ticket to the Worcester Railers hockey game that evening for anyone who chooses to attend.