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Learn how sports organizations create value, drive revenue and shape culture in this two-week academy for high school students at the University of Oregon
Instructor:
Course Description
A sports brand connects with fans through more than a game. Investigate the business choices behind that connection and propose a response to an industry challenge.
In this course you will explore brands, athletes, teams, leagues, media companies, marketing, fan engagement, and emerging trends. Examine how organizations build brands and experiences while responding to technology, culture, and consumer behavior.
Oregon provides a distinctive lens. The University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Business Center has focused on the field for 25 years, while the region is home to Nike World Headquarters, adidas North America, Columbia Sportswear, sports technology companies, and professional teams. Students also examine the rise of women’s sports, including the WNBA and NWSL, the increasing influence of female athletes, and opportunities surrounding Olympic sports such as track and field and volleyball.
Through case studies, discussions, collaborative projects, corporate visits, and business challenges, students investigate marketing, strategy, branding, sponsorship, media, and fan engagement. Peter Stolpe, Assistant Teaching Professor of Sports Business at the University of Oregon with 25 years of sporting goods industry experience, brings insights from work with elite athletes, major universities, Nike, adidas, and other influential brands. Students use business research and industry analysis to develop and present recommendations for a real-world sports industry challenge.
This two-week full-day academy is a Summer Discovery program on the University of Oregon campus. Students will learn from a UO sports business professor with 25 years in the sporting goods industry; the professor has worked with elite athletes, major universities, and some of the most influential sports brands in the world.
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Instructor Bio
Peter Stolpe is Assistant Teaching Professor of Sports Business and Undergraduate Program Manager for the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon.
Stolpe joined the Lundquist College of Business after a 25-year career in the global sporting goods industry, working with industry-leading brands such as Nike and adidas. His experience spans product creation, marketing, sports marketing, sales, and communications, providing students with real-world insights into the sports business landscape. Drawing on this background, Stolpe helps students explore career opportunities, develop industry-relevant skills, and discover possible paths in sports business.
He teaches graduate-level sports product courses focused on the business of sports products for brands, athletes, teams, and leagues, as well as undergraduate courses on sports product and creation. He also teaches undergraduate sports marketing capstone courses for sports business majors and minors.
What You Will Do
• Analyze how sports organizations and brands make strategic business decisions
• Examine marketing, sponsorship, media, and fan engagement strategies
• Explore the growth and business impact of women’s sports
• Study Oregon’s sports brands, teams, and innovation ecosystem
• Apply business concepts to real-world sports industry challenges
• Develop and present recommendations supported by research and industry analysis
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how athletes, teams, leagues, brands, media companies, and fans interact across the sports industry
• Analyze business strategies in marketing, sponsorship, media, women’s sports, and fan engagement
• Apply business research to a sports industry challenge and present evidence-based recommendations
You’ll leave with your researched business recommendation and a certificate of completion.
Why Sports Business Skills Matter
Sports business brings together strategy, marketing, finance, media, sponsorship, and consumer behavior. Learning how organizations create value and respond to changing audiences helps students evaluate decisions with more than personal fandom. They practice asking who a decision serves, how it creates revenue, and what risks or opportunities it presents.
Case analysis, collaborative challenges, and presentations develop research, teamwork, and communication. Students learn to support recommendations with evidence, consider cultural and economic impact, and explain ideas clearly. These skills are useful for school projects, future business study, and team settings inside or outside sports.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
You might follow every result or be more interested in the business and culture around sports. This academy welcomes both starting points. Cases, trends, collaborative challenges, and research let you explore marketing, media, branding, sponsorship, athlete partnerships, and fan engagement. Presenting recommendations gives you a chance to explain how an organization could create value and respond to change.
Your Summer at University of Oregon
The academy is developed by the University of Oregon’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, home to the Warsaw Sports Business Center. Oregon offers an extraordinary setting for students seeking to go deeper into the business of sport: the wider region is home to Nike World Headquarters, adidas North America, Columbia Sportswear, and a growing network of sports, outdoor, and technology companies. For students interested in how brands, athletes, media, and fans shape the industry, the University of Oregon is at the epicenter.
Students experience a major university campus with deep ties to sport, innovation, and brand building. Beyond class, they learn alongside peers, navigate campus life, and gain independence in a place closely associated with track and field, college athletics, and the growth of modern sports marketing. For families, Oregon offers a strong combination of substantive academics, industry relevance, friendships, and clearer direction about whether sports business, marketing, media, or brand strategy may be worth pursuing further.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive