High School Students Explore Sports Industry Careers at Baylor’s Sports Business Championship
The Hankamer School of Business welcomed high school students from across the country last month for the annual Sports Business Championship, an immersive competition designed to introduce students to careers in sports sales and sports analytics.
Hosted by Baylor’s Center for Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment (S3E), the event brought together 246 student competitors from 40 high schools who spent the day participating in interactive challenges designed to simulate real-world sports business scenarios.
The competition included two divisions: Junior Varsity for ninth- and tenth-grade students and Varsity for eleventh- and twelfth-grade students. In total, 45 varsity teams and 21 junior varsity teams participated. More than 50 Baylor students volunteered to help facilitate the event.
Heather Grover, S3E program coordinator, said the Sports Business Championship offers high school students a unique opportunity to explore careers in the sports industry.
“The Sports Business Championship stands out in the high school competition world through its specialized emphasis on the sports industry,” Grover said. “Students engage in real-world sports business scenarios while also developing key professional and personal skills.”
Throughout the competition, students participated in a series of challenges designed to test their strategic thinking, communication skills and industry knowledge. Events focused on areas such as sales strategy, data analytics, revenue generation and personal development within the sports business industry.
“These experiences help students develop practical skills such as presentation ability, decision-making and professional communication,” Grover said. “They also gain deeper knowledge of the sports industry while strengthening quick thinking, working memory and self-awareness.”
Grover emphasized that the competition is designed to mirror real-world scenarios students may encounter in the sports industry.
“Each challenge reflects situations professionals face in the sports industry,” she said. “Students are not just learning concepts – they are applying them in a competitive environment that pushes them to think strategically and communicate effectively.”
A highlight of the event was a keynote presentation by former president and CEO of San Antonio Sports, Russ Bookbinder, who shared insights from his career journey and discussed lessons learned throughout his time in the industry.
The competition also provided leadership opportunities for Baylor students. Lauren Valley, a current Marketing student and S3E sales intern, played a key role in the event’s growth and execution.
Valley led outreach efforts to recruit participating schools, developing targeted contact plans and following up with potential competitors. Her efforts contributed directly to the competition’s rapid expansion, helping increase participation by more than 126 percent compared to the previous year.
“Connecting with schools and inviting them to participate was one of my favorite parts of the process,” Valley said. “It was rewarding to see that outreach translate into such strong participation this year.”
During the event, Valley also helped manage one of the competition’s key challenges, ensuring the smooth execution of the presentation-based event.
“Presentation Pro is always a highlight because students get the opportunity to pitch real strategies and think creatively about how teams can grow their fan base,” Valley said.
The competition concluded with awards recognizing both individual and team performance. Thanks to support from local sponsor Anchor Branding, $25,000 in prize money was distributed among the top competitors, with the top 10 individuals in each division receiving monetary awards of up to $2,500.
“We owe this year’s success to Anchor Branding,” said Lane Wakefield, director of the S3E Center. “They made it all possible and believed in the vision of creating the competition.”
In the varsity individual competition, Vikranth Kolluru of Frisco Centennial High School placed first, followed by Caleb Luong of Vandegrift High School and Praneel Manduva, also from Frisco Centennial High School.
In the junior varsity individual division, Case Hodge of Providence Preparatory High School earned first place, followed by Acie Avery and Bryson Moore, both from Providence Preparatory.
Providence Preparatory High School won the junior varsity team championship, with Vanguard High School finishing second and Elkins High School placing third.
In the varsity team division, Westwood High School earned first place, followed by Frisco Centennial High School in second and Crawford High School in third.
Following a year of record participation, S3E hopes to continue expanding the Sports Business Championship in the future while maintaining the event’s focus on real-world learning and professional development.
For more information on the Sports Business Championship, visit the event webpage. To learn more about the S3E Center, visit the S3E website.
