As part of its partnership with SDSU's Sports Business Management MBA program, the San Diego Padres Baseball Club hosted SDSU's first annual Sports MBA Case Competition on February 11, 2006.
Featuring seven teams from three of the top local MBA programs, the inaugural event focused on the World Baseball Classic (WBC), a 16 team international baseball tournament featuring Major League Baseball stars representing their respective national teams. The case competition was hosted by the Padres at PETCO Park, just one month before the organization hosted the semifinal and final rounds of the World Baseball Classic on March 18th and 20th. Participants on the winning team in the case competition received tickets to the World Baseball Classic semifinal and final round games, courtesy of the San Diego Padres.
UCLA Winning Team (Mike Zank, Mike Cederbaum, Mike Pettigrew, and Doug King from left to right) with Sandy Alderson, Dean Naughton, and Judges
Students from San Diego State University's Sports Business Management MBA program, University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, and the University of California, Los Angeles' Anderson School of Management squared off against one another in the inaugural event. Teams were given 24 hours to examine a case study, developed by the Padres, examining the myriad issues facing MLB executives in charge of planning the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Teams then presented their business solutions to a panel of judges including Richard Andersen, Executive Vice President and Managing Director/Ballpark Management, San Diego Padres; David Carter, Executive Director, Sports Business Institute, USC; Fred Gerson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, San Diego Padres; and Gangaram Singh, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Management Department, SDSU.
UCLA Team 5 presents their case solution
This case was unique in that the students had the opportunity to propose solutions to issues that were ongoing, real-world problems, rather than examine a business issue in retrospect, as is the case with many MBA case competitions. The partnership between the Padres and SDSU's MBA program provided students with unparalleled access to a Major League front office, as well as a forum to discuss contemporary sports industry issues with the executives involved in staging this major international event.
Judges (from left to right) Richard Anderson, Gangaram Singh, Fred Gerson, and David Carter
Championed by Gail Naughton, Dean of SDSU's College of Business Administration, and Sandy Alderson, Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Padres, this case competition tackled issues facing Major League Baseball executives planning the WBC. The case study tasked students with conducting an economic impact analysis, writing a marketing plan, and developing responses to numerous WBC logistical issues. Teams were also asked to propose a strategic action plan for Major League Baseball to enter the Chinese market and assess a hypothetical situation in which a young Chinese superstar emerged from the 2006 WBC as "baseball's Yao Ming."
