The GW Business of Sports Podcast

Zain Jafri is a Data Scientist in the Basketball Strategy & Analytics Department for the Washington Wizards, and graduate from George Washington University. In this episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast, Zain sits down with Professor Mark Hyman and this week's co-host, Uju Obianwu, where they discuss how communication and building relationships is pivotal to success in his job, the current data revolution in the NBA and, as always, his career path and advice for those who are interested in breaking into basketball analytics.This episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast is produced by Liam Swords.

Matt Taylor is the Senior Director of Football Communications with the Miami Dolphins, and a George Washington University alumnus. With the new NFL league year upcoming, Matt comes to campus and chats with Professor Mark Hyman on this episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast. Matt discusses his time on the 2011 Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts and the impact winning and losing has on a team's communications strategy, the Dolphins' place alongside the media is producing and sharing news, and, as always, his career path and how being flexible and trying new things were integral to his success.This episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast is produced by Liam Swords.

Ben Osborne is the Editor-in-Chief of Bleacher Report. A former George Washington University Student, Ben sits down with Professor Mark Hyman to discuss his time at GW and working with the student newspaper, learning about the passing of Kobe Bryant and the proceeding 48 hours on both a personal and professional level, what distinguishes Bleacher Report's content, advice for those aspiring to break into sports media, and more.This episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast is produced by Liam Swords.

Jamion Christian is the new Head Coach for the GWU Men's Basketball Team. In this episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast, Professor Mark Hyman and co-host Thomas Luther sit down with Jamion to discuss why GW is his dream job, the importance of love and accountability in coaching , teamwork vs. talent and how that has helped him succeed as a coach, the importance of the letter 'J' in his family, and more. The GW Business of Sports Podcast is produced by Liam Swords.

As the football season gets underway, DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association, sits down with Mark Hyman and Allen Zhao to discuss Colin Kaepernick, growing the NFL and the game of football internationally, and advice for those who are interested in starting a career in sports. 

In the last episode of the season, GW alum Richie Smith is our guest! Richie is currently the Director of Strategy and Analytics, Business Development and Partnerships for the Boston Celtics, who are currently in the mist of a deep run in the NBA playoffs. Richie sat down this week with Mark Hyman, McKay Snyder, and Ruben Kahn to discuss the NBA's global reach, what it would mean to shorten the NBA season, and how his career in other industries lead to success with sports.

Oliver Luck, commissioner of the rebooted XFL, is our guest this week. Mr. Luck has had a whirlwind career, with stops at West Virginia University, the NCAA, and NFL Europe. In his conversation with Mark Hyman and Justin Huang, he talks about the XFL, his career, his son Andrew, and more.

This week, GW basketball legend Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who is currently the GM of the Capitol City Go Go of the NBA G League, is on the podcast. He sat down with Mark Hyman and current senior Dakota Sinder to discuss his GW playing career and the current state of analytics in evaluating basketball players.

Recently, Ben Strauss, author of Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA, came to speak with the Issues of Sports Management class at GW. While here, he graciously answered questions from Mark Hyman and Ruben Kahn about his experience following the NCAA and what led him to write this book.

In an exciting episode of The GW Business of Sports Podcast, beloved journalist Ken Rosenthal is at GW. In an interview with Mark Hyman and current senior Ryan Delaney, Ken gives his thoughts on what the difference between television broadcasting and print journalism, his most memorable experience while broadcasting, and the current state of the MLB.

Tommy Sheppard, Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards, joins Mark Hyman this week. In their discussion, Tommy delves into how his work ethic and unconventional career path have helped him in pursuing his career goals.  

GW alum Joel Segal is currently one of the best sports agents in the country. He recently stopped by our Foggy Bottom campus to speak with Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti and her sports marketing class about the secrets of succeeding in the industry. 

The GW Business of Sports Podcast is back and better than ever! Season 2 is off to a fast start with Jacob Raim as our guest on the show. Jacob is the Senior Director of Digital Media for Monumental Sports, and in the episode, he chats with Mark Hyman about how he got his start in sports and entertainment, and what it means to develop a social media voice for a sports team.

It's the final episode of the academic year for the GW Business of Sports Podcast. Our last guest is Brendan Sullivan, president and founder of Head First, a company focusing on youth sports. In Brendan's conversation with Mark Hyman, he discusses the significance of youth sports, how to properly combine sports and entrepreneurship, and the true value of networking.

This week, Bill Carter is on campus with Mark Hyman. Bill is a partner with Fuse Marketing, which focuses on sports marketing towards millennials, and in this conversation, he goes in depth about what truly makes an idea a great idea.

Rebecca Carpenter, director of the documentary Requiem for a Running Back, was on campus recently for a panel discussion about her movie and what it was like having a father with CTE. Before that, though, she sat down with Mark Hyman for a very personal conversation about her father, his symptoms, and how the movie is making a difference.

In our first interview with a current GW student, GW Basketball star Patrick Steeves talks to an undergraduate class on all of the expectations and rewards that come with being a D1 variety athlete, and his thoughts on the end of his career as a player.

The Washington Nationals' Vice President and Assistant General Manager Bob Miller stops in for a great chat with Mark Hyman and a group of GW students about his uncommon knowledge of the rules governing transaction of players, how he got his start working in Minor League Baseball, and how students today can break into the industry.

This week in Foggy Bottom, sports agent Sam Porter sits down with Mark Hyman and an undergraduate Sports Law Class. Porter has held many positions in the industry, including currently working for DC United, and graciously shares stories from his days in college, his first clients, and what it is like being on both sides of the negotiation table.

Brad Snyder, Sports and Constitutional Law Professor at Georgetown University, has traveled across town for a conversation with Mark Hyman. Snyder is also the author of one of Mark's favorite books, A Well-Paid Slave, which examines Curt Flood and his quest to achieve free agency in Major League Baseball.

This week, Ty Votaw, Executive Vice President of Global Business Affairs for the PGA Tour, joins Mark Hyman for an engaging discussion on his unusual path that lead to his current job, golf in the Olympic Games, and a chance encounter with Prince Albert of Monaco.

Our guest today is Bernadette McGlade, commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference of which GW is a part of, and in her chat with Mark Hyman, she spoke about how she got her early start in college athletics, how her performance is judged, and the troubling pattern concerning the decrease in women's college athletic teams being coached by women.

After speaking with students for the Sports Industry Networking Conference at GW, Zach Leonsis, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Monumental Sports, sat down with Mark Hyman to chat about the future of eSports, why Monumental is all-in on Arena Football, and the special challenges that come from working with your family.

With The PyeongChang Winter Olympics wrapped up, Phil de Picciotto, founder and president of sports marketing agency Octagon Worldwide, shares his thoughts with Mark Hyman on his own own clients participating in The Games, the value of a gold medal, and a management strategy that Phil feels as guided him well throughout his career.

On a very exciting episode of the GW Business of Sports Podcast, former GM of the Minnesota Vikings and President of the Tennessee Titans Jeff Diamond stops by GW to have a conversation with Mark Hyman about his first job in sports, how that ultimately lead to a job as GM, and how to impress anyone in a job interview.

On this episode, Peter Land, who has held many jobs in and around the sports industry, talks with Mark Hyman about David Stern, the formation of the WNBA, and why it is so important for young professionals to be so open about making changes to their career.

Alexa Herndon, Vice President of Human Resources for the Washington Nationals, makes her way across town for a conversation with Mark Hyman about how she got her first job in baseball, the crazy hours require of some employees in baseball, and the 2018 MLB All Star Game, which will be hosted by the Nationals this July.

In an excerpt from Jon Miller's recent discussion with students at GW, Jon provides hilarious, heartwarming, and slightly self-deprecating memories of his friend and recently retired baseball broadcaster Vin Scully. We hope you enjoy!

In this episode, recorded in front of a group of undergraduate students, Hall of fame baseball broadcaster Jon Miller stops by GW's Foggy Bottom campus to talk with Mark Hyman about the young start to his career, how to fix on-air mistakes, and whether suspected steroid users deserve a spot in Cooperstown.

Welcome to the GW Business of Sports Podcast, where your host Mark Hyman invites industry professionals to talk to get insight into how they became who they are today. Our first guest is Risa Isard, who currently works for The Aspen Institute, and in our chat, she discusses The Institute's Project Play initiative, the future of ESports, and her memorable interview with Billie Jean King.

Michael Wilbon, sports journalist and co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, stops by our campus for a memorable conversation with host Mark Hyman about everything from the sports journalism scene today, Colin Kaepernick, and his relationship with President Barack Obama.