Louisiana State University Director of Athletics Skip Bertman and Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel will open the second year of the UGA Sport Business Club's "College Sports Speaker Series" on Friday, October 1.
Bertman is scheduled to discuss major issues in intercollegiate athletics while affording listeners a chance to ask questions at the lecture's conclusion. LSU is coming off what is perhaps its finest year athletically with its football team sharing the national championship, the women's basketball program reaching the Final Four, and the men's and women's indoor track teams sweeping national titles. The Tigers' softball and baseball programs also reached their respective World Series last spring. In all, LSU had nine of its teams finish their season ranked among the Top 10 in the nation, while 14 of their 20 teams were ranked in the Top 25.
Mandel is SI.com's lead college sports writer, covering the national college football and basketball beats for the SI.com Web site and contributing to Sports Illustrated's weekly college football coverage. He will talk about current issues in sports journalism and offer insight into the media perspective on covering intercollegiate athletics and sports as a whole, including investigative reporting. Mandel's most popular features on SI.com include his Weekend Review column, Power Rankings, Mailbag and NCAA tournament Bubble Watch. He has covered five BCS national championship games and two Final Fours. In June 2004, Mandel had two exclusive reports on the explosive allegations surrounding the Ohio State basketball program. He has been with SI.com (formerly CNNSI.com) since 1999. Previously he worked at ESPN the Magazine, ABC Sports Online and The Cincinnati Enquirer. A native of Cincinnati, Mandel graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism. He currently resides in New York City following a five-year stint in Atlanta. Mandel will speak at 3:15 p.m. after a short intermission.
The event will begin at 2 p.m. in the Rankin Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center located behind Stegeman Coliseum. Admission is free to SBC members who have paid their dues and $3 for non-members. Seating is first-come, first-serve to all. Attire is business casual.
Students and friends from all walks of the university are welcome to attend, but especially those within the Terry College, the Grady College of Journalism, the Law School, the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Family & Consumer Sciences and the College of Education.
Bertman is the latest of successful intercollegiate athletic administrators that have taken the time to visit with UGA students, faculty, and staff. Last year's speakers include Jeremy Foley (director of athletics – University of Florida), David Housel (director of athletics – Auburn University), Debbie Yow (director of athletics – University of Maryland), and Lee Fowler (director of athletics – North Carolina State University).
For more information on this and future special events with the UGA Sport Business Club, please visit www.geocities.com/sportbusinessclub or contact Robert Zullo at Zullo@sports.uga.edu To join the UGA Sport Business Club, please visit www.geocities.com/sportbusinessclub for the application form and membership information.
*** Tennessee's Director of Athletics Mike Hamilton will speak on Friday, October 8th for the next “College Sports Speaker Series” at the same time and same location.
Media Contact:
Robert Zullo
Executive Director, UGA Sport Business Club
www.geocities.com/sportbusinessclub
542-9694 or Zullo@sports.uga.edu