AAndy
Stanford Spring Course -- Bus 31

Gloria Nevarez
Gloria Nevarez

Jennifer Azzi
Jennifer Azzi

Mindi Bach
Mindi Bach

ST - 318 - Marie
Marie Tuite
Hanna Gordon
Hannah Gordon
Sally Ann Reiss
Sally Ann Reiss

Anne Cribbs
Anne Cribbs


Andy Dolich -- 2015


Finding Opportunities in the Business of Women's Sports

with Andy Dolich


Major changes are taking place in the way women's sports are promoted, marketed, advertised, broadcast, and distributed to larger audiences. This course will highlight milestones that have helped usher in new opportunities to develop business ideas and products that promote and monetize women's sports.

Portland, Oregon is home to the most successful women's professional sports franchise in North America. The Portland Thorns soccer games in Providence Park offer a glimpse of the future: 19,000 fans and 10,000 season-ticket holders. This growing enthusiasm and fan base for women's sports has generated advertising interest from companies like Anheuser-Busch, Toyota, and Alaska Airlines. Across the industry, women's sports apparel sales are up by 53 percent in the last three years, and women's sport brands are attracting new sponsorship and media opportunities. While men have historically been the prime demographic target of sports, women control 70 percent of consumer spending and are becoming more reachable through women's sports.

This interactive course will feature thought leaders, including Gloria Nevarez, commissioner of the West Coast Conference; Jennifer Azzi, NBA executive, former Stanford basketball legend and recipient of an Olympic gold medal; Mindi Bach, Oracle's head of sports public relations; Anne Cribbs, CEO, BASOC;  Marie Tuite, athletic director at San Jose State University;  Hannah Gordon, chief administrative officer and general counsel for the San Francisco 49ers; and  Sally Ann Reiss, CEO of PlayyOn . We will also explore corporate sponsorships and the new frontier of paying collegiate athletes, the challenges of global sports  expansion, and how women's sports can increase broadcast revenue in a crowded market.

Quarter: Spring
Course Format: On Campus
Date(s): April 8 - May 7
Drop Deadline: April 27
Tuition: $545
Day(s): Wednesdays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 7 p.m. -- 8:50 p.m.
Unit: 1
Instructor(s): Andy Dolich
 
Finding Opportunities in the Business of Women's Sports
Stanford Continuing Studies -- Spring 2020
Registration begins on Monday February 24, 2020

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Andy Dolich has over five decades of leadership in the sports industry, including executive positions in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, pro soccer and lacrosse. Presently Dolich is COO of the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) and teaches sports business at Stanford's School of Continuing Studies. Dolich is also co-author of the new book:
PeteMemorable

3-2-2020 - MESHOF
(Left to right), Mickey Hall, president, Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame; Joe Ellis, Class of 2020 inductee, Basketball; Ricki Stevenson event emcee. All photos: Bob White.
MESHOF ceremony brings Oakland into the spotlight

by Pete Elman

On Friday, Feb. 28, the Multi-Ethnic Spor ts Hall of Fame (MESHOF) held its 20 th annual induction and community award ceremony at Scott's Seafood in Oakland's Embarcadero Square. The event was a rousing success, with declarations received from Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Mayor Libby Schaaf. The common theme delivered by the speakers and inductees was Oakland Pride.

The program began with a heartfelt video tribute to the late Kobe Bryant by local filmmaker Doug Harris and finished with an uplifting address by second-year president Mickey Hall, in which she implored the guests to "take the time to honor the young sisters in our community, and do the work which Arif started."

Arif would be the venerable Arif Khatib who founded MESHOF in 2000, known initially as the African-American Sports Hall of Fame. His vision then, as it is now, is " to broaden and enhance the public's understanding of multi-ethnic history and the role that diversity and cultural tolerance plays in the growth of professional sports." Last year Khatib passed the torch to Hall, who is keeping the flame alive.

Emcee Ricki Stevenson handled the honors with style, humor and respect. Stevenson is a Bay Area native with a 25-year TV and radio career which took her from Nashville to New York and back to San Francisco, with many stops in-between. Along the way she discovered untold stories of Black History.

Ricki has been living in Paris since 1997, where she leads her Black Paris Tours. Over the years these tours have introduced thousands of travelers, many from the Bay Area, to the rich legacy of African and African-American history in Paris and Marseille, from Josephine Baker to James Baldwin and up to the present day. She set the tone when she declared, "I live in two of the best cities in the world--Oakland and Paris."

Community awards were given to five individuals and one organization. Enrique Padilla, born in Los Angeles and raised in Mexico, returned to California at 19 to study architecture and found himself in the food business, where he has succeeded with his acclaimed Tracy eatery, Texas Roadhouse . But it is his involvement with the Cancer Society and veterans groups, which earned him the Community Advocate Award.

Former pro baseball player and Berkeley native Claudell Washington received the Don't Give Up Award.  Washington played in the big leagues for 17 years for seven teams and along the way was a two-time all-star. Just 19 when he was called up, his home debut on July 8,  1974 was storybook; he hit a single to drive home the winning run in extra-innings against the great Gaylord Perry, and three months later the A's were world champs for the third consecutive year. Claudell has been battling prostate cancer and maintains a positive attitude in the face of his challenge.

Sylvia Stadmire received the Lydia Flood Jackson Award  for her tireless work since 2003 on behalf of seniors. The Nonprofit of the Year  A ward went to the Oakland Public Education Fund, which "supports all students in Oakland public schools with a focus on those furthest from opportunity, because kids who come to school with less need more."

The Founders' Award went to acclaimed designer Rachel Konte and her husband, renowned activist and organizer Keba Konte, founder of the Guerilla Café and Red Bay Coffee Roasters, whose mission it is to "hire and serve people of all backgrounds, to be inclusive of those who have been traditionally been left out of the industry; people of color, women, people with disabilities and the formerly incarcerated."

3-2-2020 - MESHOF
Virtual Murrell, Legacy of Oakland Award

3-2-2020 - MESHOF
Vida Blue, Class of 2020 inductee, Baseball
The appropriately named Legacy of Oakland Award went to the indefatigable Virtual Murrell. When he was at Merritt College, Murrell, now 76, co-founded, along with Black Panther founder Bobby Seale, the first Black Studies program at any community college in the nation. He has served the Oakland community in a variety of capacities, working for Catholic Charities, as a journalist for the Black Panther party paper, for the United Negro College Fund, and on several Alameda County boards. Active in Democratic politics for decades, Murrell is currently splitting his time between Oakland and Washington. His acceptance speech was gracious and humble and his parting message was powerful, poignant and timely. "We need to be vigilant right now," Murrell intoned, referencing the divisive political environment we find ourselves in. "Democracy needs us, or we will deserve what we get."

Continuing the hometown theme, former NBA player and Oakland native Joe Ellis was one of the four inductees. Ellis is a quiet, dignified man with a positive outlook on life. A graduate of McClymonds High School (class of '62), Joe attended USF where he excelled as a small forward. In 1966 he was drafted in the second round by the Golden State Warriors and played eight years, first in the city and then in Oakland. For the past several years Ellis has been coaching youth basketball on the Peninsula, imparting life lessons which transcend hoops. "To see the kids master a skill and see their eyes light up, that's special."

Ellis reminisced about his early days. "When I found out I was drafted by the Warriors, I had no idea about playing pro basketball," he said. "it's a game I would've played for free, and the greatest thing is that I got a chance to do something that very few achieve." His last words rang true in the room. "Young athletes, whatever you're doing, you need to put the work in--- put the work in."

Former pitching great Vida Blue  was also inducted and the light-hearted Blue did not disappoint. Introduced by his son, Derek, Vida talked about arriving in Oakland for the first time in 1970 as a 21-year-old rookie. "I saw the Black Panthers and cops everywhere and asked myself, "What the hell am I getting myself into? I'm just a country boy from Mansfield, Louisiana!"

The country boy chose baseball over football--he was an excellent high school quarterback sought by many colleges--because his Dad had just died and his family needed the signing bonus. In his first two starts as a September 1970 call-up, he threw a one-hit shutout and a no hitter; in his first full season he won the Cy Young Award and  the Most Valuable Player trophy, a feat later achieved by Oakland-born Dennis Eckersley. Along the way he was a three-time champ and started the All-Star game for both leagues. Blue had trouble with substance abuse but bounced back in a big way, donating his time to many charitable causes, including youth education and inner city baseball. "I don't know what I did to deserve this," said the legendary fireballer, "God gave me a good left arm and I am honored to receive this award."

Also inducted was Turlock native Paul Larson,  87, a first-team all-American quarterback for the 1954 Cal Bears. He is #22 on the list of the 50 Greatest Golden Bears, a terrific athlete who played both ways, punted and kicked and returned punts and kicks.

3-2-2020 - MESHOF
(Left to right) Mickey Hall, president, Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame; Gary Payton, Class of 2020 inductee, Basketball; Ricki Stevenson, event emcee. All photos: Bob White.

The last inductee was NBA legend and first ballot (2013) Hall of Famer Gary Payton. Payton is all about Oakland. A graduate of Skyline High School, Payton starred at Oregon State and was a 13-year member of the Seattle Supersonics. He had a magnificent career; nine-time all-star, nine-time defensive first-teamer and world champ.

Payton was a fierce competitor on the hardwood, applying the discipline and work ethic he learned from his father and the mental toughness from the Oakland playgrounds. Along the way Payton has selflessly donated countless dollars and days to the youth of Oakland, the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other charities. Speaking without notes, Payton kept returning to the theme of his hometown and how important it is to honor it. "People always talk about New York and Chicago, but there are many great athletes that come out of Oakland. I talk to kids and tell them anything is possible, if you work hard at it. I was fortunate to make it. This is where I grew up--this is where I come from. We have a great city here--don't ever forget it."

All in all, it was a memorable evening for MESHOF, the inductees, their families and the city of Oakland.

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From 2000-2005 I wrote a column for the late great Oakland Athletics Fan Coalition (OAFC) entitled  Elman Swings,
a play on the fact that I'm a musician. Some of you may remember the OAFC, an East Bay organization that at its peak had several thousand members devoted to keeping the A's in Oakland and guess what? They've succeeded. -- Pete Elman