By Michael Ferraresi
GCU News Bureau
This week marks Jerry Colangelo’s first public appearance at GCU since the October unveiling of GCU’s Colangelo School of Sports Business.
Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns’ chairman and Arizona Diamondbacks’ former owner, is scheduled to address as many as 300 guests Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. at GCU Arena. The event is free and open to the public.
Colangelo will be joined by GCU CEO Brian Mueller and former Olympic gold-medal swimmer Misty Dawn Hyman. The focus of the discussion is “achieving competitive greatness,” which figures to touch on business success, spirituality and personal motivation.
“He’s really fired up to talk about the topic,” said Dr. Brian Smith, director of the Colangelo School of Sports Business.
“He’s a relentless competitor. Everyone wants to be associated with our program knowing he’s affiliated with it.”
Smith added that Colangelo has stated his interest in being more involved with faculty and students at the sports business school, which is part of GCU’s Ken Blanchard College of Business. The sports business major, created in 2010, emerged as one of the most popular academic focuses at GCU.
More than 300 students currently study through the Colangelo School, known as the only school of its kind in Arizona.
In October, Colangelo said he was pleased to have a sports-business school to pass on his knowledge, experiences and success stories.
Colangelo is one of the best-known executives in metro Phoenix sports history. He was instrumental in bringing the expansion Diamondbacks to Phoenix in 1998 and organizing construction of the stadium now known as Chase Field. He facilitated the Winnipeg Jets’ move to Arizona, leading to the formation of the Phoenix Coyotes. He has been involved with the Suns since the franchise’s inception in 1968.
In his most prominent role these days, Colangelo oversees USA Basketball. He was named the first managing director of the USA Men’s Senior National Team in 2005 and remains in that position heading into the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The American team won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing under Colangelo's oversight.
Hyman is originally from the Southeast Valley. She attended Shadow Mountain High School before Stanford University. She won her gold in the 200-meter butterfly at the summer Olympics in Sydney.
Sports jobs workshop slated for April 10
Students interested in earning jobs or internships in sports can learn about local opportunities and strategies for their futures during an April 10 workshop hosted by the Colangelo School of Sports Business.
The Working in Sports Panel & Sales Workshop is scheduled from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at GCU Arena.
Panel members include some of the top executives from the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.
For more information, go to www.gcu.edu/sportspanel. Event planners ask that attendees register by April 5 through the website. The event is free and open to the public.
Contact Michael Ferraresi at 639.7030 or [email protected].
