(Essay must follow course writing guidelines and must be a minimum of 2,000 words)
You are the general manager of an expansion baseball, football, hockey, and basketball or soccer franchise.
You have selected your coach and are ready to sign up free agents, draft other teams’ players in the expansion draft and participate in the college/minor league/amateur draft. You have first pick in the draft.
1. Other than on the field positions, what key positions do you have to fill to make your organization work well, and why?
(Chief financial officer, controller, inside legal counsel, salary capologist, Executive VP of Operations, VP of hospitality and concessions, VP security, VP marketing, VP Marketing, medical services and trainers, etc,)
2. How will you promote your team?
3. How much will you pay your players, and how will you allocate the total payroll by position and roster (keeping in mind the minimum player salary levels in each sport as well as the minimum/maximum where there is a salary cap). Be specific.
4. What policies will you implement to protect your team/organization from all kinds of risks?
5. What are the risks that your operation will face?
6. How will you market and distribute tickets?
7. How will you market the naming rights to your stadium?
8. What do you with an owner who signs the checks but meddles into the everyday affairs of the team?
9. How do you deal with the sport talk radio and TV coverage and negativism when your team is losing?
10. Other than player procurement, based on all the modules that we covered in class, what do you believe is the most important priority of being a general manager, and why?
(remember, this is a writing intensive exercise, so use your skills).