Culture & Society

Students Experience International Sports Management Firsthand

As graduate students in the Texas A&M Sports Management program, we were provided the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime study abroad trip to Germany and Austria.
By Jason Chavez, Texas A&M Sports Management June 15, 2016

Graduate students at Bayern Mücnchen Headquarters.
Graduate students at Bayern Mücnchen Headquarters.

(Transform Lives)

As graduate students in the Texas A&M Sport Management program, we were provided the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime study abroad trip to Germany and Austria. Led by Sport Management professors Drs. Paul Batista and Andy Pittman, we were able to experience some incredible opportunities to learn how sports are organized and presented on the international stage.

Our program included stops in Munich, Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, Kitzbühel, and Innsbruck where we were able to enjoy site visits to famous organizations and events such as Bayern München headquarters, Allianz Arena, Munich Olympic Park, Red Bull Headquarters, a World Cup Bobsleigh run, a hike down the Hahnenkamm’s treacherous downhill ski course, and collaborate with students and faculty at the Munich Business School and the Sport University of Innsbruck. For any football (soccer) fan, the highlight of the visit had to be the visit to the Bayern München headquarters.

In a quaint Munich neighborhood our group approached what was to be an opportunity of a lifetime for any soccer fan, a visit to FC Bayern München headquarters. The entrance to the building was modern, yet fit perfectly into its surrounding area. Fans were already starting to gather in hopes of catching a glance of one of their favorite players who would be practicing later that afternoon. For our group, it was straight into the lobby to meet one of Dr. Batista’s friends and associates, Anna Rissel, who is one of two in-house lawyers for the club.

Our first agenda item for the day was to view the practice facilities and get an overview of the most successful club in German football history. Not a detail is missed in the facility, from the natural grass blended with a synthetic turf on the pitch, to the team cafeteria which boasts an elevated view of the entire facility.

Continue reading on Transform Lives.

This article originally appeared in Transform Lives.

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