Athabasca University is now offering a business of hockey executive MBA program for those interested in pursuing a career in the business of hockey.
Michael Mauws, academic director of the Business of Hockey Institute, said an executive MBA program could help those involved in hockey franchises gain skills in accounting, finance and economics.
The program could also attract executives in other industries, he said.
Mauws said a lot of players who didn’t make it to the NHL look to continue their careers in the business of hockey.
“They haven’t got the business training that they might need to make it to the next level in the office,” Mauws added.
“An executive MBA program is targeted [towards] exactly those kinds of people and more generally it’s a program that people can do while they’re working,” said Mauws.
Mauws said the courses “focus on the specific needs of hockey businesses as opposed to other industries.”
The program will cover topics such as the strategic marketing of hockey, game day management and hockey operations, he said.
“The hockey-specific courses have a strong marketing and strategy focus to them,” he added.
Mauws said it’s important the program is offered online because “these people don’t want to leave their jobs for two or three years. Having a program that’s available online is absolutely essential.”
Chris McLeod, director of marketing for Athabasca University’s faculty of business, said the university has been working on the idea with hockey leaders at the NHL level and at the junior level.
“It’s through them that we identified a real need for management leadership-level education in business,” he said.
“There’s a lot of money and attention put on to developing players, but there’s really not been much significant emphasis on the business side of the game,” McLeod added.
Ritch Winter, an NHL player-agent and Brian Burke, Calgary Flames president of hockey operations, went to Athabasca University with the idea, according to McLeod.
“The goal is about trying to change and radically improve the business side of the game. Hockey competes in an incredibly complicated and competitive environment. It competes not only with other sports but with entertainment in general, ” McLeod said.
Rebecca Dow, a first-year child studies student and a member of the Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team said she believes the program would be beneficial for someone looking for a career in hockey.
“A lot of people may not realize there is a lot more to hockey than just the team of athletes,” she said.
“I think that this program would be a great way for people to gain the experience they need to enter the business side of the hockey world, by having an equal balance of understanding what it takes to be involved in the hockey environment, and having a strong business understanding as well.”
Mauws said 32 students will be admitted to the program. The university will be accepting applications between Feb. 1 and March 15.
