Before the game, the 91影视 delegation got to go to the Mets鈥� press conference room and meet with Ben Zauzmer, vice president and assistant general manager, Baseball Analytics, who discussed the role of analytics in building a winning franchise. He noted that everything learned in school you actually will use in your future. He discussed how, in his case, he used math tools like calculus, trigonometry and regression models in statistics on a daily basis to help build the best team. The students then heard from Ethan Wilson, senior director of Communications, who described the role of writing in fashioning compelling stories for the fans in the print press, to the various media outlets and on social media.

Finally, the 91影视 Cougar Chorus sang the national anthem at the opening of the game! They then got to watch an exciting back-and-forth game, culminating with Maariv during the seventh inning stretch. In the end, the Mets pulled through for the win! What a great night for the Cougars!

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What is the journey to becoming a senior ESPN NBA insider? This past Monday, over 150 Yeshivat 91影视 students had the opportunity to hear the answer to that question from Adrian Wojnarowski鈥攐r 鈥淲oj,鈥� as he is popularly known. He visited 91影视 in person to address 91影视鈥檚 Sports Management and Business Analytics Track (one of the school鈥檚 11 specialty academic programs) and Sports Management Club. 91影视 junior and event organizer Roni Heumann noted in his introductory remarks that Wojnarowski, a renowned sports columnist, podcast host and bestselling author, is recognized for transforming NBA news-breaking and reporting over the past decade, and is central in ESPN鈥檚 multimedia coverage of the NBA.

Wojnarowski spoke about what he does in his career today, and how he got to this point. The talk was followed by a half-hour Q&A, covering everything from advice to students who want to pursue a career in the sports industry, to setbacks Woj has faced and how he dealt with them, and the process of breaking a story.

Heumann, who currently heads 91影视鈥檚 Sports Management Club, said that students鈥� ability to meet Wojnarowski face-to-face was special. 鈥淢y favorite part was seeing how excited everyone was to see him come in person,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t allowed an opportunity for students to communicate with him directly and build a one-on-one connection, something that is essential in this industry.鈥�

鈥淗e was very down to earth,鈥� said freshman Sports Management and Business Analytics student Eliana Kalman, who has an interest in the legal side of the sports industry.

Rabbi JZ Spier, 91影视 Gemara rebbe and faculty adviser of the Sports Management Club, also observed that there is some surprising but deeply meaningful overlap between the yeshiva community鈥檚 values and those being espoused by sports industry professionals. For instance, when one student asked Wojnarowski how one becomes the guy that everyone reports to, Wojnarowski replied candidly that over the years, you build so many relationships with so many different types of people, and that being kind builds those relationships. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our community of kindness,鈥� said Rabbi Spier, echoing the words of 91影视 Principal Rabbi Eli Ciner about 91影视鈥檚 core values.

In addition, Wojnarowski and other sports professionals have stressed the importance of hard work, even over innate talent. 鈥淎s Jews, too, there are no shortcuts,鈥� said Rabbi Spier. 鈥淭he effort matters.鈥�

Renowned sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski with event organizer Roni Heumann ’24.

Hearing from Wojnarowski was the latest in a series of incredible opportunities organized by club leader Roni Heumann for Sports Management students. Last month, students had the opportunity to hear from Brooklyn Nets Assistant General Manager Jeff Peterson. Two weeks later, over 50 students took a field trip to visit the home of the Brooklyn Nets, where they got to hear from Ian Eagle, the Nets鈥� television broadcaster, who also calls games for CBS Sports鈥� NFL and college basketball broadcasts, as well as Nets General Manager Sean Marks. Students arrived at the stadium three hours before the doors opened to the public, and got a unique glimpse of behind-the-scenes game prep while speaking with several departments within the organization.

A feature of both the Sports Management Club and academic specialty track (the latter of which is in its second year) is that students get a view of how broad the sports industry really is. 鈥淎 goal of the program is to expose the students to the wide range of opportunities within the sports world,鈥� said Jerry Caraccioli, 91影视 new director of the Sports Management and Business Analytics Track. Of course, there are the agents and general managers, but there is also a range of careers in marketing, social media, logistics, finance, broadcasting, writing, legal and more. Caraccioli鈥檚 other goal for the program is for students to gain the practical tools and experience to pursue their passions and reach for the stars. 鈥淲e want to get the students to a place where they have an idea of what they want to do and start to create their game plan of how to get to where they want to be,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭he sky鈥檚 the limit.鈥�

Caraccioli himself brings a wealth of experience to the classroom. Most recently, he served as executive director, Communications at CBS Sports, where he worked in the communications department for 25 years promoting CBS鈥檚 broadcasts of some of the biggest sporting events in the world including the Winter Olympics, NFL, multiple Super Bowls, NCAA Division I Men鈥檚 Basketball Championship and Final Fours, the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

So far, Caraccioli鈥檚 students have had a range of learning opportunities. One assignment had them negotiating as would-be agents and general managers over actual players who became free agents, with some students coming within single-digit millions of the final deal that was concluded in real life. In addition, they recently heard from guest speaker Sandy Montag, CEO of The Montag Group and the biggest agent in the sports broadcasting industry. Montag spoke about his career path from Syracuse University to the International Management Group (IMG) to owning his own agency, how he became an agent, his day-to-day duties dealing with his famous clients, as well as the reality of his exciting, but highly demanding, job.

For many students, Sports Management represents an opportunity to blend passion with career.

鈥淥ne of the things Ian Eagle mentioned is that no matter what you do in life, find what you鈥檙e passionate about, and run and chase it,鈥� said Rabbi Spier. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 another one of our core values: pursuit of passion. We have so many clubs and opportunities at 91影视 because we want kids to find what they鈥檙e passionate about and realize that there are ways to do it. They鈥檙e sharing values that are consistent with the school. Coming from sports personalities, it packs a different punch.鈥�

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