Sports Business Academy
Sponsored by the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative (WSABI), the Wharton Sports Business Academy (WSBA) is a three-week summer program that provides an opportunity for ambitious rising high school juniors and seniors to study sports business leadership with the Wharton School. This program teaches students about leagues, media, innovation and emerging platforms, marketing, labor issues, and social impact/responsibility as they learn from leaders in the sports business world.
Instructional Team
Program Leader: Robert DiGisi
Rob DiGisi is an affiliated faculty member at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where he teaches both undergraduate and MBA-level sports management courses and oversees student consulting projects. He is a veteran sports marketing executive, who has created new profit centers, distribution channels and branding platforms for a variety of organizations including start-ups, pro-sports leagues and multi-billion dollar corporations. His pedigree includes senior marketing and business development roles for IMG, the National Basketball Association, Bank One, and Diamond Resorts International. Rob has packaged this expertise into his own consulting firm, Iron Horse Marketing.
He is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston College and earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a co-founder of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative in 2004, and continues to serve as an advisory board member.
Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants consist of both undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania. TAs facilitate small-group discussions, ensure student understanding, assist with final project development, and hold office hours to answer student questions and share their Penn and Wharton experiences.
“I have always wanted to pursue a career in Sports Business, and this course not only furthered my interest but offered me the connections and experience for it as well.” - 2021 participant