{"id":381,"date":"2018-05-14T14:18:49","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T14:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/?p=381"},"modified":"2018-06-28T15:05:07","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T15:05:07","slug":"sporting-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/blog\/2018\/05\/14\/sporting-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"Sporting chances"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Students
Students from Sports Administration in the College of Business get down to the sounds of a Bluetooth speaker before the start of Ohio University’s Graduate Commencement on Friday, May 1, 2015. Photo by Rob Hardin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The world\u2019s first academic program in sports administration was born at Ohio University in 1966. While similar programs have proliferated, OHIO\u2019s remains the gold standard\u2014ranked #1 in the world by SportsBusiness International.<\/p>\n

Justine \u201cTina\u201d Skestos (BSEd \u201973, MSA \u201974) became the program\u2019s first woman graduate in 1974. Then and now, the program has positioned itself as the world\u2019s leading sports business program through its curriculum, industry connections, graduates\u2019 career development, small and talented cohorts, and its powerful and dedicated alumni network.<\/p>\n

Committed to that tight network, Skestos contributed $120,000 to establish the Justine Skestos Scholarship in Sports Administration. Her gift is providing support for three, full-time students in the dual master of business administration\/master of sports administration (MBA\/MSA) program for two years.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Skestos Scholarship is allowing me to focus completely on my studies. I am able to take advantage of all the opportunities and experiences the program offers,\u201d said Shelby Brown, who earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma native had less expensive options for graduate school closer to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis support made all the difference in my decision to come to OHIO,\u201d she said. \u201c(It) has given me the opportunity to attend my dream school with a greater ease of mind and the ability to throw myself entirely into my work and studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenneth Wolfort earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina. His parents, OHIO graduates who had met in 1989 through the Sports Administration Program, urged him to look at Athens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was aware of the program and the University growing up,\u201d said Wolfort. But, he\u2019d never been to Athens. \u201cIt was a part of (my parents\u2019) past, I wanted to be different and not be \u2018just\u2019 the legacy kid\u2014I didn\u2019t want the past to define my future.\u201d Then, he visited OHIO.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to meet the faculty and the students, and they were my kind of people,\u201d he said. About the Skestos Scholarship he said, \u201cIt is a massive honor, first and foremost. I represent the program, and I represent (Tina Skestos). That is not something that I take lightly. It\u2019s something I strive to honor. It pushes me to be the best version of me that I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third recipient, Morgan McPherson earned her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
\n\u201cI feel extremely fortunate to have been accepted to the MBA\/MSA program,\u201d she said. \u201cThanks to this support, I have been able to take advantage of every opportunity offered to me here including networking and professional development trips, and traveling to work other sports events. \u2026 I had always heard about the OHIO family and alumni network, but never truly learned what it meant to be a part of it until I arrived. (This) support, and the mentorship from other alumni, have shown me what it means to give back to the program and be a member of this unique family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolfort offered that he\u2019d \u201cbe happy to sit down with anyone considering giving to scholarships and to tell them about how motivating receiving a scholarship is, how it changes your trajectory and makes you want to give back\u2026 the change it makes in a young person\u2019s life. It has motivated me to give back someday.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justine \u201cTina\u201d Skestos (BSEd \u201973, MSA \u201974) became the program\u2019s first woman graduate in 1974. Then and now, the program has positioned itself as the world\u2019s leading sports business program through its curriculum, industry connections, graduates\u2019 career development, small and talented cohorts, and its powerful and dedicated alumni network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ohio-academics","category-ohio-scholars","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/Final_Grads_BW.png?fit=380%2C380&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8tWFT-69","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":832,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiofoundationreport.org\/fiscal-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}