Below is a description of the WBA assignments. This taken directly from the syllabus. Links for submitting each of these items are in the course menu above. The operations manual should be utilized extensively in designing the organization. Click here to view the league website.
| Students will create their own World Basketball Association Basketball Team, and address many of the economic/financial principles related to sport teams.
The professor has secured and posted online a copy of the 2005 Owner’s manual for the World Basketball Association. It is the manual given to those who pay the franchise fee to start their own WBA team. The manual details all of the facets that the WBA office emphasizes and requires of its owners. It discusses Association rules, economic/financial principles, marketing/sponsorship, public relations and numerous other topics. The following guidelines apply: |
||
| a) | One-Sheet, including: | |
| 1) | Team Name (city and moniker, e.g., Rochester Rockets, Buffalo BigEaters, Honolulu Voodoo) | |
| 2) | Team Logo (designed in GIMP, Photoshop, or another graphics program) | |
| 3) | Mission Statement | |
| 4) | Mascot Name | |
| 5) | Images of mascot (these need not be edited to create the exact mascot) with a description of what the vision for the look of the mascot is, utilizing the images as examples | |
| 6) | An EXCELLENT resource for logo design and development is the site www.sportslogos.net. This site features almost every sport team logo on the planet. It should give you ideas for your own logo. | |
| 7) | Submitted as an MS Publisher (.pub) document, titled “JSmith-380-WBA.pub” | |
| b) | Organizational Chart, including: | |
| 1) | All of the positions employed by the team –  from owner, coach, assistants and players to marketing, sales, interns, etc | |
| 2) | Names of individuals selected to fill those roles. Appearing in parentheses below the title in the org chart box. | |
| 3) | Salaries with each position on the chart (these must be consistent with the WBA manual). Appearing below the names in the org chart box | |
| 4) | Additionally, “players” must be listed under “coach” except that players need not be named and salaried for the org chart. | |
| 5) | This chart should be based on the WBA chart included in the owner’s manual. | |
| 6) | This is to be added to the student’s original Publisher document, titled, “JSmith-380-WBA.pub” – AS A NEW PAGE on the original one-sheet document | |
| c) | Three-Year Schedule, Part I | |
| 1) | Setting the team schedule vs. the teams of the other students in the class. This will be done in-class. Students missing class that day will receive a 0 on this assignment. Students must be present to receive full credit. | |
| 2) | This is to then be typed in an Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will have other tabs added to it and be resubmitted as the project continues. The filename should be labeled: JSmith-380-WBA.xlsx. This tab should be titled “3yr-1” | |
| d) | Roster | |
| 1) | Rosters will be selected via an in-class draft | |
| 2) | Students will select: 4 guards, 4 forwards, 2 centers (10 players total) | |
| 3) | After selection, students are to create an Excel spreadsheet roster detailing the jersey number, player name, height, current school (or team), and hometown. | |
| 4) | This spreadsheet should be in the students existing spreadsheet, titled: JSmith-380-WBA.xlsx. This new tab should be titled “roster” | |
| e) | Three-Year Schedule, Part II | |
| 1) | A fantasy-like competition which will yield results for the schedule. Again, students missing from class will receive a 0 for this assignment. | |
| 2) | The results are to then be typed in the student’s existing Excel spreadsheet. titled: JSmith-380-WBA.xlsx. This new tab should be titled “3yr-2” | |
| f) | Revenue Projections, including | |
| 1) | All team revenue streams for the first three years of operation, labeled year 1, year 2, and year 3 on the same Excel spreadsheet, side-by-side – but not in a new tab | |
| 2) | Revenue steams separated by category (Tickets, Sponsorships, Concessions, Parking, Promotions, Media, Apparel and Merchandise, etc.) | |
| 3) | Each revenue stream must auto total | |
| 4) | A grand (auto) total must exist for each year, separately | |
| 5) | Revenue streams must be realistic | |
| 6) | This is to be typed in the student’s existing Excel spreadsheet. titled: JSmith-380-WBA.xlsx. This new tab should be titled “revenue” | |
| g) | Budget, based on WBA rules and guidelines, including | |
| 1) | All team expenses for the first three years of operation, labeled year 1, year 2, and year 3 on the same Excel spreadsheet, side-by-side – but not in a new tab | |
| 2) | Expenses separated by category (Franchise Fee, Personnel, Equipment, Facilities, Media, Team Travel, Marketing and Promotional Items, Apparel and Merchandise, etc.) | |
| 3) | Each expense stream must auto total | |
| 4) | A grand (auto) total must exist for each year, separately | |
| 5) | This must be comprehensive. A good starting point is the pre-team establishment duties on p. 2 of the WBA manual. | |
| 6) | Students will assume a $100,000 franchise fee, amortized over 5 years – this should be an expense line in the budget | |
| 7) | This is to be typed in the student’s existing Excel spreadsheet. titled: JSmith-380-WBA.xlsx. This new tab should be titled “budget” | |
| h) | Mini-Economic Analysis, 3 pages, (see Chapter 10 of text), with the following sections and headers: | |
| 1) | City population (demographics, size, psychographics, other characteristics) | |
| 2) | Competing sport franchises and new WBA team’s viability against those established teams | |
| 3) | Venue Description and discussion | |
| 4) | Cost-Benefit analysis addressing costs (infrastructure, operations, opportunity costs) and benefits (economic activity, development value, buyer’s surpluses and external benefits) – this will be the largest section with each cost and benefit identified in parentheses above needing at least one paragraph. Sub-headings should be used for these as well. | |
| 5) | Subsidies – what types of subsidies might this organization be able to orchestrate? What is the likelihood of its obtaining these, in this community? | |
| 6) | Any other sections or elements that the student wishes to address, not already labeled here. | |
| 7) | A conclusion paragraph discussing the students closing arguments/reactions regarding the economic impact of their team in this location. That is, typically, team owners would want such an analysis to make a case for the incredible and wonderful impact their team will have on the community and region. | |
| 8) | Written as an MS Word document, titled “JSmith-380-WBA-eco-impact.docx” | |
| i) | Team Website, including: | |
| 1) | The use of NoteTab Light to build the site and Filezilla for uploading. Both should be downloaded and installed by the student on their home computer | |
| 2) | The use of a pre-supplied template for the Website meeting all WBA website specifications. Thus students need only add content, images, and adjust colors | |
| 3) | Team Name, Logo, Mission Statement, Mascot, mascot image | |
| 4) | Owner bio, Front Office staff, Coaches, Roster | |
| 5) | This years’ schedule | |
| 6) | Links to all other students sites (pre-provided format) | |
| 7) | Contact Form | |
| 8) | Stadium info, diagram with seating | |
| 9) | Ticket packages (in-keeping with revenue projection expectations) | |
| 10) | Team History (detailing how the team came about – a creative fiction piece) | |
| 11) | At least two banner ads (exact size provided on template) | |
| j) | Reflection on the Economics of Team Ownership, including: | |
| 1) | A discussion of the selection of the name, location, logo, mascot and mission statement for the team | |
| 2) | A brief summary of the student’s thoughts on the various costs of the team | |
| 3) | A synopsis of the student’s views on the revenue streams of the team | |
| 4) | An analysis of why one would choose to own a team, and in particular, if the student would really consider owning his/her team if the opportunity presented itself –if so, why, if not, why not? | |
| 5) | The student’s personal reaction to team ownership | |
| 6) | A rating of the project. | |
| 7) | This will be completed via an online form | |
| EVALUATION: | ||
| 25 pts | One-sheet | |
| 15 pts | Organizational Chart | |
| 15 pts | Three-year Schedule, Part I | |
| 20 pts | Rosters | |
| 15 pts | Three-year Schedule, Part II | |
| 35 pts | Revenue Projection | |
| 35 pts | Budget | |
| 50 pts | Mini-Economic Impact Analysis | |
| 60 pts | Team Website | |
| 30 pts | Reflection | |
