Students in Gonzaga’s sports management program will soon have the chance to secure an internship like no other.
The school has partnered with a professional basketball team in Italy, Pistoia Basket 2000, where Gonzaga students and faculty will work on a consultative basis to improve Pistoia’s operational systems while gaining experience in the field of international sport.
“We consider this to be the premier partnership in terms of international sports management, partnership and consulting, as well as internships,” said Ryan Turcott, associate professor of kinesiology and sport management at Gonzaga. “A lot of schools do…a lot of local partnerships, like Seattle University partnering with the Seahawks and the Mariners, and based on our research and our research, no other university has an international management partnership sport like this… So we consider this to be an avant-garde project and one of the first to have done it.
The idea for this collaboration came from a visit as part of Gonzaga’s study abroad program to Florence, Italy.
“It started with this study abroad course and it has now grown into a full-fledged partnership,” Turcott said. “Looking at their club and its history, and the way they go about their different operations and decisions, from that simple visit to study abroad, the idea transformed into this idea of having a partnership in which we would work together on the consultation, we would give them some advice, expertise and advice to improve the management of their club at the operational level, but also for internships, they will welcome our interns from this summer, perhaps even in the spring , to make them work side by side with the club, attend matches, attend training.
Pistoia might be of interest to Kobe Bryant fans, as it was the club Bryant’s father played for during the Bryant family’s stay in Italy.
“This is the club where Kobe Bryant grew up growing up,” Turcott said. “Kobe moved with his dad, his dad played for the club, his dad’s name is Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, and Joe played for Pistoia Basket in the 80s and Kobe grew up playing on the youth team .”
The Pistoia Basket 2000 club, located 48 kilometers from Florence and 20 minutes by train from the Gonzaga campus in Italy, will be able to accommodate one to four interns each semester.
Turcott said the program has already generated interest among students.
“There has been a lot of interest and a lot of demand. I wish we could take them all in as interns, but we’ll probably only start with about four and see how it goes from there,” he said.
“I think a lot of students, at least in sports management, come to Gonzaga because they want to work in basketball or in sports, and so that’s the kind of opportunity they’re looking for.
“To work in another part of the world, in another country, you’re going to learn so much just about culture and management and communication, and when you come back to the United States, we feel like you’re going to have a lot on your resume and it will benefit students in the long run.
Internships will last four to six weeks and begin in-person, with the possibility of remote internships in the future. Students will work with Gonzaga faculty from the Spokane and Florence campuses and with Pistoia Basket 2000.
“It will take a lot of marketing and corporate communications, and social media, but also fan engagement, ticketing, sales strategies, corporate partnerships and merchandising, and then sports tourism or hospitality industry,” Turcott said. “It will be a combination of all those things.”
Students in Gonzaga’s sports management program will soon have the chance to secure an internship like no other.
The school has partnered with a professional basketball team in Italy, Pistoia Basket 2000, where Gonzaga students and faculty will work on a consultative basis to improve Pistoia’s operational systems while gaining experience in the field of international sport.
“We consider this to be the premier partnership in terms of international sports management, partnership and consulting, as well as internships,” said Ryan Turcott, associate professor of kinesiology and sport management at Gonzaga. “A lot of schools do…a lot of local partnerships, like Seattle University partnering with the Seahawks and the Mariners, and based on our research and our research, no other university has an international management partnership sport like this… So we consider this to be an avant-garde project and one of the first to have done it.
The idea for this collaboration came from a visit as part of Gonzaga’s study abroad program to Florence, Italy.
“It started with this study abroad course and it has now grown into a full-fledged partnership,” Turcott said. “Looking at their club and its history, and the way they go about their different operations and decisions, from that simple visit to study abroad, the idea transformed into this idea of having a partnership in which we would work together on the consultation, we would give them some advice, expertise and advice to improve the management of their club at the operational level, but also for internships, they will welcome our interns from this summer, perhaps even in the spring , to make them work side by side with the club, attend matches, attend training.
Pistoia might be of interest to Kobe Bryant fans, as it was the club Bryant’s father played for during the Bryant family’s stay in Italy.
“This is the club where Kobe Bryant grew up growing up,” Turcott said. “Kobe moved with his dad, his dad played for the club, his dad’s name is Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, and Joe played for Pistoia Basket in the 80s and Kobe grew up playing on the youth team .”
The Pistoia Basket 2000 club, located 48 kilometers from Florence and 20 minutes by train from the Gonzaga campus in Italy, will be able to accommodate one to four interns each semester.
Turcott said the program has already generated interest among students.
“There has been a lot of interest and a lot of demand. I wish we could take them all in as interns, but we’ll probably only start with about four and see how it goes from there,” he said.
“I think a lot of students, at least in sports management, come to Gonzaga because they want to work in basketball or in sports, and so that’s the kind of opportunity they’re looking for.
“To work in another part of the world, in another country, you’re going to learn so much just about culture and management and communication, and when you come back to the United States, we feel like you’re going to have a lot on your resume and it will benefit students in the long run.
Internships will last four to six weeks and begin in-person, with the possibility of remote internships in the future. Students will work with Gonzaga faculty from the Spokane and Florence campuses and with Pistoia Basket 2000.
“It will take a lot of marketing and corporate communications, and social media, but also fan engagement, ticketing, sales strategies, corporate partnerships and merchandising, and then sports tourism or hospitality industry,” Turcott said. “It will be a combination of all those things.”
