Manage like Jerry

Dallas Cowboys team up with local university for new sports management MBA program

Houston, Texans vs Dallas Cowboys, August 2017

Learn to manage the team like Jerry Jones.

The University of North Texas and the Dallas Cowboys have teamed up to launch an online MBA program in sports entertainment management.

The 36-credit-hour program, set to start in the upcoming fall semester, is divided into six subjects geared toward sports entertainment management:

Sports in the global marketplace
Corporate partnerships
Analytics
Event operations
Talent management
Consulting

In addition, the MBA program will offer traditional courses in subjects like finance, accounting, marketing, and strategic management. The program also will include three on-site bootcamps at the Cowboys’ headquarters at The Star in Frisco.

“We’ve been fortunate to be involved in a number of different businesses, both directly and indirectly involved in the sport entertainment industry. Through key partnerships, such as our relationship with the University of North Texas, we have found ways to grow the reach of the Dallas Cowboys across a variety of these industries,” Jerry Jones Jr., chief sales and marketing officer for the Cowboys, says in a February 6 release.

The Denton university already offers an MBA in sport, entertainment, and event management, and a bachelor’s degree program in sport management. The new offering “is built specifically for professionals looking to take their next step and move up the ladder in their respective industries,” the university says.

Professionals with at least three years of work experience as industry executives, coaches, or pro athletes can enter the program without taking the GMAT.

“The Dallas Cowboys are standing at the top of the sports business world,” Bob Heere, UNT director of sports management, says in the release. “It’s one thing for business students, especially those interested in sports and entertainment, to have access to a professional team, but our students are learning best practices from the individuals responsible for moving the needle forward in the Cowboys organization.”

“There’s a reason they are the most valuable franchise in the world,” Heere adds. “Their people are driving brand growth year over year, and now they will be helping teach our students how to do the same.”

At least 10 full-time employees of the Cowboys are UNT alumni, and several team staffers are guest speakers or adjunct faculty members at the university.

The new MBA program starts in August 2020. The deadline to apply for admission is June 30, 2020.

education dallas-cowboys colleges

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

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This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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