Malcolm Gladwell, centre, meets a group of Sport Management students.

Forty-seven Sport Management students heard from leading sports professionals and rubbed elbows with author Malcolm Gladwell at a recent MIT Sports Analytics Conference.

The students attended the conference in Boston, Mass. March 4 and 5, hearing speeches from industry leaders in the world of sport. It featured panalists such as Mark Cuban (owner, Dallas Mavericks) and Brian Burke (general manager, Toronto Maple Leafs).

They also met Gladwell, who was a featured speaker at the conference. Gladwell is the author of such bestsellers as The Tipping Point and Blink.

The conference “was highly educational and provided a mix of professionals from across the sports industry, allowing us to understand concepts from the viewpoints of respected leaders from each of the various sports present,” said student event organizer Kyler Nurmsoo.