Media releases

  • Brock experts examine impact of PGA-LIV golf merger

    EXPERT ADVISORY: June 6 2023 – R0047

    With the announcement of a merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabian-owned LIV Golf, Brock experts have examined the impact of the oil-rich kingdom on the trajectory of world sport.

    Assistant Professor of Sport Management Taylor McKee says it is crucial to understand that the new golf deal is not the PGA tour swallowing up a competitor and is instead a genuine partnership that is being developed with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund: the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

    “It would be naïve to imagine that this is the first instance of unsavoury money flowing into the coffers of professional sport organizations; however, it is important to note that the PIF is not simply purchasing a seat at the table: they are altering the blueprints, re-wiring the building and adding a pool to the backyard,” he says. “Just a year ago, PGA Tour officials and players were dead set against the incursion of Saudi money into the game, for reasons both legitimate and spurious. But the Tour now must acknowledge that either these issues have been resolved, which they have not, or that they are so satisfied with the financial upside of the deal that it outweighs their concerns regarding human rights.

    “Either way, this is a tricky situation with many questions left unanswered by the PGA,” McKee says.

    Associate Professor of Sport Management Michael Naraine says the deal is part of a long-term Saudi investment strategy into sport and entertainment.

    “Sport, elite sport especially, yields consistent returns over time, and so it’s not surprising to see the Kingdom diversify their investment strategy; this is ever more important as Western societies electrify and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels — where the Saudis make most of their cash,” he says. “However, there’s also the geo-political investment the Kingdom is making through ‘sportwashing,’ attempting to glaze over their record of human rights and social issue atrocities.”

    Through the ownership of football clubs in England, international circuit events like F1 and LIV golf, and even partnerships with the World Wrestling Entertainment machine, Naraine says not to expect Saudi financial involvement in sport to be a passing fad.

    “I don’t suspect the Saudis are going to stop investing in sport anytime soon,” he says. “In fact, their investments are only going to ramp up with a potential future target of an Olympic Games in 2036 or 2040, a so-called coming-out party of sorts.”

    In the present, as the battle between the PGA tour and a Saudi-funded renegade competitor ends with a merger, McKee says the priorities of all involved were obvious.

    “It’s clear that both sides are far more interested in collecting a ton of money than anything to do with morality,” he says.

    Brock University Assistant Professor of Sport Management Taylor McKee and Associate Professor Sport Management Michael Naraine are available for media interviews on the topic.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

    * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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    Categories: Media releases

  • Grade 4 students ready to taste business success at Brock

    MEDIA RELEASE: June 5 2023 – R0046

    Niagara’s newest entrepreneurs will be ready with refreshments to satisfy the thirst of customers at Brock University’s main campus this week.

    On Thursday, June 8, Grade 4 students from Glynn A. Green and Stevensville Public Schools will bring their lemonade stands to Brock’s Jubilee Court from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The students have spent the spring receiving an introduction to entrepreneurship, planning the basics of their businesses with the help of Brock’s Goodman School of Business and Goodman Group, its community programming unit.

    Since 2017, the Goodman Lemonade program has been teaching local elementary students the process of building a for-profit business, which culminates with the lemonade sale.

    “This program helps us introduce the concept of entrepreneurship as a career option early in a student’s educational journey,” said Lauren Smith, Goodman’s Student Leadership Co-ordinator.

    “Through the in-class visits and the sale experience, we also get our enthusiastic Goodman student leaders engaging with and supporting the elementary students to help make their first business venture a positive experience.”

    Divided into 12 teams, 60 students will compete to see which group can make the most profit with the seed money they were given. They will use market research they conducted to customize their products and stands in hopes of maximizing their returns.

    FirstOntario Credit Union has partnered with Brock to help students of all ages build financial literacy skills through the development of innovative, student-centred programming. In addition to its support of other Brock financial literacy programming, FirstOntario’s support has helped further develop the Goodman Lemonade program.

    “Our unique partnership supports our focus on connecting with students and helping to build important financial literacy skills in a fun, practical way,” said Joanne Battaglia, Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Communications and Community Partnerships.

    “We are pleased to continue to connect with youth and community leaders such as Brock and the Goodman Lemonade program and to see students get excited about entrepreneurship.”

    Goodman Lemonade is designed to tie into the Grade 4 curriculum, reinforcing concepts students have learned in class this year, including measuring volume, using decimal points, plotting data and making graphs.

    Attendees are asked to bring their change and small bills for their lemonade purchases.

    Goodman Lemonade details:

    Who: Sixty Grade 4 students from Glynn A. Green and Stevensville Public Schools
    What: Twelve teams of students competing for top lemonade sales
    When: Thursday, June 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
    Where: Jubilee Court at Brock University (Free parking available in Zone 1, 2 or 3)

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

    * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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    Categories: Media releases