We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Lynn Lashbrook. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Lynn below.
Dr. Lynn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW) was founded with a clear vision: to bridge the gap between aspiring sports professionals and the dynamic, fast-paced world of the sports industry, while also helping those already in the field advance their careers. Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, a seasoned sports executive and educator with over 50 years of experience, recognized the challenges that individuals face in breaking into the competitive sports business. Driven by his lifelong passion for developing sports programs and mentoring future leaders, Dr. Lashbrook set out to create an innovative, accessible, and comprehensive educational platform tailored to those eager to pursue or advance careers in sports management.
At the heart of SMWW’s mission is the belief that education should empower individuals with practical knowledge, industry connections, and hands-on experience to thrive in the sports industry. SMWW pioneered the concept of online sports management education, becoming the first institution to offer specialized, interactive courses that provide real-world insights from industry experts. With a faculty composed of experienced sports executives, agents, and analysts, SMWW ensures that students receive up-to-date knowledge and strategies directly from professionals working at the highest levels of sports organizations.
Over the years, SMWW has evolved into a global leader in sports business education, with over 30,000 alumni across 164 countries. The organization’s commitment to innovation is reflected in its diverse range of courses, covering everything from sports analytics and digital marketing to athlete management and front office operations. Whether students aspire to work in professional leagues, collegiate athletics, or sports media, or are looking to advance their current careers, SMWW equips them with the tools and mentorship necessary to succeed.
Beyond education, SMWW’s mission extends to career advancement and networking. Through annual sports career conferences held at major events like the NFL Combine, MLB Winter Meetings, NBA Summer League, NHL Draft, and MLS Coachella Valley Invitational, students gain unparalleled access to industry insiders and decision-makers. Additionally, the SMWW Agency provides aspiring sports agents with the opportunity to represent athletes on a global scale, offering hands-on experience under the guidance of seasoned professionals.
Driven by integrity, innovation, and a deep-rooted passion for sports, SMWW continues to shape the future of sports management education. The organization’s unwavering dedication to student success remains the cornerstone of its mission—to inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of sports industry leaders, while also helping those within the industry take their careers to the next level.
Dr. Lynn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Dr. Lynn Lashbrook is the President & Founder of Sports Management Worldwide, (SMWW) the first ever online sports management school with a mission to educate sports business executives. SMWW under Dr. Lashbrook’s guidance, offers a global faculty of over 50 sports business executives including GM’s, Scouts, Analytic pioneers, Agents, Managing Directors, Sales & Marketing Managers, and Media & Communication leaders. SMWW trains thousands of students every year for sports business careers, including athletes, agents, scouts, player personnel, and other sports industry leaders. Sports Management Worldwide, offers online training, with over 30,000 alumni from over 164 countries. SMWW offers 40 eight week online cutting edge sports business courses including courses in Sports Agency, Analytics, Data Science, Coaching, Scouting, Digital Video Editing, Sports Communications, Cricket, Rugby, and many more. Courses include cutting edge software used by the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, EPL, and MLS.
Lynn has been working and teaching in Sports Management for over 40 years and has demonstrated a lifelong passion for growing dynamic sports programs. He is known for helping students strategize and reach their career goals in the world of sports. His high energy and well known motivating personality has captivated students and athletes. Dr. Lashbrook continues to work as an NFL agent and has personally represented over 120 NFL clients including first rounders including 14 year NFL QB Matt Moore and current Dallas Cowboy WR KaVontae Turpin.
Internationally, Lashbrook is a well-known sports business speaker, having spoken on 5 of 7 continents including India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Israel, Holland, Caribbean, England, Dubai, Belgium, and France. In conjunction with SMWW, Lynn hosts and moderates Sports Career Conferences at annual sporting events including the NBA Summer League Games, NFL Combine, NHL Draft, MLS Draft, Baseball Winter Meetings, Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, NBA G-League Showcase, Toronto PrimeTime Sports Management Conference, RaceTrack Business Conference and NFL London Games. His dynamic and energizing keynotes include diverse topics as “Sports is a Substitute for War” and “You Need a Ticket to the Game to Catch a Foul Ball.” For the legal profession, he provides an online CLE “Winning with Ethics” seminar.
Frequently interviewed and recognized as a sports business expert, Lynn has been featured or appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Baseball America, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Slam, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Hockey News, World Soccer, CNBC, Forbes, and many more.
For over 25 years, Dr. Lashbrook has spearheaded an effort to bring Major League Baseball to Portland, Oregon. In 2003, in an effort to attract the Montreal Expos to Oregon, Lynn led the lobbying efforts that resulted in a $150 million construction bill for a new baseball stadium in Portland. Under his leadership, the group secured legislative action to subsidize a new stadium with ballplayers payroll taxes. Due to this campaign, a 25,000-seat stadium in the heart of the city was revitalized rather than torn down, now home to the MLS Portland Timbers. Lashbrook continues his quest for MLB to PDX, and has been consultant to a variety of groups making attempts to bring MLB to Portland including the Portland Baseball Group, Oregon Stadium Campaign, Oregon Sports Authority, and the most recent effort, the Portland Diamond Project. For over two decades Lynn has generated momentum by engaging numerous architects, HOK, Populous, nationally recognized baseball consultants, baseball attorneys, franchise consultants, MLB executives, government leaders, transportation and logistics experts, lobbyists, and city leaders. Lynn has an insight and expertise for the MLB to PDX effort that is unparalleled. He has been privy to numerous site selection analytics, broadening his understanding of the dynamic economic and market factors at play. Dr. Lashbrook understands the necessary criteria to attract an owner of a team, including funding mechanisms, market affordability, political will, transportation availability, acreage requirements, ease of location to the population, timing constraints and importance of community involvement and MLB’s diversity vision.
Dr. Lashbrook has taught as a professor at numerous universities including, Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon University, Western Oregon University, University of Missouri, Southern Illinois University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Warner Pacific University, and University of Northern Colorado, Springfield College, Fort Hays State University. As an Adjunct Professor at the United States Sports Academy, he was named Professor of the Year in the Distant Learning Program in 2000. His book “Fan Etiquette” offered advice to professional and collegiate sports programs on how to manage fan behavior and is used in sports business classrooms nationwide. His awards include the Meritorious Service Award for Outstanding Performance and Leadership at the University of Alaska and recognition for playing an instrumental role in establishing the first NCAA athletic exchange with Russia, with the Khabarovsk Institute of Sport and Physical Culture. He was awarded The Alumni Achievement Award from his beloved Fort Hays State University. In partnership with Sports Management Worldwide, Dr. Lashbrook has been a special advisor in sports management to creating curriculum and course work for Concordia University Chicago, American Public University, NOVA Southeastern University and NorthCentral University.
In addition to his busy schedule as an online educator, Dr. Lashbrook continues to work as an NFL registered sports agent and has personally represented over 120 NFL clients including first rounders. Lynn is President of Sports Management Worldwide Agency, (SMWW Agency), an international full-service sports agency with over 100 Agent Advisors worldwide. Via SMWW Agency, Lynn has co-represented with numerous agents, advising athletes and agents, negotiating contracts, in all sports including clients in the MLS, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, EPL, MLR, and English Premier Rugby. SMWW Agency prides itself on being the launching pad for undiscovered athletes and agents.
Dr. Lashbrook served at the collegiate level as a coach, scout, recruiter, athletic academic advisor, compliance officer, and athletic director. He was an Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Missouri, before becoming the Athletic Director at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He turned down the AD job at Western Michigan University so he could begin developing his own sports management agency and school. As Athletic Director, Dr. Lashbrook improved athlete graduation rates, increased ticket sales, bettered school participation in athletics, initiated and successfully completed a Student Recreation Center, established the first ever NCAA athletic exchange with Russia, and achieved record levels of fundraising and alumni donations. Dr. Lashbrook understands the importance of ethical leadership and power of the podium and bringing out community spirit through sports. In 1985, Dr. Lashbrook served as President of The National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals, (N4A). As past President of the N4A, Lynn has been back to speak several times at NACDA and N4A annual conventions.
Dr. Lashbrook is well known for his ethical compass, integrity… and puns! He loves meeting people, make sure if you meet him, you introduce, or reintroduce yourself! You will be glad you did!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have had numerous moments in my career where I took leaps of faith, pivoting to explore new opportunities and pursue my goals. I started my journey as a professor and coach before transitioning into administrative roles as an athletic director at multiple institutions. I then moved into the business side of sports as the vice president of an agency group, where I gained valuable experience in athlete representation and sports management. Eventually, I returned to teaching, but along the way, I became an NFL-certified agent, which opened new doors in my career.
Driven by my passion for sports management, I founded Sports Management Worldwide with just one student in my class. Through persistence and vision, I grew the company into a thriving online platform, helping aspiring professionals enter the sports industry. Each career pivot—whether moving from coaching to administration, stepping into the agency world, or starting my own business—was a calculated leap of faith to expand my skill set and achieve greater success.
My journey has been defined by my commitment to growth, adaptability, the pursuit of new challenges, and unwavering integrity.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My reputation within the sports industry has been built on a foundation of bold decision-making, a commitment to integrity, and an drive to pursue growth. Throughout my career, I have consistently taken leaps of faith—whether transitioning from coaching to administrative leadership, stepping into the business side of sports, or taking the entrepreneurial path to create something entirely my own. Each pivot was a deliberate step toward achieving my goals and expanding my impact.
At the core of my approach is my philosophy of “Guthics”—the belief that it takes guts to enforce ethics. This guiding principle has allowed me to make tough decisions, stay true to my values, and cultivate trust within the industry. My vision and persistence have been instrumental in transforming Sports Management Worldwide from a small classroom concept into a thriving online platform that helps aspiring professionals break into the sports industry.
By combining technical expertise with strong interpersonal skills and a relentless pursuit of excellence, I have established a reputation as a leader who not only adapts to change but drives it. My ability to balance innovation with ethical leadership has been key in earning respect and credibility in the industry, allowing me to build lasting relationships and create meaningful opportunities for others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sportsmanagementworldwide.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsmanagementworldwide/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SportsManagementWorldwide/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/school/sports-management-worldwide/
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/SMWW
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SportsManagementWorldwide
- Other: Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@realsmww
Image Credits
All images are owned by SMWW.