Rishe leads students on whirlwind tour of west regional sports venues, organizations

Patrick Rishe, director of WashU Olin's sports business program, recently led a group of students west for the spring sports trek—a whirlwind tour of venues, teams, agencies and other organizations for a behind-the-scenes look at how the industry works.

In Rishe's recap, he notes that students toured 16 company sites representing 22 companies, met 49 industry executives, visited six stadiums and attended three sporting events over the four-day excursion to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Nine students joined Rishe on the trek: Sam Kaplan, BSBA 2026; Jackson Surratt, BSBA 2026; Sarah Ambrose, AB 2024; JP Vanderloo, AB 2027; Adam McLellan-Cassivi, BSBA 2026; Rachel Gwon, AB 2026; Angelo Barozzi, BSBA 2026; Meg Barry, AB 2024; and Jiahao (Jack) Zhang, BSBA 2026.

Here's a brief overview of the days, based on Rishe's posts from LinkedIn:

Day One, March 7

The trek began with SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, where Kristen (Lee) Kolbeck from the Los Angeles Rams and Tony Vroman spent time with us and gave us a stadium tour. Students walked to the NFL Network. Then it was Innovative Partnerships Group, where former student Oliver Chessen led a nice conversation. Colton Reisfelt, MBA was also part of the conversation. Then a visit with friends from Wasserman and LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games. The day concluded with a visit with Los Angeles Kings execs and staff.

Day Two, March 8

We started the day with Andrew Kipper, co-head of golf for Excel Sports Management and WashU MBA and law alum. Then, thanks to an assist from WashU alum Caryn Rosoff, we met with reps from United Talent Agency. Then, thanks to an assist from WashU alum Julie Uhrman and her colleague Claire McCarthy, we visited with reps from Angel City Football Club. Next, on to Oak View Group, where co-founder Timothy Leiweke is a STL native. The day ended with informal fireside chats in Westwood with WashU alum Bob Kane of the World Surf League, WashU alum Brian Gilbert from Village Roadshow, and friend of the program Brian Verne who runs Wave Sports + Entertainment.

Day Three, March 9

This day belonged to the Clippers and LAFC where some big memories were made. First, we visited the Clippers offices and engaged in a virtual tour of the forthcoming Intuit Dome before catching the LA Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls. Then, we received an in-person tour of BMO Stadium before the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) drew an exciting match with Sporting Kansas City.

Day Four, March 10

What a treat to show up to City National Arena in Las Vegas and be greeted by a member of every department from the Vegas Golden Knights organization—where one of their top legal minds is a WashU law school alum, Charles A. "Chip" Seigel III, bringing the number of WashU alums working in sports to 145. Then there was a tour of Las Vegas Ballpark, easily one of the best minor league baseball parks in the country. Thanks to Miller Silbey from the Las Vegas Raiders for spending time with my students for a tour of one of the world's best sports venues and host of the recent Super Bowl. Finally, Big thanks to WashU alum, Hunter Campbell, and his colleagues from Ultimate Fighting Championship for spending time with my students.