Photo by: Niles Garrison, Features Editor

By: Niles Garrison, Features Editor

The Morehouse Sports Business Association (MSBA) hosted its second annual Morehouse Sports Business Conference on Saturday. The event featured panel discussions, workshops and a recruiting business fair for those who attended. MSBA wanted to increase the conference experience with sponsorship, panelists, and attendees; a set goal they met.

“We had three to four sponsors last year and increased that to seven this year,” Anthony George II, a senior and president of MSBA, stated. “We have four out of five major leagues this year as sponsors. We increased our numbers from 185 to over 300 people registered and have gained more notoriety.”

A team of students and advisors helped put the conference together. Many factors go into creating the event, such as marketing, and communication and Shawn Johnson ’23 contributed to all those factions. As an alumni advisor, Johnson made sure everything was well-organized and helped promote the event, so the organization reached its potential. With his experience in the Atlanta Braves communication team, Johnson hopes to help the conference in its expansion.

“We are looking to keep increasing our attendees,” Johnson said. “We are also looking to see more branding of our conference across the city, across the region, and the HBCU network in the southeast region.”

The conference brought an abundance of intriguing panelists. “A Candle In The Dark” honoree and Morehouse man Rashaun L. Williams ’01 came to the stage to give his words of wisdom and discuss his career with the attendees. Williams donated his salary for the next four years to Morehouse at “A Candle In The Dark.” His stories on his upbringing and lessons inside his field had AUC students taking notes.

“Learning faster than others to stand out, getting people to like you in your industry, and finding ways to help those in higher positions are three ways to help yourself in a job setting,” Williams said.

Maroon Tiger alum and Spelman alumna Zoria McClerklin ’24 was a panelist and moderator at the conference. McClerklin, having an early career in sports, spoke to attendees on the different approaches to enter the sports industry. She moderated “The On-Air Talent Workshop” with former Clark Atlanta student Janerika Owens and sports broadcaster Autumn Johnson where students learned the do’s and don’ts of talking on-air. McClerklin aspires to give back to her community and her appearance was another step in that direction.

“The AUC has poured so much into me,” McClerklin said. “It is super important to me to give back to my community. A lot of people here are my peers so continuing to connect is needed.

The conference included numerous networking opportunities with CEOs, vice presidents and members of diversity, equity and inclusion offices. The day also rounded up with a recruiting fair that included recruiters from the Atlanta Braves, U.S. Soccer, NBA, OTE, and many more.

After another successful year from MSBA and their sports business conference, George wants next year’s conference to be greater.

“Our first year we started well, year two has been great for us but I feel year three will be better than ever,” George said.

Copy Edited by Rece Allen, Sports Editor