On Saturday, the Wharton Sports Business Club announced that John Middleton would be the closing keynote speaker at its star-studded conference on Nov. 8. The Havertown, Pa. native will hold a 40-minute chat with a 10-minute Q&A period.
Middleton, the managing partner and principal owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, has been the “control person” for the Phillies since 2016. According to his biography, he has aimed to “set the franchise on course to contend for world championships and to preserve the club’s reputation as a world-class organization both on and off the field.”
Within the past two weeks, Middleton has sold a partial stake of the Phillies to other investors ahead of a major offseason in which the Broad Street Bombers may look to make a pricey splash in free agency.
The conference also featured speakers like Taylor Jenkins, a 2007 Wharton graduate and coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, and former Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris in the past. The club’s goal is to educate students on the intricacies of the sports business world while also helping them earn careers in the field.
“The sports business summit is our club’s highlight of the year. We want to show Penn students career paths within the sports business industry and having amazing keynote speakers like John Middleton is a great way to attract people to our events,” Wharton Sports Business Club Co-President and Wharton junior Bruno Basner said in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
The Phillies also have an on-field Penn connection. This offseason, the team acquired former Penn baseball pitchers and 2024 graduates Eli Trop and Ryan Dromboski, with both currently in the farm system.
Those interested in registering for the conference can visit the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative website.
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