University of San Francisco
College of Arts and Sciences
MA in Sports Management
Statement of Purpose
KDecember 30, 2015
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, it is becoming clear that Japan has not yet taken
full advantage of the immense opportunity that this event offers. This is due to the fact that there arecomparatively few companies in Japan with expertise in the sports industry, and in particular, in sports
marketing and event planning. Therefore, I believe that there is enormous potential for growth anddevelopment in these fields, and I hope to become an industry leader by bringing the best practices insports management and marketing from the US to Japan.
As a college student, I worked part-time at a number of sports venues, and I frequently observed alack of preparation and accommodations that reflects the underdevelopment of Japan’s sports industry.
For example, I worked as a staff member at a friendly game held at the Tokyo Dome between two MLBteams. Despite the fact that the game included many foreign visitors, few staff members could speak
English. In addition, the venue featured seats that were often too small and the food selection was toonarrow and catered almost exclusively to Japanese tastes, including only ramen or hamburgers.
I also had the opportunity to observe the many inefficiencies facing Japanese sports management.
When I worked as an assistant manager at a game for Club World Cup at Nissan Stadium, there weremore than 500 part-time staff members hired for this game, but most did not understand their tasks andwe did not have adequate time to train them. Because the stadium relied on part-time workers, it invested
little in their training and preparation. I believe that this lack of professionalism at sports venues
negatively affects the popularity of sports events in Japan, which is why most people stay home andwatch games on television.
Since graduating, I have gained experience planning, managing and evaluating events for mycompany, Hitachi Solutions. I organized seminars and exhibitions to sell cloud services, and I wasresponsible for planning our seminar agenda, analyzing target companies and managing events. I wasinvolved in every aspect of event execution, from preparing the content for our seminars to contacting
industry leaders like Trend Micro and Amazon to invite speakers. During seminars, I managed everythingfrom start to finish to ensure that every aspect, from the venue preparation to the order of speakers, ransmoothly.
Running these events, I realized that I could apply my experience in event management andexecution to the Japanese sports industry to help promote and popularize live events and other sports
products. I believe that this kind of professional expertise, combined with practices imported from theAmerican sports industry, could revolutionize sports in Japan and lead to much greater attendance atsports venues.
With the skills I will gain in graduate school, my short-term goal will be to work in an
independent market research and consulting firm in the US such as Chime Sports Marketing, theLeverage Agency, or RTR Sports Marketing. My role would be to help companies identify target markets
for their events and products, and provide a suite of services, such as management consulting, marketingstrategy implementation, and support services. This may include hands-on support for event planning andexecution as well. I especially want to focus my expertise around the use of evolving social media
technologies for branding and market development.
In the long term I plan to return to Japan to leverage my experience from the much moredeveloped sports market in the US in order to popularize live sporting events. Currently, Japanese sports
fans watch events on television, but they are much less likely to attend games. One solution may be forvenues to provide additional attractions and entertainment for attendees. Additionally, Japanese
consumers tend not to integrate sports into their lifestyle; for example, compared to the US, few Japanesepeople exercise regularly. Also, college sports are not nearly as competitive or as well-marketed as in theUS. By targeting these areas for marketing and development, we can promote growth in the country’s
sports industry.

Ultimately, I plan to establish my own sports marketing company and promote the field of sports
management in general. Compared to the US, Japan has very few sports marketing companies oracademic programs in sports business. By applying the lessons I learn from the US sports industry, I canlead growth in this field in Japan and provide marketing and consulting services for teams and otherbusinesses.
Establishing the sports marketing field in Japan will be an immense task, and I will necessarilyneed a deep expertise in a number of business and sports-related fields. These include marketing
management, market research and event management. I will also need to gain practical experience andcontacts within the field through internships. Graduate study abroad will be the best way for me to gain
this knowledge while learning about sports industry practices from many different countries and markets.
Given my interests, I know that the USF program offers me an outstanding opportunity to gain
both theoretical and practical expertise in sports marketing, management and related fields. Not only will
I be able to gain essential skills in leadership, communication and decision-making in the context of thesports marketplace, but I will also learn how to develop an effective business and financial plan that will
help me establish my own company in the field. Courses such as Sports Marketing, Event Management &Marketing, and Social Media in Sports will be directly applicable to my future work. I am particularly
eager to learn from professors with extensive professional experience in the US sports industry, such asProfessors Daniel Rascher and Nola Agha.
Furthermore, by taking advantage of the Internship in Sports Management program, I will be able
to directly apply what I learn in the classroom. With its balance of theoretical and practical study, USF’sprogram will provide me with the ideal preparation to break new ground in sports marketing in Japan.