Sports Business Simulations Inc. Launches First-of-a-Kind Web Network of
Sports Organization Simulators

Simulations Offer College Students Unique e-Learning Application in the Classroom

Oakland, Calif. (June 18, 2003) –Today, a business, that is sure to revolutionize the way college students experience and learn how to manage an actual professional sports team, announced it’s web home is open for the season. Oakland-based, Sports Business Simulations Inc. (SBS), is a break-through company offering a first-of-a-kind network of web-based sports team management simulators. Allowing students, and fantasy sports fans alike, passage into an exciting environment where they can almost replicate the economics of running their own professional sports team, such as trying different business strategies and attempting to overcome a poorly attended season. In the classroom, trying to beat a peer’s score, not only makes learning fun, but also could make the difference between a student’s team ending in a winning season, or another long year playing in an old stadium. Although officially launching with two simulators, XFL Simworld and the Oakland Baseball Simworld, the SBS network has already been beta-tested in the classroom. The web site is at www.sportsbusinesssims.com

“Our unique simulations are designed to meet the University professor needs in the classroom as an e-learning device while teaching sports management or economics, while still be stimulating for the student,” says Zenophon Abraham, founder and CEO of SBS. “Where the vast majority of sports simulations attempt to mimic the field of play, SBS’s simulations represent the business of managing an actual sports team.”

Addressing a critical need in the classroom for sports management, business or economist majors, SBS provides a suite of simulations allowing future league managers and owners the closest way to attempt “running” a sports organization. For just $27, a student has use of SBS simulators for an entire class semester or quarter, and fantasy sports players can join for the same price over a three month period.

“When many graduate or undergrad students first join my classroom, they have no idea how complex it is to run an actual sports team,” says Daniel Rascher, co-founder and CMO of SBS, who is also one of the top sports economists nationwide. “Sports management involves more economics and business knowledge than most people would expect. SBS simulations allow students to try different business strategies and evaluate their successes or failure in a fun and revolutionary way.”

Professor Rascher, Director of the Sport Management Program at the University of San Francisco, had his students run a number of rounds of the Oakland Baseball Simworld through a beta test this spring and then write papers on the best way to manage a team’s business. Today there is nothing like this being used in the classroom, and students of beta testing are thrilled to have a complementary tool to their textbooks.

The simulators work like this: all primary aspects of operations for a sports team are represented to some extent, but in a simple form so even the tech novice can easily use the web-based products. Where the complexity of the simulators comes in is from the large number of considerations common in the operation of a professional sports organization. The player decides what direction to take the team, making choices about everything from building a new stadium, increasing the marketing budget to what they want to pay individual team players.

Once the first year is over, the web page will “refresh” and the results for that season of the players’ job as team owner will appear in a graph chart. From here, professors and students can analyze what happened and how to improve performance in the future. To achieve a good score, the player must keep Net Operating income over zero as often as possible, increase the Franchise Value, and build a new stadium, which isn’t always possible without the right funds or political backing.

SBS simulators uses the Forio Broadcast Simulation Engine. Through a strategic alliance with Forio Business Simulations SBS is hosted by Forio, and sports models are built using Forio Macro Language (FML). The online-based nature of the simulations allows for instant upgrading and improvement. Content is quickly and seamlessly updated to ensure the best user experience.

About Sports Business Simulations

Based in Oakland and established in January 2003, Sports Business Simulations, is a private Delaware company, which has designed and developed a network of web-based simulators, based on actual sports organizations and environments. The “SBS World” contains its first two products, the XFL Simworld and the Oakland Baseball Simworld.

###

Click here for a downloadable version