A new California Lutheran University club for those seeking a career in the sports industry is coming to fruition this fall.

The Sports Management club, founded by seniors Andrew Shuster and Nick Morser, is only awaiting Associated Students of California Lutheran University Senate approval.

The club will be advised by Director of the School of Management, Bruce Gillies.

“This [club] gives the students the freedom to explore what is going on in the sports management industry on their own,” Gillies said in an email interview.

Shuster, a Business Administration major, said he created the club in hope that it could offer professional benefit and a space for members to build community.

“The main goals being to bring together students who all have the same interests, passions, and mindsets into one club to grow, learn, and find success,” Shuster said in an email interview.

Shuster said though the club hasn’t yet held an official meeting, he has many ideas for the future.

“There are many ideas that we have that can make the club fun, educational, and productive,” Shuster said. “Our plan is to help build networking paths for students through the use of guest speakers throughout the sports industry.”

Shuster and Morser said they faced some challenges through the process of imagining and creating the club.

“A struggle that I think me and Andrew [Shuster] both understood when we started was that we did not know how many people would be willing to join,” Morser said in an email interview. “With the pandemic limiting our contact with students, getting the word out there that this club was forming was a bit of a challenge.”

Morser said since it was a challenge to recruit members while learning virtually, he and Shuster pitched the club in their classes.

“Andrew and I pitched the club to our classes online, and now we have a good amount of students already signed up,” Morser said.

Shuster and Morser said they want their club to help fill the need for niche career clubs at Cal Lutheran. 

“I think it was important to start this club because we realized that Cal Lutheran doesn’t have a whole lot of sports-related clubs,” Morser said. “A lot of times students will give up on a career choice when a path isn’t visible to them and they end up having to decide on a career that they don’t enjoy.”

Shuster and Morser said they encourage students who are thinking about a career related to the sports industry to join the club.

“We wanted to show them that no, they can pursue something that they enjoy, and we are willing to put the time and effort to expose them to knowledge to keep fueling their aspirations,” Morser said.

Students interested in joining can contact Morser or Shuster via email.