Boston Red Sox and HUSL: The Fenway Park Experience
The Harvard Undergraduate Sports Lab came back for another incredible event with the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group. HUSL brought 50 members to Fenway park for an opportunity to gain insight on marketing, development, and philanthropy within these organizations.
Tai Tatum ‘24, co-founder of HUSL with Ayah Al-Zubi ‘23, introduced Sam Kennedy, President of Boston Red Sox and Adam Grossman, Chief Marketing Officer of the Boston Red Sox. After thoughtful insight on entering the sports business industry and sharing a few laughs with HUSL members, they turned over the floor to a marketing panel featuring Tim Heintzelman, Beatriz Lopex, Kelsey Doherty, and Rachel Blackman. These four led a conversation on what marketing means at the Boston Red Sox and how innovation is in constant trend at the Red Sox. A major component of the conversation focused on strategy and fan engagement both in and off-season, and how to utilize social media to reach their global audience. They panel also emphasized the versatility of Fenway Park, and the unique marketing opportunities it presents.
Then, HUSL members moved to a panel about the Red Sox Foundation with Jennifer Jacob, Matt McCarthy, and Alex Young. Here, students learned about how closely the Foundation works with other non-profit groups as well current and retired players to support the community. The panel also covered how the Foundation changed and improved their strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, the panelists emphasized the importance of building community and offered HUSL members the opportunity to get involved via volunteering.
To follow, students engaged in a conversation with members from the Fenway Sports Management Team: Samantha Barkowski ‘14, Keon Mesghali, and Miles Shipp. This panel featured a conversation on acquisition strategy and finding teams that fit the Fenway Sports Group Brand. Tatum ‘23 asked the panel on their experience expanding internationally, and how they have had to adjust their strategy. In response, Keon Mesghali emphasized the importance of working across seas to have people domestically and internationally, and noted that “you need people on the ground to understand the different cultures.” The discussion also touched on how FSG’s properties can create exciting opportunities for the group such as the Winter Classic as well as other events and collaborations.
After all of these insightful conversations, HUSL members were led on a private tour through the historic Fenway park. Students learned many fun facts about the oldest ballpark in America and got an exclusive look from inside the press box. Overall, the experience allowed students to learn more about the sports business industry and how they can get involved. Tring Hoang ‘23, a student-athlete at Harvard playing softball, noted, “The HUSL event with the Red Sox was a great opportunity to get exclusive insight on the different opportunities in the sports industry. It was incredible to hear directly from senior executives in different departments who each had unique experiences to share with aspiring students who hope to one day be in their places. As a collegiate softball player, seeing all the administrative efforts involved in keeping baseball America’s favorite pastime was both eye-opening and inspiring and I hope to one day be a part of it. I’m very grateful for HUSL!”
Ayah Al-Zubi (AB ‘23) and Tai Tatum (AB ‘24) co-founded HUSL together in 2022 with the objective of showing the community the power and possibility in sports. The founders are committed to creating a long lasting impact at Harvard and beyond in the field of sports.
Learn more about the Harvard University Sports Lab Here or email harvardsportslab@gmail.com. Photography by Dylan Goodman.
