As a starry-eyed 19-year-old college student who wanted to work in basketball after finishing school, Buddy Scott remembers looking into Sports Business Classroom (SBC) on its website with a single thought.

“The price point seemed high to me,” Scott said. “I couldn’t imagine at that point anything being worth the cost, no matter how much I wanted to be there.”

The financial aspect of SBC may put some potential participants on the fence (despite the available payment plan). But after speaking with some of the program’s alumni, heeding their advice to “invest in his future,” Scott decided to sign up and quickly discovered that SBC immersed him into the ideal atmosphere.

“It sounds cliche, but going from a big fish in a small pond in terms of my basketball knowledge to a small fish in a big pond at Summer League [in Las Vegas] was the experience that lit a fire under me to work towards my basketball dreams,” he said.

At SBC, Scott found himself in conversations with NBA personnel he never dreamt he’d have access to – executives like Tommy Sheppard (general manager of the Washington Wizards), Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks) and Mike Zarren (assistant general manager of the Boston Celtics), among many others.

The direct access to league personnel, people he wouldn’t imagine how to connect with, made Scott realize that the value of SBC far exceeded any cost associated with the program.

“The two most valuable parts of attending SBC are that it creates a signaling effect to employers that you are a serious candidate,” Scott said. “And it allows you to make a good impression on people that matter in the basketball world.”

Since attending SBC in 2019, Buddy has earned work opportunities with the NBA Players Association, an NBA agency, a start-up investing in young NBA players, and the Las Vegas Summer League itself (as an intern in 2021). Each successive step culminated in his newest opportunity as a basketball operations strategy Intern with the Boston Celtics.

Scott had met Zarren at SBC in 2019, then re-connected with the Boston executive at the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League. The two kept in touch, and a few months later, Buddy found himself beginning his journey with one of the most historic franchises in the league.

“After completing the program, I realized it was such a worthwhile investment in my future. I cannot recommend SBC enough.” Scott said. “My main advice is to be a sponge soaking up as much information as you can and to make a good impression on everyone you meet. Even if it’s a fellow student, you never know who will be in a position to give you a job opportunity someday.”

It’s safe to say that Buddy invested in his future, and it’s already paying off.

So, why not you?