What Foundations IsThe College Basketball Operations Foundations program is a focused, 1-on-1 training experience designed to introduce participants to the core responsibilities of college basketball operations. It is built for those who want structured exposure to the field without the cost, time, or scope of the full Fellowship.
This is not a lecture-based course or a traditional mentorship. It is structured, practical, and outcome-driven—built to reflect the real demands of a college basketball operations role.
How This Compares to the FellowshipThe Fellowship provides comprehensive training and decision-making development beyond the scope of the condensed Foundations. Each operational area is covered in depth through instruction, analysis, and applied thinking, allowing Fellows to build the judgment, specificity, and confidence required to step into a college basketball operations role with a higher level of autonomy.
Foundations mirrors the Fellowship’s structure and teaching style—including pre-work and applied discussion—but focuses on the most critical operational areas within a shorter timeframe. As a result, topics are addressed at a broader level, without the depth, repetition, or situational nuance of the Fellowship.
Foundations equips participants to discuss operations confidently in interviews, recognize priorities, and navigate real-world scenarios ahead of many of their peers. For those seeking a higher level of readiness—where stepping into an operations role requires significantly less on-the-job training—the Fellowship provides the depth, repetition, and decision-making development to support that transition.
Who Foundations Is For- Sport management students seeking an introduction to college basketball operations
- Graduate assistants looking to strengthen foundational operations skills
- Early-career professionals exploring whether an operations role is the right fit
Who It Is Not For- High school students (due to NCAA regulations)
- Current women's college basketball players (due to NCAA regulations)
- Individuals pursuing coaching-focused roles
How Foundations WorksFoundations consists of four core modules delivered through 45-60 minute 1-on-1 instructional sessions. Instruction is personalized, practical, and paced flexibly, with most participants completing the program in 1-4 months.
The focus is on foundational operational areas and applied learning through real-world scenarios. Each module includes a required pre-work assignment completed in advance of the session. Pre-work is intentionally challenging and not designed to be completed perfectly. Its purpose is to build anticipatory thinking, expose participants to real-world constraints, and develop sound judgment through problem-solving—mirroring how operations professionals actually learn on the job.
Pre-work is due 72 hours prior to each session, allowing Sarah time to review submissions and use them as the foundation for discussion, feedback, and refinement. Through this process, participants revise their work into polished portfolio pieces that can be used in interviews and as practical reference materials in future operations roles.
Each module session typically includes:
- Instruction on the module’s topic
- Review and discussion of the pre-work assignment
- Analysis of real-world operations scenarios
- Q&A
All work is designed to reflect the expectations and realities of entry-level and early-career operations roles.
What Makes This DifferentMost sport management programs explain
what the job is.
Foundations introduces how the work functions and the decision-making behind it.You’ll work through realistic scenarios, make mistakes in a low-risk environment, and receive direct feedback that helps you think like an operations professional. The emphasis is not just on completing tasks, but on developing sound judgment that transfers across divisions, institutions, and resource levels.
What You’ll Leave WithBy the end of Foundations, participants typically have:
- Foundational work samples from key operations areas
- Clearer understanding of day-to-day operations responsibilities
- Early exposure to operations decision-making
- Increased confidence discussing operations in interviews or conversations
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