Big Bling: World Series rings a result of world-class education
October 19, 2009
The super-sized ring of 14-karat white gold has 103 diamonds and a ruby inlay topped with the team's signature letter P. "I've waited 25 seasons to get this ring," Kurt Funk '85 says, "and it all started with UMass."
Funk is talking about the 2008 World Series championship ring he earned as an employee of the Philadelphia Phillies. Funk, in charge of the team's marketing, programs, and events, is one of five current or former Phillies employees whose path to a World Series ring started in Amherst.
UMass Amherst has a longstanding Phillies connection. The first student to intern with the team was Dennis Mannion '80, now president and COO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Once Dennis got in, he established credibility for our program and made it easier for others to follow," says Glenn Wong, the sport management professor who placed Mannion as well as Funk and Tobin in Phillies internships.
Begun in 1974, the UMass Amherst sport management department at the Isenberg School of Management is one of the oldest in the country and, consequently, has sturdy industry connections. Says Wong: "We have more than 30 years of graduates, and many of them are now at leadership levels. For example, 30 to 40 of our alumni are athletic directors at colleges."
Professor Mark McDonald, director of sport management internships, says that the weak economy is actually boosting opportunities. "Companies are taking full-time jobs and turning them into positions for interns," he says.
This summer was a boom season, with UMass Amherst interns at the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Knicks, University of Rhode Island, and Octagon sports agency, among many other placements. Says Glenn Wong, "Once alumni are at work in organizations like these, they go out of their way to help others from UMass."
When Funk lined up beside four others from his alma mater wearing their championship rings for a group photo, it wasn't the dazzle of the diamonds that made the moment meaningful, but his memories of the quarter-century of work he's done for the Phillies. "It was an absolutely fantastic feeling," he says.
Source: University Relations
At top: Phillies front office UMies sport their World Series rings: Kurt Funk '85, marketing, programs, and events; Rob Holiday '87 (hospitality and tourism management), assistant director of scouting; Gene Dias '87 (journalism), director of community relations; Eric Tobin '89 (sport management), director, event operations; and Jamie Trout '00 (sport management), manager, marketing programs.
