Born in Madrid, Emilio Butragueño lived his dream, starring for the local juggernaut Real Madrid from 1982 through 1995 after playing on their youth and B teams. In just 341 games with the team, Butragueño amassed 123 goals with the team, and added twenty-six more in just sixty-nine games with the Spanish National Team. Butragueño would cross the Atlantic to finish his career, playing out his last three seasons with Club Celaya in Mexico.
Now, Butragueño is making an impact in Chicago, as he helps the Kendall College School of Hospitality Management kick-start its new sports management program. The college has entered a partnership with Real Madrid itself, as well as Universidad Europea. The world’s most valuable soccer club has experience in education with the Real Madrid Graduate School that offers its services in thirteen countries.
The new program will offer six courses:
- Business and Economics of Sports Management
- Sports Facilities Management
- Sports Marketing and Communication
- Sports Event Management
- Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Social Responsibility in Sports Management
- Sports Management Law, Governance and Ethics
Emily Williams, President of Kendall College, spoke on the subject:
This partnership is just one example of how institutions in LIU bring best practice curriculum, degree programs and faculty to students worldwide. As a top-ranked hospitality school, it’s important that Kendall continues to bring new opportunities that will have a positive impact on our students’ career paths and position them as top candidates within a thriving industry. Aligning with Real Madrid brings the organization’s 110-year history and extensive knowledge of the many different areas of sports management to Kendall, Chicago and our hospitality students.
“LIU” stands for Laureate International Universities, an organization of which the Real Madrid Graduate School is a member, and covers twenty-nine countries throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe, Africa, and Asia.