Phillies CFO Meets Harcum Sports Management Students

Philadelphia Phillies Chief Financial Officer John Nickolas visited the Harcum Bryn Mawr Campus April 22 to speak to students about the $9 billion business of U.S.major league baseball and its impact on our region.

This impact is felt not only from the operations of the Philadelphia Phillies organization but from many minor-league teams in the region that serve as feeders for the major teams.

Nickolas was invited to speak to the SPM 102 class by Adjunct Business Instructor Jock Sommese. Students in the class have been exploring the fundamental principles of the sports industry.

The Phillies CFO is a local Northeast Philly native who attended Temple and West Chester Universities. He settled at WCU “because it looked like a real college campus - and my girlfriend at the time was going there.” Planning to major in psychology, he was encouraged to switch to accounting by his advisor at West Chester. After working at KPMG,LLR and Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. he was hired by the Phillies in 2003 after completing six in depth interviews with the organization.

Nickolas explained to the class that the team’s revenues come primarily from cable television and radio contracts, concessions, ticket sales, advertising and publications, seating (club seats and suites), parking and other site uses such as concert rentals when the stadium is “dark” and no games are scheduled.

The revenue for all MLB baseball in the U.S. is around $9 billion, but roughly fifty percent of that goes to player compensation. Nickolas believes that professional athletes are an elite group (a total of 750 players in all MLB) that are compensated based on the number of people willing to pay to see them excel on the field.

He emphasized to the students that the keys to success in sports management as in any business are hard work, proper dress and occupational curiosity (that is, “asking the questions that help you learn”). The Phillies also value community involvement among their employees, and management encouraged Nickolas to continue coaching his sons’ Little League team when he joined the Phillies.
“You live and die with the team’s wins and losses, but I love working there,” Nickolas said.