Likewise, it demonstrates that for these companies, going head-to-head with the likes of Gatorade and Powerade to compete for the business of teams and leagues may not be the best starting strategy.

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It has become such a big business in fact that professional sports leagues like the NFL have sued smaller companies for the rights to produce merchandise with team logos.

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The concept of game day jersey sponsorship is not new to the business of U.S. professional sports leagues.

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"We have gone from being a highly regarded regional business school to a business school that is playing in the big leagues, " Mr. Salbu says.

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The platform allows teams, leagues and event marketing companies to make smarter business decisions based on what fans are saying in social media.

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Among the 122 franchises in the four major North American pro leagues, more owners graduated from Harvard's business or law school (seven) than any other institution.

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Besides each of the leagues holding informative meetings and committee breakout sessions, the Bob Freitas Business Seminar allowed Minor League Baseball to tackle issues pertaining to topics such as promotions, sponsorship, social media, effective community engagement, media relations, and utilizing minor league ball parks as multi-purpose facilities.

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Get rid of it, he argues, and EA's sports business will be able to get better terms when negotiating for licenses from professional sports leagues.

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