The annual Northwest Sports Summit will be held on Nov. 17. This year’s theme is strategy and storytelling in sports. 

The summit will be hosted by CWU Northwest Center for Sport and will create an opportunity for students to build networks with sports business professionals and learn about careers through panels. 

Just over 100 people attended the summit in 2021,  which was the first in-person summit. In 2020, it was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Northwest Center for Sport Director Sean Dahlin said he is looking forward to another great turnout this year. 

“We’re always pushing the limit. This year we’re hoping for about 125-150 [attendees] but we’re always pushing that limit,” Dahlin said.

The summit will feature various panelists from all over the country who are yet to be announced, but CWU alumni are expected to play a big role as well. 

“We will have a speed networking session in-between our first and second panel, and so we’ve been inviting and getting a lot of confirmations of alumni that will be coming back because they really want to talk to our students, so we’re excited about that,” Dahlin said. 

The keynote speaker for this year has been announced to be Seattle Seahawks Assistant Running Backs Coach Amanda Ruller, who was recently awarded the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship in the NFL.

“We’re really excited to bring her to campus, big advocacy for women in sports and women in coaching and she has a bunch of energy so we’re excited to have her as keynote speaker,” Dahlin said. 

Northwest Center for Sport’s mission is to provide networking opportunities, professional development and to connect students with the sports industry. In the past, they have hosted guest speakers from the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, PGA Tour, ROOT sports and more. 

As an organization, Northwest Center for Sport also holds a student trip yearly which involves attending career fairs and touring professional sports venues to give undergraduate and graduate sports management students good experiences and networking opportunities. 

The summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the SURC. Registration is free and more information can be found on their website. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-northwest-sport-management-summit-tickets-439213688967