Richard Dent renewed his commitment to the Sport Management concentration by donating $15,000 towards the Sport Management scholarship fund. With this additional donation, the scholarship fund now totals $80,000 – $40,000 from Richard Dent’s Make-a-Dent Foundation and a matching amount from Columbia College Chicago.

Richard Dent

      Arguably, however, Dent’s biggest contribution to the concentration lies not in his monetary donations, but in his willingness to publicly endorse the program to the press. “It has been a big booster for our concentration,” states Ravanas. “Out of the 35 students already enrolled in the program – twice the enrollment originally scheduled for this semester – almost half have mentioned that they heard about our association with Richard Dent, and that this had positively influenced their opinion of our program.”

      Dent has agreed to be part of the Sport Management program’s steering committee, and plans to again come to Columbia to speak with the students personally. Cheryl Crockett, Director of the Make-a-Dent Foundation, told the press “Richard loves the program at Columbia because it gives the opportunity for students to get involved in the business.”

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      The 2005 Sport Management scholarship winners are Mia Umanos and Bryan Marshall who were chosen for their passion for the sports industry. This marks the second year that Sport Management scholarships were distributed.