He isn’t trying to become a professional baseball player, but BYU Marriott School of Business senior Cole Bourne hopes that both “professional” and “baseball” still end up in his future job description. As his lifelong passion for baseball has transitioned into enthusiasm for sports analytics, Bourne says he wants to bring the joy he feels for sports to others through business.
Bourne developed his enthusiasm for baseball as a child, but his relationship with the sport changed when a baseball hit his eye during a club tournament in sixth grade. The doctor didn’t see signs of a concussion—but he did find signs of a brain tumor that was only days away from causing a stroke. The tumor was removed, and with it, Bourne says, some of his baseball potential.
“My body just couldn’t do the same things after that,” Bourne says. After months of working through physical therapy, he was able to play again with a little league club team. “But I was probably never at the level where I would have been without the tumor,” Bourne says. So, while he continued to play, he became increasingly interested in baseball analytics. When he played for his high school’s team, he also contributed to the team by tracking their statistics.
As he paid more attention to data like batting averages and win-loss records, Bourne began thinking of a career in sports business. During his first semester at BYU, he joined the Sports Business Club and participated in a case competition. “I really fell in love with case competitions from that point,” Bourne says. “I remember being so surprised when I found out that people get to do that kind of work for a job—they just solve problems.” Bourne says that the work of consulting complemented his strengths, and he was drawn to the data analytics and teamwork involved in BYU Marriott’s strategy program.
To prepare for a career in sports business, Bourne incorporates sports-related opportunities into his student experience. His honors program thesis explores the sports business industry, and Bourne worked in the industry first-hand in Mexico City as part of an internship through the Leventhal Fellowship. He also spent the summer before his junior year working with the Red Sox team in Boston, learning more about how marketing works for professional teams. “I realized the entertainment economy is huge—so many people bringing in money means that it has a great opportunity to bless a lot of lives,” Bourne says.
Bourne says he wants to implement more than just sports in his career; he also wants to incorporate principles of the gospel. One class that Bourne says has helped him is MSB 300: Leadership and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, taught by NAC Professor of Business Kim Clark. “Jesus Christ was the perfect leader, and there’s so much we can learn about leadership from him that applies in all facets of our life, including business leadership,” Bourne says.
Implementing Christlike leadership principles is one of Bourne's goals as a vice president of the Management Consulting Association and as copresident of the BYU Marriott Student Leadership Advisory Council. “Learning about Christlike leadership definitely has made me a lot more empathetic, a lot more patient with those around me, and a lot more aligned to helping the people around me grow,” he says.
Bourne says he feels motivated to follow the example of Jesus Christ and positively influence the lives of others, and that desire led him to add a minor in global and community impact through the Ballard Center for Social Impact. “Something I really want to do is generate positive impact in the world through whatever organization I’m working for.”
In the future, Bourne hopes to work for a major league baseball team in Salt Lake City. But, since such a team doesn’t currently exist, Bourne figures he has time to prepare. In the meantime, he plans to work in consulting and earn an MBA. “With sports business, I would be bringing something to people's lives that brings them a lot of joy,” Bourne says. Quoting 2 Nephi 2:25 in the Book of Mormon, Bourne continues, “‘Men are that they might have joy,’ and I want to do all that I can to bring that joy to those around me.”
