A limited number of tickets for an Oct. 17 lecture by ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas in State College are available for purchase by the general public and Penn State faculty and staff.
The keynote lecture at the State Theatre opens the two-day Intercollegiate Athletics Conference hosted by the Center for the Study of Sports in Society at Penn State. Tickets for the lecture cost $5 and may be purchased online.
Bilas, known for his extensive knowledge of men’s basketball and insightful analysis about the sports industry, joined ESPN in 1995. Bilas is featured on ESPN’s game and studio coverage and has earned Emmy Award nominations for his work. He calls the top men’s college basketball games involving the nation’s marquee teams and conferences.
An attorney who has specialized in commercial litigation, Bilas was a four-year starter (1982-86) at Duke who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks before playing professional overseas for three seasons. He served as an assistant coach at his alma mater in 1991-92. He has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1988.
The two-day conference includes sessions about amateurism, athletic finance, concussions, governance, sponsorship, sports analytics and more. Participants include: Amy Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics; Gene DeFillipo, senior executive director of Turnkey Sports and Entertainment; David Greenspan, a sports and antitrust litigator with Winston & Strawn; Chris Sanders, executive vice president of Learfield/IMG; and Tom McMillen, president and CEO of the LEAD1 Association.
Penn State has a strong presence on the panels and sessions, including Vice President for Athletics Sandy Barbour, men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky and women’s basketball coach Carolyn Kieger.
A complete agenda and registration information for the conference may be found online as well.