ANN ARBOR— The Sports Education Society at the University of Michigan is hosting a symposium, ” Breaking the Mold,” on April 22 that will examine career opportunities in the sports industry and focus on the interaction between education and sports.

Designed for high school and university students, the symposium was developed ” to create a forum where high school student-athletes, college student-athletes and their parents will have an opportunity to become better informed about the student-athlete’s unique position, and to become more sophisticated in managing their academic, post-graduate and post-athletic careers,” says Walter J. Lanier, co-founder of the Sports Education Society and a third-year law student at U-M.

Among the issues to be examined are the role of women in the sports industry, future careers and educating student- athletes to look beyond playing professional sports.

” The sports industry is powerful and successful,” says Lanier. ” Unfortunately, many people fail to consider the diverse career opportunities in it. Many of today’s youth have dreams of ‘making it big’ in sports and too many limit their vision to becoming a professional athlete. But professional athletics is not the only successful career path in the sports industry. ”

Sponsored by the U-M’s Law School, Division of Kinesiology and Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the symposium will feature speakers and participants from the National Basketball Association, National Football Association, the Atlanta Olympic Committee, Turner Broadcasting, CNN, Upper Deck, USA Basketball, Coopers & Lybrand, Smith Barney, Alexander & Associates, IMG, Constangy, Brooks and Smith, NIKE, and the universities of Minnesota and Virginia.

For more information and registration materials, contact Lanier at (313) 913-9802; fax: (313) 763-3749.

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