UMass Amherst faculty working with Japan's PLM

Pacific League MarketingPLM CEO Tom Negishi

UMass Amherst’s sport management department recently held an educational event with Pacific League Marketing, which was established in '07 as a joint capital investment by the six teams in Japan's Pacific League, one of two divisions in the country's top baseball league (NBP). Well-known title sponsors of Pacific League clubs include Rakuten and SoftBank, among others. Over two days, from July 27-28, more than 300 attendees tuned into the virtual event as UMass Amherst sport management faculty -- seven different instructors and academics -- presented their findings on consumer behavior, sports marketing and the pandemic's impact on the sports ecosystem, among other topics. UMass Amherst McCormack Center for Sport Research & Education Director Will Norton said that he hopes to continue the partnership with PLM into '22. A UMass Amherst sports management alumnus, Blue United CEO Takehiko Nakamura, helped broker the university's partnership with PLM.