JOSH SIEGEL (BSSPM ’24)

Josh Siegel’s (BSSPM ’24) start in the sports industry began well before his time as a Florida Gator. Having grown up as a sports enthusiast playing baseball and hockey, Siegel capitalized on his passion during his junior year of high school and launched a sports memorabilia company where athletes signed collector items in exchange for payment brokered through agents.

In his search for colleges that offered sport management programs, applying to UF was the obvious choice.

“Applying to UF was a no-brainer, knowing Gator athletics,” Siegel said. “Florida athletics, it’s one of the more prestigious programs in the country. I knew there’d be a lot to learn from on campus and that the sport management [program] probably reflected a lot of those values that got Florida athletics to where they are today.”

During his freshman year studying sport management, Siegel’s perspective widened to opportunities in the sports landscape.

“I went to the Jaguars, the Daytona 500 – I shadowed someone there, went to the PGA Tour headquarters,” he said. “I already knew what I wanted to do, and at the same time, UF allowed me to keep my options open to seeing other sides of the business.”

While still a freshman, Siegel continued his thriving memorabilia business – having secured over 30 deals before starting college – and caught the attention of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, or BHSC, a full-service agency that caters to baseball players.

“The call went from talking about one of their players to talking about, ‘Do you want to intern with us this summer?’” Siegel said.

After a summer of learning the ins and outs of working for a fast-paced agency, Siegel was offered the chance to return on a part-time basis.

“The conversation came up at the end of the summer, like, ‘Your story’s great, you did great work, what are your thoughts on doing something part-time while you’re in school?’” Siegel said.

Siegel recalls instructors, like Chris McLeod, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Sport Management, who were supportive and accommodating to his desire to advance in his career while simultaneously completing coursework to fulfill his degree requirements.

In just three years, Siegel graduated with his bachelor’s degree and was brought on full-time by BHSC. 

As part of BHSC’s leadership team in baseball operations, Siegel directly interacts with amateur and professional players, from recruiting, supporting the agency’s winning arbitration team, securing memorabilia deals, and keeping a pulse on the name, image and likeness, or NIL, space.

Siegel’s ongoing passion for the industry continues to propel him to learn as much as he can about the field, with long-term aspirations of becoming a senior agent. When giving advice to prospective sport management students who are early into their career and college journey, he shares simple but critical takeaways from his own experience.

“Spend some time looking online at different aspects of jobs in sports – there are a lot of different sectors, like operations, agents, team-side,” Siegel said. “Initially, get a better understanding of what jobs are out there. When you’re in high school, it’s as simple as connecting on LinkedIn. Literally, connect, send a message, saying, ‘Hey, I’m at UF or planning on going to school here, would love to connect to learn more about your role.’ I think another practice that went a far way, for me, it was a tip that I learned here at UF – after you connect with someone, try and mail them a physical letter saying, ‘Thank you for your time,’ because if you’re a prospective student or a freshman doing calls with these people, you’re sometimes three or four years out looking for an internship or job, you need to do something that’s memorable and writing a letter that’s physical and delivered to them. I think it’s an easy way to make you stand out.”

Read more HHP alumni stories.