JAY-Z’s Roc Nation School of Music, Sports and Entertainment at Long Island University has finally opened its doors to students looking to enhance their education with the media company. The school has been running for a few weeks, and it’s already receiving aid through a new scholarship.
On Wednesday (September 29), NBA Charlotte Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball announced he will be providing a four-year scholarship to a student majoring in Sports Management or Sports Communication & Marketing at the Roc Nation School.
To qualify, prospective students must have scored 1100 on the SAT (or 22 on the ACT) or averaged a B grade or better. Applicants must also submit a written essay that explains where they see themselves in 10 years and how the scholarship would help achieve those plans.
“I want to encourage the next generation of sports executives and leaders to follow their dreams just like I did to make it to the NBA,” the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year said. “I’m fortunate to have the means and public platform to support others, so I want to do my part and create a lane for a student to get a strong education and be in position to make a meaningful impact in the sports industry.”
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Applications for the LaMelo Scholarship formally open on September 29 here and will run through December 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winner will be notified later in December and the scholarship would take effect, starting Fall 2022.
The Sports Communication & Marketing program will allow students to gain experience in sports writing, reporting, broadcasting, promotion, and digital marketing and collaborate closely with LIU’s alumni network, including an exciting list of sports reporters, publicists, and experts.
The Sports Management program prepares students in all aspects of sports management and has them study a wide range of disciplines in the industry, including business, marketing, communications and management. It will also help students sharpen specific skills, such as representation, administration, branding, event planning, and public relations.
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The first professor announced to teach at the Roc Nation School was legendary producer 9th Wonder. During his interview with HipHopDX in June, 9th spoke on teaching Hip Hop in the city that birthed the culture he loves so much.
“It changes the idea of the word field trip,” 9th told HipHopDX. “You know what I mean? I can go and, who knows, man? Just by me saying that out loud, not only we can go to the place where I’m talking about, we can go to Union Square. We can go to, as Nice and Smooth says, 125 and St. Nick. We can go to Queensbridge. We can go to the Cross Bronx Expressway where this whole thing starts. We can go to Bronx River Houses. We can go to Marcy Projects.”
He continued, “We can go to these places and we can walk and talk, and I can lecture while we’re looking at the actual place and it’s unbelievable. I can also call the producer or rapper I’m speaking about and say, ‘Hey, what you doing today, man? Want to come to class and talk to my students?’ You know what I mean?”