We Have Sports Inside Us

Mens sana in corpore sano. Roughly translated as, "A healthy mind in a healthy body," how many times has this ancient phrase been repeated? But, not to contradict Roman poet Juvenal, how often is it actually applied, especially in our part of the world? In Italy, for example, academics and athletics are often considered opposing activities, especially after a certain age. You can focus on either one or the other. But examples that contradict this theory do exist, and not all are recent. Bocconi, for instance, boasts several sports stars among its alumni.

The first is perhaps Sandro Riminucci, born in 1935, a 1960 graduate in Economics and Commerce. "The Blonde Angel" of Italian basketball, he won 9 championships and the historic Champions Cup in 1966 with Olimpia Milano, and he participated in the Rome Olympics in 1960, as well as European and World Championships with the national team. Another, same sport and same team, is Vittorio Gallinari. Winner of 4 championships and 1 Champions Cup with Olimpia, he dominated continental basketball in the '80s, "with coach Dan Peterson who met me halfway," he recalls, "when I told him that I wanted to leave basketball to focus on my academics. I did both and when I retired I was the first basketball agent to have a degree in Business Administration from Bocconi (1986), with enormous advantages.” Then there is Alberto Schiavon, snowboard star, who went to the Olympics twice (Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010), participated in the World Championships four times and won the World Championships in the home of the Canadian masters. He graduated with a degree in Finance in 2002, and is now involved in his sport from an organizational point of view. He is also the only Italian athlete to make it to the top three at the X Games. And, up to present day, Eleonora Giorgi won the world bronze in the 50km racewalk, and already has three Olympics under her belt (London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021). She has a BSc in Business Administration and Management and an MSc in Economics and Management of Public Administration and International Institutions, as well as numerous titles and national records in a sport where “you have to train hard and make a thousand sacrifices. But of course they're not real sacrifices, because you're doing what you like." 

But there are many other student athletes who have attended and attend the campus, Italian champions in youth and adult categories in fencing, swimming, athletics, basketball, volleyball, horseback riding and much more, who have all been able to successfully pursue both engagements at the same time. But at Bocconi, sports are not played only on the field, on the court or in a swimming pool. “Sports at our university are also in the classroom,” says Rector Gianmario Verona, “because over the years this sector has become an extraordinary generator of new knowledge for many industries. As it has evolved, the sport system has not only economic implications, but also social and cultural ones. For this reason, with a team of passionate faculty, over the past few years we have developed a dedicated approach, in which research and teaching can guide the actions of people, companies and institutions. This has been not only at the graduate level in some Master of Science programs, but also in post graduate programs at the SDA Bocconi School of Management." 

Bocconi increasingly believes in sport as a training model that complements classes, as testified by the 2003 foundation of the Bocconi Sport Team association. Athletics, men's 5-a-side and 11-a-side soccer, women's 5-a-side soccer, lacrosse, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, boxing, rugby, equestrian and water sports, tennis and golf are currently offered, practiced at competitive, amateur and university levels, with teams participating in national and international championships and tournaments. "Bocconi Sport started out as the Pellicani Basketball Amateur Association and is currently an amateur sports club called Bocconi Sport Team SSD arl," explains Roberto Grassi, President of Bocconi Sport. "Its aim is to organize and promote sports activities for the Bocconi community." Currently activities are divided into two major areas, participation in competitive competitions organized by Federations and participation in more amateur competitions with CUS and other organizations promoting sports. There are also several internal events such as Bocconi Sport Days and the Bocconi Soccer Cup which involve hundreds of students every year. The crown jewels? “Definitely the men's basketball team, which plays in the C Gold series, the men's and women's volleyball teams, participating in the FIPAV regional championships, and the men's 5-a-side soccer team, currently in C2. There is also,” Grassi continues, “the lacrosse phenomenon, where the Bocconi team has been Italian champion several times.”  

The large and modern Bocconi Sport Center will certainly be a great inspiration for this diverse blend of activities already in place. Representing the last piece of the urban campus, the Sport Center will be inaugurated on 18 September. 

 From sports played on the field to sports studied in the classroom. "Because of the values they convey, sports are a fundamental component in a student's education,” says Dino Ruta, head of the Sport Knowledge Center at SDA Bocconi School of Management. “At Bocconi and SDA we promote the culture of sport management, because sports is a universal language, a fundamental part of our life.” In particular, one of the majors in the Master of Science in Management is dedicated to sport management, while an important post-experience program is the International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport (FIFA Master). Organized by FIFA, in addition to SDA Bocconi, other partners include the De Montfort University in Leicester and the Universitè de Neuchatel, and it placed first in Europe and third in the world in the SportBusiness International Global Rankings. Many star athletes have sat in the SDA Bocconi classrooms to attend its executive programs, including: Javier Zanetti, Clarence Seedorf, Danilo Gallinari and Ivan Ramiro Cordoba. All stars who have chosen Bocconi to provide momentum and a solid foundation to their careers. Their new careers, that is, outside the stadiums and arenas and, often, out of the limelight.