Teaching Profile: David Abrams

Rina Deshpande
3 hours ago
4 min read

Using case modeling and storytelling to analyze sports business trends

David Abrams

Clinical Associate Professor

Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport

NYU SPS Teaching Excellence Award, 2017, 2024

Nexus: What do you teach?

David: I have taught twelve different courses at NYU SPS since 2015. This semester (Fall, 2025), I am teaching three courses in the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport: Organizations in Sports, Financial Management & Accounting in Sport, and Advanced Special Project: Capital Markets and Investments in Sport.

I especially enjoy teaching graduate and undergraduate courses like Capital Markets, as they are based on current market trends in sports finance. I also enjoy teaching Contracts & Negotiations since I am principally in charge of negotiating sports facilities agreements.

Nexus: What teaching practice, activity, or technology do your students benefit from the most which you recommend to other faculty members?

David: I would recommend the following best practices to faculty:

Current Events: I have students follow current events to describe financial activities for students. We often listen to live deliberations of City Council and other elected officials as they determine their course of action with sports enterprises.
Storytelling: I like storytelling to explain a real-world situation or to introduce a difficult problem analysis in sports. Then, in groups, partners, or as a whole class, we discuss potential responses to the problem and evaluate them. My goal is to put students into the decision making process in a low-risk environment with maximum ability to come up with potential responses and outcomes.
Case Studies: We also use prior financings as case studies (NYU login required) to promote active learning. For example, I plan group projects based on case studies to put the student into the position of the CFO regarding the decision making process of investments in stadiums, teams, and other sports-anchored real estate. I have used the actual development of select arenas like the Amerant Bank Arena in South Florida, the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, as well as stadiums in Houston, Atlanta and Nashville.
Microsoft Excel Case Modeling: I use Microsoft Excel case modeling in several classes to allow students to learn data-based problem solving. For example, I used a ticketing model that tracks how customers book tickets, view availability, and manage their accounts as it relates to a case study focused on estimating the revenue from The Master’s Golf Tournament.
Multimedia Learning: I provide Youtube videos, such as Sports Business Journal’s Inside the Industry Youtube series, and ask students to evaluate issues in sports business. I have also used the Youtube Series, From the Ground Up, which chronicles the development of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Nexus: How has your teaching and/or your industry changed since the emergence of generative AI?

David: The influence of AI in the sports space is evolving, as it is in many industries. The sports ecosystem is slow to adopt new technology. However, the growth of AI in data analytics in the past decade has dramatically changed how information is used in sports, such as how to increase player safety and fan engagement.

In my teaching, I use AI prompts (NYU login required) to show students both the correct and incorrect way to measure outcomes. One recent prompt I have used is, “How are public/private partnerships utilized in the funding and development of modern sports facilities?”

Nexus: Do you have any testimonials or feedback from your students about their experience that you can share with us?

David: Yes. Some of my students recently shared:

“Recently, I graduated from NYU SPS with a Master of Science in Sport Business. I would like to thank you, as I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point without the lessons you’ve taught me. I hope to do great things in the future with my education, and I'll be sure to continue to utilize your teachings to do so. Again, thank you for all your help!”

“Thank you so much for teaching me this semester. It was great to get more experience at something so practical in the business world like Excel. I’m definitely going to be more comfortable using it at my internship this summer. Looking forward to taking your Capital Markets class in the fall.”

“I am writing this email to thank you for everything that you've taught me over the last three semesters. Getting exposure to the financial and investment side of sports has really opened me up to the possibility of pursuing a career in that field.”

Nexus: What’s next in your field?

David: I believe the sports media market will expand nationally for the major leagues, relying on increased regional broadcasts, Netflix, Amazon, Youtube, and Apple.

Nexus: Who was your most memorable teacher and why?

David: My most memorable teacher was my Business Law professor at Penn. He used the Socratic Method, and as such, I was always prepared.

Bio:

Professor David Abrams is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport at NYU SPS, where he has been teaching since 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.

In 2017 and again in 2024, Professor Abrams was honored with the NYU SPS Teaching Excellence Award.

Learn more and connect with Professor Abrams via the NYU SPS Faculty Directory and LinkedIn.