Baylor University Announces Naming of Curb S3E Program, Gift to Business

WACO, Texas (March 21, 2024) – Baylor University has announced the naming of the Hankamer School of Business’s Curb Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment (S3E) program – formerly known as the Sports Strategy and Sales program – honoring leading music and entertainment executive Mike Curb of Nashville, Tennessee. Curb is a long-time supporter of the program, providing $1 million in support since 2006, with this gift made in honor of the Baylor ties within Curb | Word Entertainment.

“Mike Curb has been a wonderful source of support and inspiration for Baylor Business students, and we are grateful for this gift, which honors Word | Curb Entertainment’s Baylor roots and encourages future generations of talented entertainers in their pursuits,” said Sandeep Mazumder, Ph.D., The William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean of the Hankamer School of Business. “We are grateful for the many ways he supports Baylor Business, and we celebrate this gift and the awareness it has brought for the impact our alumni have had, and continue to have, in the entertainment industry.”

Curb’s support, which has been made through the Mike Curb Foundation, has been recognized through the naming of the program, as well as the establishment of the Mike Curb Endowment for Sports, Music and Entertainment. Resourcing from the fund will support the classes, events and activities of the Curb S3E Program, which combines sports, music and entertainment to blend students’ interests in support of their pursuit for fulfilling careers in the business of sports and entertainment. The Curb S3E Program builds upon the success of the Baylor Sports Strategy & Sales (S3) program, founded in 2004 by Hankamer School of Business faculty Kirk Wakefield and Darryl Lehnus. Alumni of the S3 Program are successful leaders and managers in sports and entertainment.

“The future of the Curb S3E program is bright. Thanks to the Mike Curb Foundation, we are working to establish a presence in the music and entertainment business as we have in sports,” said Lane Wakefield, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor and director of the S3E Program. “Baylor S3E is well-known in sports business circles and we hope to replicate that success.”

Word Inc. & Mike Curb

For more than 60 years, Curb has been an industry-leading music and entertainment executive, as well as a former Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of California. He became connected to Baylor University through his purchase of Word Entertainment, the oldest faith-based entertainment company originally founded in 1951 in Waco as Word Records by Jarrell McCracken, Henry SoRelle and Ted Snider.

Now known as Curb | Word Entertainment after a 2016 merger with Curb Records, the company remains one of the most successful independently owned record labels in the world. As owner and operator, Curb has earned success as a songwriter and producer, covering a range of musical styles in collaboration with pop, country, Christian, jazz and blues artists. In doing so, he has worked with solo artists and groups at the height of each genre. In addition to receiving his own GRAMMY, Curb also has written, produced and collaborated on many GRAMMY and Academy Award-nominated albums and film soundtracks. Curb’s star can be found on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, among countless other accolades and memberships in halls of fame. He was honored as an Icon of the Music Industry by the GRAMMY Museum, and Curb artists have received 33 GRAMMY Awards.

As an individual, Curb has written more than 400 songs and received prestigious BMI performance awards for his compositions in the pop and country music genres. His company has achieved more than 300 No. 1 records and has received many industry accolades over the years.

Curb and his wife, Linda, are active in supporting their home community of Nashville, Tennessee. He is the chairman of the Mike Curb Foundation, which is focused on the support of education, historic preservation, homelessness and a wide range of services in communities associated with Curb enterprises. The Foundation has given more than $150 million in grant support.

Curb’s investment in the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor continues to foster success for the unit and personal achievement for its students.

Baylor publicly launched its $1.1 billion Give Light philanthropic campaign on Nov. 1, 2018, raising to date $1.48 billion and counting. The Give Light campaign has seen 98,062 alumni, parents and friends give to the University’s priorities, as well as establishing 839 endowed scholarships and 46 endowed faculty positions. For more information or to support the campaign, visit the Give Light: The Campaign for Baylor website.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT THE HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business cultivates principled leaders and serves the global marketplace through transformational learning and impactful scholarship in a culture of innovation guided by Christian values. Faculty and students conduct purposeful research and participate in experiential learning opportunities, all while operating in a Christ-centered mission. Undergraduate students can choose from 13 major areas of study. Graduate students can earn their MBA on their terms, either through the full-time, online, or a Dallas-based executive program. The Business School also offers three Ph.D. programs in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, or Health Services Research. The School’s top-ranked programs make up approximately 25% of the University’s total enrollment. Visit the Hankamer School of Business website for more information.