FES SPORTS ACADEMY is a new school program designed to direct qualified secondary students towards exciting careers in Sport Management, Sport Marketing, Sport Communications, Stadium and Arena Management.

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SPORTS IS BUSINESS. Revenue in the Sports Market is projected to reach US$52.77 billion in 2025. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2029) of 5.26%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$64.79 billion by 2029. In global comparison, most revenue will be generated United States (US$52.77 billion in 2025). The average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Sports market is projected to amount to US$251.81 million in 2025. (Published by Statista Research Department, May 6, 2025). The sports and recreation industries are booming and with a flourishing industry comes a demand for well-educated leaders to fill a variety of roles including media relations, advertising and sales promotion, marketing, financial management, facilities planning and administration. Rising above the competition and gaining access to this competitive industry requires a superb academic background and substantial practical experience.

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Further enhancing the impact of the sports programs operated under the sponsorship of FES Sports Academy are the unique qualifications possessed by the notable alumni who played summer league basketball for FES All Star Pro-Am Basketball Team in the Rucker Pro-Am Basketball Summer League in Harlem; Sonny Hill Pro-Am Summer Basketball League in Philadelphia; and Georgetown University Pro-Am Summer Basketball League in Washington, DC. These well-known figures from the world of college and professional sports regularly participated in and contributed to the Basketball and Boxing programs sponsored under the patronage of FES Sports Academy. Individuals such as those indicated below are well known and admired by youth throughout the global community. 

Mel Davis, Executive Director, FES Sports Academy, and a native of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, played basketball at Boys High in Brooklyn, where he and his cohorts won back-to-back NYC Public School championships (1968–69 and 1970–71 seasons) for Coach Howie Jones and earned the mantle as one of the greatest high school performers in Big Apple history. Mel was Inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Next stop for Mel was St. John’s University where he earned the Haggerty Award emblematic of the Metropolitan Area’s top collegiate performer and was voted into the St. John’s Hall of Fame in 1990. Mel Davis was a first-round draft choice of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) New York Knicks in the 1973 NBA Draft and spent four years in the NBA with the Knicks and Nets. He played five years in the European Professional League dividing his time between France, Italy, and Switzerland. In 1991 Mel rejoined the NBA with titles such as Director of Player Programs, overseeing respective Rookie and Veterans Transition Programs, the Player Job Internship Program, and the NBA Legends Program. Mel earned his Master of Arts in Psychology and Counseling from Fordham University.

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Lloyd B. Free, better known as World B. Free grew up in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, and attended Canarsie High School in Brooklyn. World was Inducted into the New Yok City Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997. Free played for Guilford College in North Carolina where he led Guilford’s basketball team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship and was named MVP of the NAIA Tournament. Free began his professional career in the 1975–76 NBA season as a member of the 76ers, having been selected by the 76ers with the 23rd pick of the 1975 NBA draft. Free played Professionally in the NBA from 1975–1987 for the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and he joined the Houston Rockets for the 1987-88 season, which was his last NBA season. 

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Gregory “Jocko” Jackson was an American basketball player. He won a collegiate national championship at Guilford College and later played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson, a 6′0″ point guard from Samuel J. Tilden High School in Brooklyn, New York. He attended West Columbus High School 1969–1970, Cerro Gordo, NC. He helped lead West Columbus to its first and only NCHSAA 2A State Basketball Tournament championship. He played his college basketball at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

There he teamed in the backcourt with future NBA All-Star Lloyd Free (now World B. Free) to lead the Quakers to the 1973 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship. After his college career was over, Jackson was drafted in the fifth round of the 1974 NBA draft (86th pick overall) by his hometown New York Knicks. His tenure with the Knicks would prove to be brief, as he played only 5 games before being waived on October 28, 1974. Later in the season, he was signed by the Phoenix Suns, where he finished the season. During his playing career, Jackson also played for the Allentown Jets of the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) / Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He won EBA championships with the Jets in 1975 and 1976. He was selected as the EBA Playoff/Finals MVP in 1976. Jackson was named to the All-EBA First Team in 1977 and All-EBA/CBA Second Team in 1976 and 1979.  Following the close of his professional career, Jackson became a community leader in Brooklyn as the long-time manager of the Brownsville Recreational Center. In this capacity he ran numerous programs (Brownsville Old Timers Day) aimed at keeping inner-city youths off the streets and focused toward positive efforts ranging from sports to the arts. Jackson died on May 1, 2012.

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George L. Johnson, Founding Board of Trustees Member, FES Sports Academy, is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′7″ forward/center from St. John’s University and born in Brooklyn, New York, George attended New Utrecht in Brooklyn, New York and Graduated from FES Sports Academy. He was Inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Johnson played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1978 to 1985 as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Bullets. Johnson was player-coach for the Long Island Surf of the United States Basketball League in 1992.

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Reggie Carter was an American professional basketball player. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg), he played as a guard. Born in New York City, Carter played collegiately for the St. John's University and the University of Hawaii after spending his schoolboy years starring for Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, New York. Carter was selected by the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks in the second round (27th pick overall) of the 1979 NBA draft. He played with the Knicks from 1980 to 1982. Reggie became FES Sports Academy’s Head Basketball Coach in 1988. Carter became an assistant principal at Mineola High School before dying on December 24, 1999 (Age 42) of a rare disease likened to tuberculosis.

Riddick Bowe, born in Brooklyn and raised in the Noble Drew Ali Plaza housing development in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, is an American professional boxer. He is a former two-time World heavyweight champion, first winning the WBA, WBC and IBF titles in 1992, becoming undisputed  heavyweight champion. Bowe's second reign as heavyweight champion was in 1995 when he won the WBO title. Bowe retired in 1996 but made a return to the ring in 2004. He has currently been inactive since 2008. Riddick Bowe became the first fighter to defeat Evander Holyfield when he beat him in 1992 for the world heavyweight title. He then became the first fighter to knock Holyfield out, when he beat him in their rubber match in 1995. Bowe's professional boxing record stands at 43-1-0 (1 NC) with 33 KOs. He has defeated every opponent he has fought except Buster Mathis, Jr. (their bout ended as a no-contest). Bowe was ranked as the 21st greatest heavyweight of all time by Boxing Scene.

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Matthew Saad Muhammad was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half year. Saad Muhammad’s mother died when he was an infant, and he and his elder brother were sent to live with an aunt. When he was five, his aunt could not afford to look after both of them and she instructed his brother to get rid of him. His brother took him to Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway and then ran away. Saad was found in the early hours asleep on the steps of a church. He was then taken in by Catholic Social Services. The nuns gave him the name Matthew Franklin (after the saint and the parkway where he was found). Matthew lived in foster care until a couple from Philadelphia adopted him, raised him, and took care of him like he was their own. Saad Muhammad was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s among boxing fans because of his particularly action-oriented style. Saad Muhammad was known for his ability to take punishment and mount comebacks, and because of this, he was nicknamed Miracle Matthew. Saad Muhammad was also part of a group of world light heavyweight champions who became Muslims and changed their names during his era as a Light-Heavyweight, the others being Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (born as Eddie Gregory), and Dwight Muhammad Qawi (born as Dwight Braxton). Saad Muhammad confirmed this in interviews following his boxing career, stating that he was inspired to convert by Muhammad Ali’s conversion. Saad Muhammad had a relatively short amateur career, consisting of only 20 amateur bouts. He won the Trenton (NJ) Golden Gloves in 1973 and turned pro the following year.

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In addition to the expertise they bring to the FES Sports Academy sports programs, it is recognized that they also make important contributions toward the success of the programs merely by virtue of their association with it.