Washington -- Next month, while most of the world watches the Winter Olympics from their living rooms, 28 GW students will be witnessing the Games first-hand. These students, led by GW professor and Olympic scholar Dr. Lisa Delpy, will join athletes and visitors from around the world at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Students will have the true cultural experience while staying at a Buddhist Temple in the center of Nagano, where they will all sleep in one room on tatami mats. The 1998 Winter Olympic Games take place February 7 - 22. GW Students will depart for the Games on February 4 and will return to Washington February 17.

"This is an excellent opportunity for students who have always been fascinated by the Olympics to gain a broad understanding of all that is involved from environmental to financial and logistical issues, said Delpy. "This is also an inexpensive way for students to witness the Olympic experience first hand, and to meet and network with the organizers, corporate sponsors, athletes and coaches who are responsible for making everything happen."

During the Games, students will conduct market research to determine spectator motivation, spending behavior and sponsor identification. In addition, representatives from the different Olympic sponsors, current and future Organizing Committees, the International Olympic Committee, and the local and national governments will address the students to discuss various aspects of the management and marketing of the Games as well as the social, political and economic impact. The group will attend an ice hockey, speed skating, and bobsled event, and will have time individually to enjoy additional events.

GW Sport Management students view this as an opportunity to sharpen their marketing and organizational skills at a high-profile international event. Additional students of Delpy will be in Nagano working for host broadcaster, CBS, and other media entities.

This program is part of a unique educational course created by Delpy, professor of sport management and tourism studies in the School of Business and Public Management, that includes class time and coursework covering the history and organization of the Olympic Games prior to traveling to Nagano. This will be Delpy's ninth Olympic Games and the sixth student study tour to a mega-sport event. Previous classes have studied and visited the Games in Barcelona, Lillehammer, and Atlanta.

"This course provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience to attend the Games as more than a spectator and to gain inside knowledge about the Olympic Movement and what is required to host the Games," said graduate sport management student Brian Chisolm. " I plan to apply all that I learn toward the effort to bring the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to the Washington, DC area."

GW's Sport Management undergraduate and graduate degree programs have been offered since 1991 and are currently housed in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management in the School of Business and Public Management. Aside from this Olympic course, the GW Sport Management program is internationally known for its leadership and annual conference related to the emerging field of Sport Tourism.

GW's School of Business and Public Management is dedicated to academic excellence in the study, teaching and research of management and policy in the public and private sectors -- both within the United States and internationally. The school comprises eight departments -- accountancy, finance, international business, management science, marketing, public administration, strategic management and public policy, and tourism and hospitality management.