Sports Administration student Khalid Al-Rubian has managed to maintain his career at home while pursuing his graduate degree at Valparaiso University.  Al-Rubian, who relocated with his family from Saudi Arabia to take classes at Valpo, continues to write a regular sports column in Al-Riyadh, a Riyadh newspaper.  Al-Riyadh is one of the biggest newspapers in the Middle East, and recently received the award of “Best Newspaper in the Middle East” from Arab Youth Media Forum.

Al-Rubian began writing his column in 2009, and has written about topics including sports marketing, athletic facilities, and the organizers of the 2022 world cup.  His favorite article focused on social responsibility of sports teams, and questioning why certain teams did not participate in fundraising for situations in Haiti and Pakistan.

Al-Rubian’s passion for athletics is part of what drew him to Valparaiso University and the MS Sports Administration program.  Al-Rubian decided to pursue the degree in order to study sports marketing and learn American marketing techniques.  “I want to gain knowledge about other kinds of sports in America, since we just have one sport in Saudi Arabia: soccer.  The people love it, but I want to get experience with all kinds of sports,” said Al-Rubian.  He was encouraged by his mentor, Abdulmohsen Alfares, at Alinma Bank in Saudi Arabia.

“We have a great basketball team,” said Al-Rubian. “I want to know how many of them continue to play professionally.”

After graduating from the program, Al-Rubian hopes to return to Saudi Arabia and share his new sports knowledge with communities and leagues, and also continue writing his column.