Global BBA Talents Track at emlyon: combining athletic ambition with academic excellence
Through the Global BBA – Talents Track, emlyon business school offers high-level athletes the opportunity to combine academic excellence with sporting commitment. This initiative is part of a strategy in which sport is a key pillar, supported by leading partnerships, an active community, and the decisive contribution of the emlyon Foundation.
The Global BBA Talents Track, a program designed for high-level athletes
Alongside the Master in Management – Grande École Program and the Bachelor of Science in Data Science for Responsible Business, developed in partnership with École Centrale de Lyon, the Global Bachelor of Business Administration (Global BBA) is one of emlyon business school’s undergraduate programs.
Among the three tracks of emlyon’s Global BBA, the Talents Track stands out as a dedicated option designed for High-Level Athletes (HLA), but also for artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, or young professionals who wish to adapt the pace of their studies. This structured program provides tailored academic adjustments, personalized support, and logistical flexibility to address the constraints of training and competition, enabling these profiles to pursue their sporting ambitions while completing their higher education at emlyon. It reflects the School’s commitment to supporting exceptional trajectories by combining sporting performance with academic ambition.
The curriculum is based on a hybrid model, including weekly live sessions with professors and asynchronous content available online. Four on-campus gatherings per year further enrich the program, offering opportunities to meet professionals, strengthen ties with students—often based in other cities to continue their athletic careers—and consolidate learning within a collective framework.
The testimonials of students enrolled in this track, who also benefit from dedicated scholarships provided by the emlyon Foundation, highlight the unique balance between the demands of high-level sport and the academic rigor of the Global BBA.
True to the School’s distinctive pedagogy, the Global BBA provides international management training rooted in action, experimentation, and creativity. Ranked the #2 Global BBA in France by Le Point in 2025, the program emphasizes project-based learning, international immersion, and the development of transversal skills, allowing students to acquire both a solid academic foundation and strong professional expertise.
Through a wide range of opportunities—semesters on emlyon’s different campuses, international exchanges in partners universities worldwide, internships, and professionals experiences—the Global BBA ensures optimal employability upon graduation while also opening pathways to the world’s top Master’s programs.
Sport, a strategic pillar for emlyon
Sport occupies a central role at emlyon business school, supported by a dynamic network of professionals, partners, and alumni. The School offers a variety of programs that integrate sport, including the Global BBA, the Executive Online Program, the Executive MBA, and the MiM, enabling students at all levels to reconcile their academic journey with their athletic practice.
Beyond academic programs, emlyon has developed specific partnerships with renowned institutions such as the All-In Academy, ASVEL Féminin, TP Academy, Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby, and Stade Français. Each year, events such as Champions de sa Vie enrich this dynamic, fostering inspiration and knowledge-sharing with leading figures from the sports world.
The emlyon community also gathers around sport in student life, notably through the Sport Center, which offers more than 60 disciplines, and in alumni activities through the Sport Alumni Club, which organizes high-profile networking events (such as visits to Groupama Stadium, Longchamp Racecourse, and Roland-Garros). These initiatives strengthen bonds between stakeholders of the School, as highlighted during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A long-standing partnership also links emlyon venture labs with Sport dans la Ville, embodied by the Entrepreneurs dans la Ville program.
In the same spirit, Anne Khun (MSc 2021) recently spoke at the opening conferences of the 2025–2026 academic year, sharing her experience of transitioning from a sports career to a new professional path. Likewise, Olivier Sadran, Chairman of Newrest and Board Member of Fondation Unlimited, met with HLA students supported by the emlyon Foundation.
As a major donor to the emlyon Foundation for Talents Track students, Olivier Sadran—himself passionate about sport—firmly believes in its essential role in achieving success.
Sport can bring everything: it gives you health, it builds physical and mental strength, and when practiced at the highest level, it instills excellence.
High-level athletes enrolled in the Global BBA – Talents Track testify to the decisive impact of scholarships awarded by the emlyon Foundation, which enable them to pursue both their athletic ambitions and academic studies. In 2024–2025, the Foundation supported nearly 500 students, reaffirming its essential role in fostering excellence and equal opportunity.