How Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin Plans to 'Ramp Up' His Career Immersion Program for Pro Athletes (Exclusive)

After hosting a "first go-around" of his internship program for 11 WNBA and MLB players, Rubin tells PEOPLE his plans to expand across the NBA, NFL and beyond

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin has propelled his company to the top of the sports merchandising industry. And next, the mogul is determined to turn the athletes who fuel Fanatics' sales into the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Rubin, 51, tells PEOPLE, "I'd say, for a decade, there's been a dream and a belief that I've had that it'd be our responsibility to help these great players figure out what's next. Fanatics wouldn't be here if it weren't for the incredible talents of these athletes that we work with."

Last week, in partnership with USC’s Marshall School of Business and Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, the CEO hosted a new and expanded Athlete Immersion Program in Los Angeles for 11 professional players in the WNBA and MLB.

The program offered the pros, including the Los Angeles Dodgers' Walker Buehler and Dallas Wings star Diamond DeShields, a customized sports industry-focused curriculum curated exclusively for them featuring topics like brand strategy, marketing, sales, leadership and management to begin to inspire their chapters post-retirement.

Other participants included Los Angeles Sparks star Lexie Brown, Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Rucker and Zack Weiss of the Boston Red Sox.

Throughout the week, the athletes were introduced to different areas of Fanatics’ portfolio, including collectibles, Fanatics Live, Mitchell & Ness, VIP & Loyalty Programming and more.

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DeShields, 28, initially heard about the opportunity from Terri Jackson, the Executive Director of the WNBA Players Association, via an email blast gauging interest from the league's players in an opportunity that promised an intimate dinner at Rubin's home in Los Angeles.

DeShields tells PEOPLE she texted the WNBPA director "immediately" and told her, "You can count me in."

Having just completed her sixth year in the league this season, DeShields says the opportunity to connect with Rubin was the more enticing aspect of the opportunity.

"I'm not going to lie. The opportunity to meet Michael and have dinner at Michael Rubin's house...I just thought that the chance to be in front of someone as exceptional as he is was something that I couldn't leave unchanged from, and that was really what ultimately drove me to doing it," says DeShields.

The Wings guard says her favorite course was with the clothing brand Mitchell & Ness.

"We got to actually create custom pieces that Mitchell & Ness is going to bring to real life for us," she shares. "If anybody who knows me knows how much I enjoy fashion, and just the opportunity to be creative in that way was something that I really, really took advantage of."

DeShields was also inspired by hearing from Fanatics Chief People Officer Orlando Ashford. "He felt like a family member," says DeShields. "He was just so familiar, and hearing his stories, man, he's one of the best storytellers I've heard. And so, hearing from him was really, really a treat."

The dinner at Rubin's was "incredible" and "inspiring" for the WNBA star. "Michael and his girlfriend Camille were so hospitable in opening their home to us. It was really cozy, and just a comfortable environment. We got to sit around and chat and have some really good food and just enjoy the evening with really good company."

Rubin, an accomplished advocate for prison reform when he isn't running Fanatics, tells PEOPLE the "three-hour-long" dinner at his home to conclude the program was "full of endless questions" from the athlete participants.

"They were such good questions, too," says Rubin, "and they were really taking it all in and having a blast doing it."

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Over the past several years, Fanatics has welcomed more than 40 athletes from the NFL and NHL Players Associations for similar programs, and 2023's enhanced curriculum is just the beginning for Rubin's company.

"By the way, this is just a first go-around," Rubin explains. "Each class will keep getting better because I was honestly thrilled with the feedback from the 11 athletes. It was pretty spectacular to hear what they loved, what they didn't love, how we can do this better."

"We started this idea with the NFL in 2013, 2014 in a big partnership with the NFL Players Association. As part of that partnership, I said, 'Hey, we want to take players and have them become interns for Fanatics.' It honestly worked really well, but we never scaled."

Now, Rubin has revved up the program's engine. "So I think we were doing five or six players per year, and in '24, I think we're going to do 60 players roughly," he says.

"It's a big ramp-up," Rubin acknowledges, adding that it's something he's "really excited to focus on" for the company's near future. "We're going to do three classes per year. We did the WNBA and MLB classes in November because they're out of season then. We're going to do an NFL class, and hopefully, we're going to work to add some other female sports into that in March," Rubin shares.

And he hopes to host the program for players from the NBA and NHL sometime next summer, with "probably 20 athletes per class," Rubin says.

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In time, the Fanatics CEO plans to expand the idea to a six-month co-op program for recently retired athletes.

"Honestly, it's a win-win for both of us. It's great. It is our responsibility to help these athletes who we build a business around to figure out how they can be successful after they retire," he adds.

Thus far, Rubin hasn't been involved in the selection process. "I know the players opted in. They're the ones raising their hand. They want to do it."

"Honestly, I loved everything about it," DeShields says. "Every day was just full of so much I was excited to learn. We got to learn so many things about the different businesses within Fanatics, Fanatics Collectibles, Fanatics Lives, everything that they had going on."

"Honestly, there wasn't much that I could critique. I think that they, for this to have been the first time that they've done something like this, especially for the W players, we were all just really, really grateful," DeShields adds.

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