Eric Church’s Career Gets Scholarly

Eric Church will have his life and career studied by a group of ambitious students this summer. Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management has hand-picked 100 students who will create and offer solutions for business challenges the country star might encounter along the road.

Earlier this month, Church treated the students to a special concert at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame, to help familiarize them with his music. And perhaps more importantly to Church, the night provided time for the students to get to know his fans. He invited 150 fan club members to join the festivities.

"I've always said that if you want to know who I am, listen to my music," Church explains. "Well, in order to understand my career, you have to meet my fans. They ARE my career, they're the reason I'm here. Having members of the fan club at this Accelerator presentation wasn't an option -- it was essential. I'm glad that the students got a close-up view of what I get to see every time I take the stage, because it's truly a powerful thing."

The students will be challenged with coming up with a strategic marketing campaign for Church. Modeled as a type of business school boot-camp, the students will immerse themselves in studying Church's career for 12 hours per day for 30 days straight.