The Dallas business community will receive a visit from Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, the featured speaker at a Neeley School of Business event Thursday.

O. Homer Erekson, the John V. Roach Dean of the Neeley School of Business, said Ryan, a former part-time assistant baseball coach at TCU in 1994, will talk at the InterContinental Dallas from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m Thursday.

Ryan was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility, according to the Nolan Ryan Foundation Web site. In 1993, he concluded a 27-year-old Major League career with a total 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters, the highest totals of any player in history, according to the Web site. The Nolan Ryan Foundation is a nonprofit that raises funds to provide resources for youth, education and economic development.

Erekson said Ryan will speak about current events in the business world and the challenges he is facing.

“(Ryan) really brings this really interesting perspective…of (how), in the sports entertainment industry, important business decisions are made,” Erekson said.

Ryan, who is currently the president of team operations for the Texas Rangers, was part of a group of investors whose bid to purchase the Rangers was accepted by Major League Baseball on Tuesday.

Erekson said that he wasn’t sure if Ryan would comment on his bid to be partial owner of the Rangers.

“We really don’t know whether he’ll address that or not,” Erekson said. “We pretty much leave that open for the potential speaker.”

Erekson said professional athletics is an interesting industry.

“The Texas Rangers are really important for this metropolitan area,” Erekson said.

Tickets are $30 for alumni, parents and friends. Alumni who graduated between 1999 and 2009 may pay $25 for their ticket.

Nolan Ryan

When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday

Where: InterContinental Dallas

To purchase tickets, call 800-646-4TCU.