Syracuse Sport Management | Sport Analytics 2018-2019 Newsletter

Syracuse University
David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

Success Breeds Success - Respecting the Past - Representing the Future

As we begin our 15th academic year, I reflect back on the emergence of this program by Respecting the Past, while Representing the Future through establishing an educational platform that prepares our students for the new and ever-emerging world of sports. As we begin a new decade, what changes and evolving enterprises will redefine sports? How will our daily consumption of sports change? How will the digital age impact business, marketing and branding strategies? How will analytics drive decision-making and managerial processes, and how will our program influence that? What new technologies will emerge to alter and enhance product lines or how we engage with particular sports? Legalized sports wagering, fan engagement, e-sports participation and monetization, pay equity and enhanced media coverage for female sports, and athlete activism that will amplify social change will all likely characterize the decade of the 2020s. We must thoroughly prepare our students to meet these — and a host of other challenges — with knowledge, critical thinking, thoughtful conviction and visionary foresight.

When I review the initial five years of Sport Management, we experienced unparalleled growth, change and development by building a strong foundation of hiring excellent faculty, expanding our curriculum, creating a multitude of experiential learning opportunities and establishing a world-class advisory council. Despite the economic downturn of the Great Recession, we persevered and were able to recruit extraordinary students and establish our academic identity to be among the best programs in the country.

The next five years were characterized by rapid transformation, including two college name changes that led to the emergence of Falk College. The department created the Sport Venue and Event Management graduate degree and expanded our domestic and global footprints, while attracting international students.

The current five-year era has witnessed the department building upon a decade of success to emerge as an irrefutable leader in the field. We have created the nation’s first undergraduate degree of its kind in Sport Analytics; had students competing and winning a variety of national academic competitions; and moved into our wonderful new complex on campus. We are grateful for the tremendous generosity of David and Rhonda Falk, among a host of other benefactors.

Since our inception, Sport Management students have been affecting positive social change in our community with civic engagement, fundraising and volunteerism, a hallmark of the program and Falk College. Our alumni continue to “pay it forward” by supporting our students and the program they helped to establish and build.

The Class of 2019 will Represent the Future admirably! It established some noteworthy milestones, as we conferred the largest number of degrees in our department’s history with 115 students graduating from Sport Management, Sport Analytics and Sport Venue and Event Management.

More than 52 percent of our undergraduate students graduated with honors (3.4 G.P.A. or higher), the largest in our department’s history! Additionally, 16 students received the Director’s Academic Achievement Award for earning a G.P.A. of 3.4 or higher for each of their consecutive semesters at Syracuse University.

Students successfully completed their Senior Capstones in marketing; data analytics; business and finance; communications; public relations; sales; event management; player representation; facilities management and operations; corporate sponsorship and branding; non-profit organizations; and foundations across the nation.

As alumni, parents of graduates, benefactors and friends of the program I hope you take pride in helping us to establish these benchmarks. Your trust and belief in our mission has been instrumental in our success and I’m truly grateful.

Meanwhile, please help our faculty and terrific professional support staff Respect the Past and Represent the Future by visiting campus, attending our alumni functions, or guest lecturing in a class. Perhaps you can supervise a Capstone or internship, hire our graduates, support our scholarships or mentor a current student. However you can, continue to share in our mission of being the preeminent academic leader in Sport Management — now and well into the future.

As always, Be Loud, Be Proud,

Be Orange!!

Sincerely,

Michael Veley

As the campus community reflects on the past and present with our year-long 150th anniversary celebration underway, the Department of Sport Management is a vital part of Syracuse University’s legacy and future thanks to the extraordinary efforts of many over the past 14 years.

Throughout this newsletter are countless examples of the innovative ways sport management and sport analytics faculty blend theory and practice to benefit our students. The pages ahead bring to life how Falk alumni are making a tremendous impact in the sport industry, not to mention the differences they are making by volunteering and giving back to the communities they call home. The commitment of our faculty and staff in the Department of Sport Management to teaching social responsibility is inspiring as students and alumni embrace this knowledge for good, engaging workplaces and communities as socially conscious global citizens.

Our students in sport management, sport analytics, and sport venue and event management continue to benefit from extensive industry connections, meeting executives face-to-face through guest lectures, alumni visits, and activities with industry leaders, many who sit on our Sport Management Advisory Council. Connecting students with industry executives continues to be a key element of the Department of Sport Management’s philosophy of preparing future leaders in sports. I share with you proudly that sport management students who themselves were meeting with sport leaders in the early years of our program now give of their time freely to meet with our current students.

And today, our sport management alums are the industry executives. To all who make our progress possible and our successes notable, thank you. We look forward to the continued work we will do together.

— Diane Lyden Murphy,

M.A. M.S.W., Ph.D., Dean, Falk College