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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
Director's Greeting
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
From the Dean...
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
Contents
Students
Congratulations to the Class of 2019
Analytics
Faculty and Staff
News and Events
Graduate Students Plan Charity Event
Guest Speakers
Advisory Council
Alumni
Students
Congratulations to the Class of 2019
On May 11, 2019, the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics celebrated its Class of 2019 Convocation ceremony at Manley Field House. One-hundred Sport Management undergraduates, five Sport Analytics undergraduates, and 10 Sport Venue and Event Management master’s students took part in the ceremony.
S.P.M. senior Anthony de la Fuente served as a Falk College Marshal and delivered a speech during the Convocation. The 2019 Sport Management Marshals were Nicholas Carlson (undergraduate) and Baylee Douglas (graduate). Caitlin Burke, Daniel Hamilton and Justin Perline were named Falk College Scholars.
Twenty-four Sport Management students in the Class of 2019 graduated with honors with a G.P.A. of 3.4 or higher. Eighteen students graduated Magna Cum Laude (G.P.A. of 3.6 or higher) and nine graduated Summa Cum Laude (G.P.A. of 3.8 or higher).
The Department of Sport Management’s traditional celebration of its graduates on Commencement weekend continued this year with more than 200 parents, family members, friends, faculty and staff gathering in Falk College on May 10 to celebrate the accomplishments of the Sport Management and Sport Analytics undergraduates and Sport Venue and Event Management master’s students.
The awards ceremony featured remarks by Sport Management director and chair Michael Veley, and College benefactor David B. Falk. Awards presented included:
Director’s Award – Anthony de la Fuente
Academic Excellence Award – Nicholas Carlson
Matt Brodsky Philanthropic Award – Caitlin Burke
Sport Management VIP Award – Sarah Lundmark
Professional Engagement Award – Brigid Daly
Jason Morales Perseverance in Sport Award – Courtney Anderson
Academic Promise Award – Da’Sha Prescott-Moore
Kate Veley Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Award – Olivia Lavelle
Graduate Student Award – Baylee Douglass
Sixteen 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. Those students were: Cody Barbuto, Jan
Breitenmoser, Caitlin Burke, Nicholas Carlson, Brigid Daly, Anthony de la Fuente, Charles Garrett IV, Daniel Hamilton, Joshua Katz, Xinyu Li, Sarah Lundmark, Shuk Ching Jocelyn Mong, Austin Natowitz, Justin Perline, Micah Rubin and Sara Stanley.
Five students were noted for being dual majors: Caitlin Burke (Sport Management and Spanish Language, Literature and Culture), Michael Cavalier (Sport Management and Economics), Charles Garrett IV (Sport Analytics and Broadcast & Digital Journalism), Matteo Lovece (Sport Management and Economics), and Justin Perline (Sport Analytics and Newspaper & Online Journalism.)
Four students were named Berlin Sport Analytics Scholars: Cody Barbuto, Charles Garrett IV, Justin Perline and Evan Weiss. These four students are the first graduates of S.U.’s Sport Analytics program.
Also, the M.S. in Sport Venue and Event Management program concluded its seventh year. (Read this article)
Visit Sport Management’s online resources
Be sure to check out the Falk College Sport Management website for department information, program news, club meeting dates and activities, and other special events.
Also, be sure to follow Sport Management on Twitter @SUSportMgmt, and “like” us on Facebook at S.U. Falk College Department of Sport Management.
Graduate Students: Sport Venue and Event Management Master’s program graduates its seventh class
The Department of Sport Management’s master’s program in Sport Venue and Event Management (S.V.E.M.) welcomed its seventh class of graduate students to campus in July 2018. The program comprises 36 credit hours of intensive classroom learning, skill development and experiential opportunities in settings like S.U.’s Carrier Dome.
The 2018-19 cohort included 10 students, with a diverse mix of educational backgrounds and from a variety of geographic locations. Students worked toward completing their practicum work in Summer 2019 and will continue in Fall 2019 with organizations such as Onondaga Community College, Syracuse University Recreation Services, the Carrier Dome, S.U. Athletics, and the Sacramento Kings.
In July 2018, the students began in an immersive nature, working three days at the Musselman Triathlon in the Finger Lakes region during the first week of the program, followed by an immersion experience at the Buffalo Bills preseason training camp.
The graduate students also took part in professional development seminars conducted by Sport Management internship placement coordinators on networking, cover letters, resumes, strategic interviewing, salary negotiation, career guidance and using LinkedIn.
In the Spring 2019 semester, students worked with S.P.M. associate professor Dr. Gina Pauline in the advanced event management course to plan a charity event benefiting Griffin’s Guardians. (Read this article).
Students in the first seven cohorts have immersed themselves in the program’s academic and experiential opportunities, and leveraged relationships to launch their careers in the industry.
Graduates have secured positions at McFetridge Sports Center in Chicago, Dover Speedway, Brown University, Spectra Venue Management, Legends Hospitality, Spartan Race Inc., Country Music Hall of Fame, Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome, Boston Celtics, Boise State University, and Tulsa Sports Commission, among others.
The eighth S.V.E.M. graduate class began in July 2019. For more information about the graduate program, visit our academic programs page online.
Practicum list for Sport Venue and Event Management master’s program
Fall 2018
Peng Chen, U.S.T.A. National Campus
Marisa Duval, Syracuse University Athletics
Paige Hammond, Comcast Spectacor at Wells Fargo Center
Anna Vegara, A.T.&T. Stadium – Legends
Janelle Williams, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Rams
Spring 2019
Marisa Duval, Syracuse University Athletics
Summer 2019
Jia Xuan Deng, Nike China
Baylee Douglass, Twenty 3 Group
Yaohui Wei, Syracuse University Recreation Services
Welcome Class of 2023 undergraduates
Sport Analytics
California, China, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia
Sport Management
California, China, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, India, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Canada, Oregon, Panama, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington
Congratulations to the following students for achieving an overall cumulative G.P.A. of 3.4 or higher at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year:
Sport Management
Class of 2019
Zachary Alechammas, Nikolai Arnold, Jonathan Banner, Alec Bieber, Samuel Birdsall, Jake Bitsimis, Caitlin Burke, Nicholas Carlson, Brianna Cooper, Cameryn Cortese, Brigid Daly, Lucas D’Aversa, Anthony de la Fuente, Jonathan DeLaBruere, Drina Adriana Domic, Hannah Duerr, Marc Eckenrod, Nicholas Gold, Daniel Hamilton, Jack Kaczorowski, Joshua Katz, Erica Krumbine, Taitum Kurasz, Olivia Lavelle, Xinyu Li, Sarah Lundmark, Stefan Maish, Victoria Mattarell, Marielle McLoughlin, Andrew Meyer, Shuk Ching Jocelyn Mong, Jake Narracci, Austin Natowitz, Alexander Newman, Chukwudubem Onwualu, Micah Rubin, Javier Ruiz, Sara Stanley, Cameron Steele, Kristen Warner, Griffin Whitman
Class of 2020
Thomas Adams, Peter Appel, Carolin Bader, Hunter Bruckner, Matthew Bustillo, Joseph Carello, Youngchae Cho, Carlos Christian Rey, Nicholas Cohen, Nolan Cooney, Matthew Defusco, Andrew Derda, Luca Di Napoli, Noah Diorio, Nicholas Felicetti, Ryan Gargiulo, Sydney Gauzza, Daniel Geraci, Andrea Ghanian, Owen Herrington, Sarah Incerpi, Rhett Kahny, Connor Monzo, Aaron Morrow, Adam Newman, Jordan Novak, Alexandra Olnowich, Francis Petrillo, Matthew Pignatella, Brandon Pollack, Hunter Pomerantz, Xin Ren, Leah Riccolo, Kristen Rogers, Jacob Rogovin, Kai Ruskin, Justin Saxe, Emma Schambers, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Kelsey Smith, Ricki Sperry, Austin Towns, Alexandra Trager, Kyle Walker, Bailey Ware, Declan Wright
Class of 2021
Jillian Barry, Jacob Berger, Andrew Bush, Pin An Chen, Joshua Davidoff, Matthew Diemand, Tasha Getten, Oliver Glavin, Margaret Haggerty, Ryan Harteveldt, Jacob Hauser, Patrick Hopkins, Jianghui Hu, Caroline Johnson, Emani Jones, Max Josef, Ruth Kaiser, Seth Kourpas, Griffin Laine, Nicolas Lemaire, Guozheng Li, Henry Little, Jordan Lucero, Kaitlynn Miller, Max Moss, Mia Obergefell, Jonathan Offit, Marc Orlin, Marco Pantusa, Jenna Parker, Lucas Prestamo, Jack Rothstein, Simone Nico Saputo, Dylan Schwartz, Jayson Staiger
Class of 2022
Luke Adelstein, Victor Allaham, Nikolas Armstrong, Ryan Beaury, Finnian Bendana, Nathan Besold, Ryan Charles, Joe Chen, Richard Clarke, Devan Dachisen, Matthew Davis, Ryan Dilts, Caitlin Donoghue, Caroline Dorfman, Brian Drew, Ava Eckhoff, Nina Edmiston, Katherine Eliou, Joseph Eovaldi, Jakob Fox, Luca Giacobbe, Connor Howard, Victoria Kelly, Josephine Kiesel, Hannah Kuo, Peri Lamkin, John Lichtenstein, Joao Murray, Danielle Parr, Jared Pastore, Kevin Perry, Shehreyar Piracha, Harrison Rayhill, Emily Rubinshteyn, Bryan Schwab, Kristen Siermachesky, Emery Swanson, Zijian Wang, Jonah Wheeler
Sport Analytics
Class of 2019
Cody Barbuto, William Dalton, Charles Garrett I.V., Justin Perline
Class of 2020
Ethan Alpern, Dylan Blechner, Daniel Goetz, Joshua Hentschel, Gareth Jobling, Kyle Liotta, Stephen McClain, Nicholas Riccardi, Joseph Sabel, Nicholas Schloop
Class of 2021
Zachary Anhalt, Jonathan Bosch, Jack Dolitsky, William Friedeman, Elaine Johnson, Cameron Johnson, Zachary Koeppel, Samuel Marteka, Alejandro Pesantez, Harrison Platt, Joseph Spoelstra, Alexander Tsemberis
Class of 2022
Samual Ayers, Evan Baum, Bailie Brown, Joshua Danzig, Joseph Deaton, Steven Dimaria, Drew Disanto, Dante Giugliano, Justin Harrington, James Hyman, Sean Kenney, Colin Krantz, Brendan McKeown, Cameron Mitchell, Joseph Pickering, Hughston Preston, Dominic Samangy, Kushal Shah, Cooper Shawver, Davis Showell, Christopher Thomas, Andrew Todd, Ward Walton, David Zukowski
Senior Capstone Experience
Among the most valuable attributes of the Department of Sport Management is its connection with the sport industry, which impacts students in numerous ways, including the Senior Capstone Experience. As a part of their degree requirements, Sport Management students must complete a 12-credit Capstone providing an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the sports industry before graduation.
Since the Capstone is the culmination of one’s academic experience, the planning process begins during a student’s freshman year. The process concludes with the full-semester experience with a specific sport entity or organization as local as Central New York to across the United States and around the world.
The Capstone Experience requires the student to work with a sport-related organization for a minimum of 540 hours over the course of one semester, gaining experience in areas such as sales, marketing, finance, analytics, event management, administration, communication, law, etc.
Listed below are Sport Management students and the organizations where they completed their senior Capstone in 2018- 2019. We are grateful to our growing list of Capstone partners, who continue to provide tremendous learning opportunities for our students.
This all happens under the leadership of Sport Management internship placement coordinators Nicole Cost, Lisa Liparulo, Kevin McNeill and Francesco Riverso.
Fall 2018
Nikolai Arnold, S.U. Athletics - Strength/Conditioning; Jonathan Banner, N.F.L. Films, Evan Becker H.B.S.E. - Philadelphia 76ers; Alec Bieber, Lagardere Plus; Rebecca Bisson, Syracuse University Football; Jake Bitsimis, C.S.M. LeadDog; Michael Cavalier, Madison Square Garden; Jamal Custis, Syracuse University Recreation Services; Brigid Daly, Van Wagner; Lucas D’Aversa, New York Yankees; Matthew Dressler, Radegen Sports Management; Michael Feinberg, N.B.C. Sports; Seth Greenberg, Kansas City Chiefs; Matthew Gwiazdowski, Baltimore Orioles; Jack Kaczorowski, Houston Rockets; Joshua Katz, Dallas Cowboys; Stefan Maish, C.S.M. LeadDog; Kellan Massino, Philadelphia Eagles; Da’Sha Prescott-Moore, Starfinder Foundation; Kurtis Senif, S.U. Athletics - Marketing; Cameron Steele, Boston Celtics; Wei Wang, H.U.P.U. Sports Media Co.; Griffin Whitman, Intersport
Spring 2019
Zachary Alechammas, Madison Square Garden; William Austin, S.U. Athletics - Marketing; Nicholas Basile, Special Olympics of New York; Jonathan Bennett Jr., B.S.E. Global - Long Island Nets; Samuel Birdsall, Wasserman; Caitlin Burke, Boston Red Sox; Nicholas Carlson, Turner Sports; Cody Conway, Athletic Evolution; Brianna Cooper, Turner Sports; Aaron Cornelius, Point 3 Basketball; Cameryn Cortese, Bucknell University Athletics; Timothy Critchlow, Radegen Sports Management; Anthony De La Fuente, Van Wagner; Jonathan Delabruere, Hurricane Junior Golf Tour; Drina Domic, N.B.A.; Hannah Duerr, U.S. Olympic Committee; Marc Eckenrod, SuperFan Fundraising; Nicholas Gold, N.C.A.A.; James Goldberger, Mountain Goat Run Foundation; Daniel Hamilton, S.U. Athletics - Communications; James Hunt, Madison Square Garden; Adam Israel, Excel Sports Management; Michael Kuruc III, Syracuse University Hockey; Olivia Lavelle, Cleveland Indians; Matteo Lovece, Vayner Sports; Sarah Lundmark, Athletes First; John (Chance) Mannix, United Soccer League; Hugo Marsans, Relevent Sports; Marielle Mcloughlin, Mississippi State University Athletics; Andrew Meyer, Roc Nation; Jocelyn Mong, C.S.M. LeadDog; Jake Narracci, Madison Square Garden; Austin Natowitz, University of Tennessee Athletics; Alexander Newman, B.S.E. Global; Sean Onwualu, Athletes First; Samoya Ricketts ,Turner Sports - N.B.A. Product Marketing; Micah Rubin, S.U. Athletics - Compliance; Phillip Sawyer, Madison Square Garden; Sean Selig, Syracuse University Women’s Basketball; Fabian Stoeckling, Roc Nation; Aaron Tabak, Special Olympics of New York; Bradley Williamson, Van Wagner; Eric Winikoff, Select Sports Group; Ethan Yoo, Philadelphia Eagles; Nicholas Zacchilli, Mountain Goat Run Foundation
Summer 2019
Jennifer Bard, Velley Preferred Cycling Center; Shaun Belbey, Pure Sweat Basketball; Neil Cusat, Pegasus Sports; Andrew Godnick, National Basketball Players Association; Owen Herrington, Syracuse Crunch; Erel Israel, Social Movement Media; Samuel Jenanyan, The Players Tribune; Daniel Khalil, Cascade Maverik Lacrosse; Erica Krumbine, New York Yankees; Taitum Kurasz, Syracuse Crunch; Nicholas Lee, New York Islanders; Xinyu Li, Future Arena; Victoria Mattarell, Boilermaker Road Race; Alex Miller, Fanatics; Alexandra Olnowich, M.S.G. Networks; Ayal Pessar, Radegen Sports Management; Madeline Placey, E.S.P.N.; Andrew Quigley, Talent Resources; Quinton Redett, New York Lizards; Javier Ruiz, Authentic Brands Group; Jack Schwartz, Madison Square Garden; Sara Stanley, New York State Golf Association; Alicia Torres, C.S.M.; Sterling Vaughn, Georgia State University Athletics; Kristen Warner, U.N. Women; Daniel Zimmermann,Thuzio
Capstone
Senior tweaks N.B.A. League reporting
By Drina Domic, S.P.M. ’19
During the Spring 2019 semester, I completed my Senior Capstone in New York City at the National Basketball Association (N.B.A.) League Office in the Team Marketing and Business Operations Department (T.M.B.O.).
T.M.B.O. works as an in-house consulting group for the N.B.A., G-League, W.N.B.A., and N.B.A.2K. Within T.M.B.O., I worked with the Strategy and Analytics group as a business intelligence analyst. My group focused on assisting all facets of the industry, from marketing to ticket sales through data-driven decision making.
My specific role was to bring league reporting into the 21st Century, to transition away from static P.D.F. reports to more dynamic, real-time dashboards. Having data in real-time with filtering capabilities will enable teams and other groups within T.M.B.O. to easily identify trends and best practices in a more convenient manner. Through this process, I learned how to streamline data and create automated processes. The beauty of T.M.B.O. is affecting different aspects of the business in a variety of settings.
It was a unique learning opportunity to see how markets operate, whether big or small, winning or losing, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the teams. I consulted with each organization’s strategy and analytics team about their needs.
The most rewarding part of working with the N.B.A.’s T.M.B.O. Department was learning from experts in all areas of sport who come from diverse backgrounds.
I am proud to say I have been offered a full-time job with T.M.B.O.’s Strategy and Analytics group, effective Summer 2019.
Intern gets up-close look at sport agency
By Sean Onwualu, S.P.M. ’19
During the 2018 Spring semester, I was honored to intern at Athletes First, a full-service sport agency in Laguna Hills, California.
Athletes First primarily focuses on football, representing more than 150 N.F.L. players and coaches. Interns help the organization throughout the N.F.L. season and off-season, assisting with the rookie program, Super Bowl, N.F.L. Combine, N.F.L. Free Agency and N.F.L. Draft. I helped secure items and worked at Athletes First’s yearly Charity Auction to raise money for the Orangewood Foundation, which aims to provide foster children with a better life.
Highlights from my senior Capstone include working on the Charity Auction, Free Agency and the N.F.L. Draft. I felt I truly made an impact on these events. For the auction, each intern was tasked with finding a high-profile item worth auctioning. My contribution was four tickets to a Monster Jam rally. During N.F.L. Free Agency, I compiled statistics and information for New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard’s agent, who helped land Shepard a four-year $41 million extension this past off-season. The N.F.L. Draft was exciting as I saw athletes I helped and worked for during the semester have their lifelong dreams fulfilled.
I learned a lot about the agency side of football and how important agents are to players. They work hard behind the scenes to be successful.
I will take all of the real-world lessons I learned at Athletes First and apply them as I begin my career in the sport industry as an assistant account executive at Deutsch.
Turner Capstone brings senior to Final Four
By Brianna Cooper, S.P.M. ’19
During the Spring 2019 semester, I completed my senior Capstone at Turner Sports with the Advertising Sales and Marketing Department in New York City. This team is responsible for selling and executing all digital, on-air, and on-site sponsorships for its sports properties.
As an ad sales intern, I was fortunate to start my Capstone during the peak of March Madness planning. I assisted the N.C.A.A. team in completing competitive tracking reports, prospecting new clients, and creating sales materials. I attended weekly meetings with C.B.S. teams as well as the annual N.C.A.A., Turner and C.B.S. meeting, where we developed sponsorship ideas and introduced new clients.
The title March Madness stood true to its name because during the tournament, as I spent long nights at the C.B.S. Broadcast Center tracking in-game sponsorships, capturing digital ad content, and drafting social content for the N.C.A.A.’s Final Four Music Series and Fan Fest. In April, I achieved a bucket-list goal by joining Turner’s Final Four team in Minneapolis for six days, running the N.C.A.A. social media accounts, and witnessing Virginia’s first-ever championship.
This internship at Turner gave me a greater appreciation for the business of sports and provided an amazing experience that helped me identify corporate partnerships as my career path. It taught me that the importance of sports is in the experiences you provide because even if fans forget the outcome of a game, they’ll never forget how you made them feel.
Since graduating from Syracuse University in May 2019, I have been interviewing for positions with teams and media companies with the hope to join a corporate partnerships team.
Cowboys Capstone leads to Ravens job
By Josh Katz, S.P.M. ’19
In the Fall 2018 semester, I completed my senior Capstone with the Dallas Cowboys as a Business Analytics and Insights intern at the team’s headquarters, The Star, in Frisco, Texas.
The primary responsibility of the Cowboys’ Business Analytics team is to provide analytical business insights for the sales, marketing, sponsorship, merchandise, and media departments. I focused on building dashboards for the sales team to monitor campaigns, collected market research for the sponsorship team in preparation for pitch meetings, and monitored the team’s C.R.M. data warehouse.
Learning from such a prolific franchise was an incredible experience. I honed and improved my technical skills in Tableau, R, S.Q.L., and C.R.M. practices, and took the lead on key projects throughout the semester. I was lucky to have three great supervisors who taught me best practices in the sport analytics industry and taught me the importance of creative problem-solving.
It was such an honor to learn from industry professionals at an N.F.L. franchise during the season. I loved being in the fast-paced and highly competitive environment of the N.F.L. Also, working at A.T.&T. Stadium on gamedays was an added perk.
Overall, my senior Capstone was an incredible experience. I met so many top-notch people throughout the organization, and the skills and lessons I learned with the Cowboys helped me land a full-time position as a Business Analyst with the N.F.L.’s Baltimore Ravens.
Students receive assistance from scholarship funds
Sport Management students are eligible to apply for annual scholarships to assist with the financial aspects of completing summer internships or senior Capstones.
Jennifer Corn Carter Fund
The Jennifer Corn Carter Senior Capstone Award for Sport Management supports students in the department during their senior Capstone experiences. For the 2018-19 academic year, four students were honored with this award: Brigid Daly, who interned with Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment in Fall 2018; Nicholas Gold, who interned with the Atlantic Coast Conference and the N.C.A.A.’s Women’s Basketball Advancement Program in Spring 2019; Andrew Meyer, who interned with Roc Nation in Spring 2019; and Kristen Warner, who interned with U.N. Women in Summer 2019. Each received $500 to $1000.
Jennifer Corn Carter is a graduate of Syracuse University, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. She was honored with the Falk College’s 2010 Alumna of the Year Award for her on-going support of our students and Syracuse University. Her vision and support created the Jennifer Corn Carter Resource and Career Center in Falk College.
Student Learning Fund
Twenty-three Sport Management seniors were awarded scholarships from the Sport Management Student Learning Fund during the 2018- 19 academic year. Each received $500 to $1000.
In Summer 2019, eight students earned the scholarships: Erica Krumbine (New York Yankees), Taitum Kurasz (Syracuse Crunch), Victoria Mattarell (Boilermaker Road Race), Ayal Pessar (Radegen Sports Management), Javier Ruiz (Authentic Brands Group), Sara Stanley (New York State Golf Association), Alicia Torres (C.S.M. Lead- Dog), and Daniel Zimmermann (Thuzio).
In Spring 2019, 12 students earned the scholarships: Nicholas Carlson (Turner Sports), Anthony de la Fuente (Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment), Jonathan DeLaBruere (Hurricane Junior Golf Tour), Drina Domic (N.B.A.), Marc Eckenrod (Super Fan Fundraising), Adam Israel (Excel Sports Management), Sarah Lundmark (Athletes First), Chance Mannix (United Soccer League), Hugo Marsans (Relevent Sports), Marielle McLoughlin (Mississippi State Athletics), Sean Onwualu (Athletes First), and Eric Winikoff (Select Sports Group).
In Fall 2018, three students earned the scholarships: Seth Greenberg (Kansas City Chiefs), Kellan Massino (Philadelphia Eagles), and Griffin Whitman (Intersport).
Undergraduate Summer Internship Fund
The Sport Management Summer Internship Fund is used each year to provide support to undergraduate students pursuing unpaid summer internships, enabling them to gain industry experience.
Seven students were each awarded $2,000 for 2019 summer internships: Andrew Bush (Philadelphia Soul), Margaret Haggerty (Pan-American Games), Samuel Marteka (Orleans Firebirds), Frank Petrillo (Premier Partnerships), Shehreyar Piracha (United Soccer League), Lucas Prestamo (Syracuse University Athletics), and Erica Sosman (Hospital for Special Surgery).
For more information about the funds, contact Sport Management internship coordinator Nicole Cost at 315.443.7481 or nfimbrog@syr.edu.
Sport Professionals of Color Club seeks new members
The Sport Management Sport Professionals of Color Club wrapped up its fifth year in 2018-19, as an organization to connect students who identify as people of color with sport professionals from across the industry.
The organization was formed during the 2014-15 academic year with the purpose of helping to guide young professionals in their pursuit of success and career establishment in the industry. The club strives to improve members’ professional skills, host speakers, foster networking growth, and take part in experiential learning opportunities.
During the 2018-19 academic year, the club began a new membership drive, held an N.F.L. Draft watch party, and welcomed social media entrepreneur Eamonn Donlyn as a guest speaker.
Meetings are on Mondays at 6:45 p.m. in Falk 401, and are open to all Syracuse University students. Contact Nate Gansworth at nrganswo@syr.edu for more information or call 315.443.9881.
S.P.M. Club raises $55,195 at 14th Charity Auction
The Sport Management Club at Syracuse University raised $55,195 for the Syracuse Rescue Mission as a result of its 14th Annual Charity Sports Auction.
During the S.U. men’s basketball game on Dec. 1, 2018, supporters placed bids on hundreds of items, including sports memorabilia, electronics and tickets to major sporting events.
The 2018 total was the third-highest in the 14-year history of the event, which has now raised more than $467,000 for local charities, including Boys & Girls Clubs, Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of C.N.Y., the Central New York S.P.C.A., the Upstate Cancer Center, Special Olympics New York, Food Bank of C.N.Y., Make-A-Wish of C.N.Y., the Salvation Army, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center and Meals on Wheels.
“The Rescue Mission was grateful to have been chosen as the nonprofit partner for the 2018 Management Club Charity Sports Auction. The proceeds from this event will remain local right here in Syracuse and Upstate New York, and will directly serve those in need through safe beds and warm meals,” said Rescue Mission Chief Executive Officer Dan Sieburg.
Since 1887, the Rescue Mission Alliance has been fighting to end homelessness and hunger across Upstate New York, with operations in Syracuse, Auburn, Ithaca and Binghamton. Their mission is to share hope, end hunger and homelessness, change lives, and strengthen communities. In 2017, the Rescue Mission served more than 282,000 meals and helped over 10,000 men, women and children in need in the community.
“We are extremely proud of the students who put hundreds of hours into making our 14th annual auction so successful to enhance the great services provided by the Rescue Mission,” said S.P.M. director Michael Veley, who also serves as advisor for the Club. “This event teaches our students social responsibility and civic engagement and provides them invaluable learning by implementing a first-class event to benefit the less fortunate in our community.”
The 15th annual auction will be held in December 2019 at the Carrier Dome to benefit Make-a-Wish of Central New York. For more information about the event, visit the Charity Sports Auction website.
In addition to the auction, the Club hosts guest speakers, takes group trips, and volunteers in the community.
The Sport Management Club meets at 7 p.m. Tuesdays during the academic year in Falk 200. Students from all majors are welcome. For more information, contact S.P.M. Club president Sam Marteka (svmartek@syr. edu), executive vice president Connor Monzo (cdmonzo@syr.edu), vice president of community service Steven Soriano (sjsorian@syr.edu), vice president of programming Jonah Wheeler (twheel01@syr.edu), vice president of membership Kaitlynn Miller (kmille16@syr.edu), or vice president of administration Andrew Bush (anbush@syr.edu).
Picture with caption in this article: S.P.M. Club vice president Connor Monzo (left) and former S.P.M. Club co-advisor Kate Veley (second from left) present a check for $55,195 to representatives from the Syracuse Rescue Mission on Jan. 18, 2019 at the Carrier Dome.
A letter from the S.P.M. Club president
By Sarah Lundmark, S.P.M. ’19
S.P.M. Club President, 2018 My experience with the Sport Management Club began before I was even accepted to Syracuse University. On the first trip I took across the country from my California home to visit my future four-year home, I was impressed. During a prospective student day, Falk College compiled a panel of student leaders to speak about their time at S.U. and the Sport Management program. During that panel, I learned of all the amazing opportunities that were offered for students to get involved, including the S.P.M. Club. The thought of a club that would help me develop professionally, while still placing a large emphasis on philanthropy, was enticing and exciting. Little did I know the impact it would have on my educational and social experience.
I was elected Club President in January 2018, after returning from a semester abroad. I knew that after missing the auction in the Fall of 2017, I wanted to come back and get involved in a large way. Although I was honored the club chose me as its leader, by no means did I do it alone. The incredible officers were essential in the success and growth of the club.
In the spring semester, we focused largely on professional development and networking, hosting numerous industry executives from a variety of departments such as finance, sales and management. We also held educational workshops with campus professionals to work on resumes, interview techniques, and research resources.
The Fall of 2018 brought with it the 14th Annual Charity Sports Auction, which benefitted Rescue Mission of Syracuse. Our fantastic auction chairs, Caitlin Burke ’19 and Anthony de la Fuente ’19, worked tirelessly to make this an unforgettable event.
The S.P.M. Club has accomplished so much with its dedicated and incredible members. These are the people I spent some of the biggest moments of college with and I know I will carry those memories with me forever. I’m truly grateful to have had the opportunity to be involved in such an influential campus organization.
Sales Club assists S.U. Athletics, Crunch selling tickets
During the 2018-19 academic year, the Sport Sales Club’s focus was to increase membership, strengthen its partnership with Syracuse University Athletics, increase sales for its project with the Syracuse Crunch, hold a community service event, and welcome guest speakers from the sport industry.
In conjunction with S.U. Athletics, the students helped break the program’s Night Sales record, selling more than $24,000 in tickets for S.U. men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football games. Club members cold-called prospects and worked sales events such as the annual Spring Game Select-A-Seat Event. At that event, S.P.M. freshman Connor Howard set the record for most season ticket sales in a single event.
The club worked with the Crunch on its annual “S.U. Night” for the Crunch’s game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in March of 2019. To achieve their sales goals, members prospected student organizations, athletic teams, and local businesses to pack the War Memorial that evening. The club partnered with the Rescue Mission to donate a portion of the proceeds to help feed those in need in Syracuse.
The club welcomed numerous guest speakers, including Mario Oliveri of the New York Yankees, Kevin Rochlitz of the Baltimore Ravens, Andrew Sidney of the Houston Rockets, Steve McMahon of the Philadelphia 76ers, Jentry Mullins and Blake Pallansch of the Phoenix Suns, David Campbell of the Miami Marlins, Nate Medrano of the Miami Dolphins, Alexandria Anneheim of the Charolette Hornets, Howard Cole of the New York Mets, Mark Hayes of the Syracuse Crunch, Foster Baker of Paycom, and David Hammond of Catapult.
The Sales Club was established in 2015 and serves as a medium for members to gain hands-on experience in the sport sales industry, as well as provide networking opportunities for students to earn jobs and internships. In Summer 2019, several members of the Sales Club interned with the New York Yankees, while other members interned with the University of Illinois, Philadelphia Soul, Syracuse Crunch, and Hartford Yard Goats, among others.
Club officers for 2019-20 are Seth Kourpas, president; Drew Bush, executive vice president; Niko Armstrong, vice president of programming; Cooper Self, vice president of events; Devan Dachisen, vice president of membership; and Ian Benepe, vice president of administration.
The Sales Club meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays during the academic year in Falk 400. For more information, contact Kourpas at sbkourpa@syr.edu or club advisor David Meluni at dmmeluni@syr.edu. All Syracuse University students are welcome to attend.
Picture with caption in this article: The New York Yankees received assistance in Summer 2019 from numerous Sport Management interns, including Caitlin Alessi (second from left), Connor Monzo, Nico Basile, Andrea Ghanian, Seth Kourpas, Erica Krumbine, Peter Appel and Tom Adams. They are shown with John Madden (far left), manager of inside sales.
Support Sport Management
We continually strive to offer a variety of opportunities to support our Sport Management students. From scholarships and financial assistance to immersion programs and experiential field trips, along with inviting distinguished guest lectures to campus and hosting relevant symposiums, Falk College’s sport management education goes beyond the textbooks and the walls of our classrooms. David Salanger, Falk College assistant dean for advancement and external affairs, would welcome the opportunity to talk and/or meet with you to discuss program support and student learning opportunities. Please contact David at 315.443.8989 or dasalang@syr.edu.
S.P.M. partners with Yankees to teach ticket sales tactics
Industry experts confirm that sales, and specifically ticket sales, is the most common career path into professional sports. To this end, the Department of Sport Management established a partnership in 2012 with the New York Yankees toward the training and employment of S.P.M. students in ticket sales.
During the academic year, adjunct professor Al Weinberger and assistant teaching professor David Meluni explain essential sales skills and develop students’ understanding of the importance of sales to sport organizations. The S.P.M. 350/650 Sports Ticket Sales class and S.P.M. 215 Principles of Sales in Sports class involve collaboration with the Yankees and their sales executives.
The organization hosted the students at Yankee Stadium in April 2019 for a panel discussion with five Yankees staff members, including several S.U. alumni. The students also enjoyed a facility tour and watched that night’s game from a private suite.
In addition to sales training, employment possibilities are a key aspect to the partnership between S.P.M. and the Yankees. During each year of the partnership, the Yankees have interviewed S.P.M. students for full-time positions on their inside sales staff, resulting in several hires, both as summer interns and permanent positions.
“The New York Yankees have one of the best sales programs in all of sports, and for them to give our students this kind of exposure is invaluable and unique,” Meluni said. “We are thankful for this partnership and confident that our best students will continue to earn internships and jobs with the Yankees for years to come.”
S.P.M.-N.Y.Y. pipeline
Seven S.U. Sport Management alumni are currently working for the New York Yankees:
Nico Basile ’19, junior sales associate, inside sales
Lucas D’Aversa ’19, sales associate, inside sales
P.J. Davidson ’13, assistant manager of group sales and service
Richard Granato ’11, ticket operations representative
Jordan Harris S.V.E.M. ’19, sales associate, inside sales
Erica Krumbine ’19, junior sales associate, inside sales
AmandaRae McLean ’13, community relations coordinator
Connect with S.U. Sport Management
Department of Sport Management
Syracuse University
402 MacNaughton Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244
315.443.9881 or 315.443.2630, (fax) 315.443.9716
Michael Veley, Director and Chair
mdveley@syr.edu
Kathryn Tunkel, Administrative Assistant to Michael Veley
kmtunkel@syr.edu
Margie Chetney, Administrative Assistant
mchetney@syr.edu
Gina Pauline, Undergraduate Program Director
gapaulin@syr.edu
Jeff Pauline, Graduate Program Director
jspaulin@syr.edu
Rodney Paul, Analytics Program Director
rpaul01@syr.edu
David Salanger, Assistant Dean, Advancement, Falk College
dasalang@syr.edu
Falk College, Department of Sport Management Website
Falk College, Department of Sport Management on Facebook
Falk College, Department of Sport Management on Twitter: @SUSportMgmt
Active WISE members busy networking, volunteering
Women in Sports and Events (WISE) is a nationally recognized group whose goal is to be a leading voice and resource for women who currently work in, or aspire to be a part of, the professional field of sports and events. In 2009, Syracuse University was voted in as the first collegiate chapter of WISE’s national organization, and since its inception on campus, has offered multiple professional development opportunities for membership.
With the help of S.P.M. graduates Ian McFate ’08, Sam Spector ’16, and Jake Silverman ’08, the club organized a two-day trip to Philadelphia in October 2018 to network and learn from industry professionals at the Philadelphia Phillies, Sixers, Flyers and the University of Pennsylvania. The women toured Citizens Bank Park, Wells Fargo Center, and University of Pennsylvania athletic facilities, speaking with women who work throughout different sectors of the sport organizations. Students also attended the UPenn vs. Columbia volleyball game and Flyers vs. Golden Knights N.H.L. game.
“We are so lucky to have alumni who are more than happy to take time out of their days to host our group, giving us tours of their facilities and setting up panels of amazing women willing to share their experiences and insight” said WISE president Kristen Rogers ’20.
In Spring 2019, WISE members volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Syracuse to cook and serve meals to families staying at the facility.
“We believe that it is extremely important to give back to the community that has given us our home away from home,” Rogers said.
The group co-hosted workshops focusing on campus resources and resumes; partnered with Witty Wicks, a homemade candle company, and Chipotle, to fundraise for future networking trips and events; and welcomed numerous guest speakers to campus or via Skype.
“WISE provides a fantastic way for young women to hold leadership positions and create opportunities for members, such as hosting events or collaborating with other on-campus groups,” Cost said. “These are great talking points when networking as well as on interviews, not to mention a solid way to learn skills for when they leave campus.”
Keep up with S.U.’s WISE Club on Social Media: Twitter: @WISE_SU; Instagram: WISE_Cuse; and Facebook: Women in Sports and Events at Syracuse University. The club officers for 2019-20 are Kaitlynn Miller, president; Elaine Johnson, vice president of recruitment; Caroline Johnson, vice president of internal programming; Danielle Parr, vice president of external programming; Hanna Kou, treasurer; and Devan Dachisen, director of social media.
WISE, which meets at 5:45 p.m. Tuesdays in Falk 175, includes women from all majors on campus interested in pursuing careers in sports and events. For more information, email WISE co-advisors Nicole Cost (nfimbrog@syr.edu) or Lisa Liparulo (lmliparu@syr.edu).
Classes pitch ideas to sport industry think tank
During the Spring 2019 semester, Dr. Patrick Walsh’s S.P.M. 444 Sports Marketing Management class and David Meluni’s S.P.M. 215 Principles of Sales in Sport class collaborated with brand consultant Jeremy Darlow on a variety of projects.
Darlow, former director of football and baseball marketing for Adidas, has worked with and developed marketing strategies for top university brands such as Notre Dame, Michigan, and U.C.L.A.; athletes such as Aaron Rodgers and Lionel Messi; and celebrity influencers such as Kanye West and Snoop Dog. Following his time at Adidas, Darlow created the Brand Food Think Tank, which provides weekly brand marketing strategies and tactics for industry professionals. He currently acts as a brand consultant and is also the author of two books, “Brands Win Championships” and “Athletes are Brands, Too.”
In each of the classes, Darlow provided a monthly challenge on a current topic facing the sport industry. In S.P.M. 444, students developed ideas for how professional sport teams and facilities can utilize legalized sport gambling to best engage with fans in-stadium on game days while enhancing the overall fan and brand experience.
In a separate challenge, S.P.M. 444 students developed ideas for how a college football player can use the N.F.L. Draft as a platform to build brand awareness and develop a unique brand image.
S.P.M. 215 students developed ideas around March Madness and a piece of merchandise that could go viral surrounding an upstart team making a run through the bracket. Also, S.P.M. 215 students looked to maximize attendance throughout Major League Baseball along with generating a sponsorship idea to be showcased during the P.G.A. Tour’s U.S. Open, the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, or French Open. Student ideas from both classes were then reviewed by S.P.M. faculty and Darlow, and the best ones were featured on Brand Food Podcasts throughout the semester, as well as on Darlow’s Twitter account (with 90,000 followers) and the Brand Food Think Tank website.
“The feedback I received from students was fantastic,” Meluni said. “They really enjoyed the real-world exercise as if they were professionals trying to solve challenges that industry leaders face daily.”
Analytics
Inaugural Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium highlights rising importance of data in sport
“Calculating the Future of Sports Through Analytics” was the featured theme of the inaugural Andrew T. Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium, presented by Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics on April 3, 2019, at the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
Now more than ever, information and data are driving the sports industry, the fifth largest economic sector in the U.S. economy that generated slightly less than $500 billion in 2016-17. Scouts and agents rely on sport analytics to identify unusual talent and athletic capabilities. Performance data helps professional athletes monitor fitness and predict likelihood of injury. Sport marketing executives value data analytics to improve the fan experience.
The Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium brought together leading industry innovators and Syracuse University faculty members to take a closer look at the critical issues in sport analytics. Chicago Cubs senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting, Jason McLeod, gave the keynote address. McLeod began his front-office career with the San Diego Padres and served as scouting director for the Boston Red Sox.
A panel discussion was moderated by Michael D. Veley, founding director and chair of Falk College’s Department of Sport Management, and the Rhonda S. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management, with remarks from Dr. Rodney Paul, S.U.’s sport analytics program designer, director, professor. The panelists included:
Dafna Aaronson, founder, Be Sports Minded
Sean Ahmed, analyst, research and development, baseball operations, Chicago Cubs
Kevin Brilliant, business strategy and analytics senior manager, Chicago Bulls
Dr. Shane Sanders, sport analytics associate professor, Syracuse University
Dr. Robby Sikka, professor, associate director, data analytics for sports medicine, Mayo Clinic
Hart Zwingelberg, manager, business intelligence, Chicago Fire Soccer Club
Berlin Scholars participated in a senior thesis poster presentation during the pre-event reception. The featured student presenters included Syracuse University sport analytics seniors Cody Barbuto, Charles “C.B.” Garrett IV, Justin Perline, and Evan Weiss. Falk College’s Department of Sport Management also presented the inaugural “Pioneer in Sport Analytics Award” honoring Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs.
The Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium event was made possible by the generosity of Syracuse University Trustee and alumnus, Andrew T. Berlin ’83. Berlin is a partner investor of the Chicago Cubs, chairman and owner of its minor league Cubs affiliate, the South Bend Cubs, and chairman and C.E.O. of Berlin Packaging.
The second annual Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium is planned for Spring 2020.
Picture with caption in this article: Andrew Berlin (center) is shown with the four Syracuse University sport analytics majors and Berlin Scholars who presented their senior thesis research posters at the event. From left are Charles “C.B.” Garrett IV, Cody Barbuto, Justin Perline and Evan Weiss.
Football Analytics Club focuses on research
The Football Analytics Club was established during the 2017-18 academic year and grew from four to 40 students this past year. The Club was recently accepted as an official Syracuse University Registered Student Organization beginning in Fall 2019. Weekly meetings are a combination of football discussion and research projects or activities.
In Fall 2018, the club partnered with the X.F.L., the spring football league started by Vince McMahon, to help the league research potential changes to the game. Members worked with S.P.M. alumnus Bryan Kilmeade ’18 to analyze N.F.L., A.A.F., and C.F.L. games. Data was collected and analyzed to develop conclusions the X.F.L. utilized to formulate its rules.
Members also worked on a research project showing how winning/ losing streaks impacted future winning chances and betting lines., finding that for each additional win on a team’s winning streak, the point spread swung about one point in their favor and that the home team’s likelihood to win the next game improved by 6.6 percent. For the away team, it improved by 3.9 percent. In addition to these projects, the Club also researched ideal cities for X.F.L. teams and predicted free agent contracts. The club traveled to New Era Field in Buffalo to watch the Bills beat the Tennessee Titans on a last-second field goal in October 2018. During that trip, students met with S.U. Sport Analytics senior Evan Weiss ’19, who was interning for the Bills’ Analytics Department. The club also held an N.F.L. Draft Party.
Club officers for the 2019-20 academic year are Zak Koeppel (president), Sean Kenney (vice president), Dylan Blechner (director of research), Joe Pickering (director of operations) and Will Friedeman (treasurer).
The Football Analytics Club meets at 6 p.m. Mondays during the academic year in Falk 400. All Syracuse University students are welcome to attend.
For more information, email Koeppel at zkoeppel@syr.edu.
On a Winning Streak: Sport Analytics students prove they’re ready to storm the industry
Assembling a championship-caliber team and a profitable business organization is a challenge that sports owners, executives and managers face every day in the ultra-competitive world of sports. Increasingly, they are turning to data analytics for an advantage. Whether it is predicting player performance, athlete injury recovery or enhancing an organization’s bottom line, analytics is changing the methodology of how teams, leagues and sport managers are competing to make better, quantifiable decisions.
Sport analytics is a growing segment of the industry, where many young, aspiring sport professionals are choosing to make a career. They’re data-driven—and they’re catching the eye of sports teams all over the world.
In fall 2016, the program welcomed its first official class as the first undergraduate degree of its kind in the nation. The intensive program with coursework in economics, mathematics and computer programming has attracted competitive students from around the world.
Since its launch, sport analytics at Syracuse has celebrated many successes. The program has established student-industry collaborations with EDGE10, X.F.L., Spotted, and Syracuse University Athletics. Students have secured professional job placements prior to graduation with teams in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Students and faculty have published and presented research internationally. In addition, they have competed and placed in prestigious industry and academic competitions, including S.A.B.R. Diamond Dollars Case Competition, M.I.T. Sloan Sports Analytics, A.C.C. Meeting of the Minds, and the N.F.L.’s inaugural Big Data Bowl earlier this year.
Here are some program highlights:
The first four Berlin Scholars were named: class of 2019 seniors Cody Barbuto, Charles “C.B.” Garrett IV, Justin Perline and Evan Weiss.
Barbuto accepted a full-time analytics position from Kraft Analytics Group in Foxborough, Mass., after graduating in May 2019.
Garrett, whose research on “Impact of Birthplace on Player Performance in Different Weather Conditions” won top honors at the 2019 Falk College Student Research Celebration, spent the summer interning with the N.B.A.’s Indiana Pacers in their performance analytics department.
Perline accepted a full-time analytics position with the Pittsburgh Pirates after interning with the team in summer 2018. He spent part of his 2018-19 winter break in the Dominican Republic scouting for the Pirates.
During his junior year at S.U., Weiss was hired as an intern to work with the Buffalo Bills during the Fall 2018 semester. He returned to campus in January 2019 to complete his degree and was retained by the team full-time after graduation in May 2019.
In August 2018, Perline and Garrett presented their research at the European Sports Economics Association (E.S.E.A.) conference in London, titled “Minor League Team Success and Its Impact on M.L.B. Player Performance.”
Barbuto and Nick Riccardi ’20 presented their research at the 2019 Academy of Economics and Finance conference in Tampa, Florida. Riccardi won the student paper competition with his study, “Canadian Hockey League Game-To-Game Performance.” He also presented the paper at the A.C.C. Meeting of the Minds conference at the University of Louisville in March. Barbuto’s paper was titled “G.I.N.I. Coefficients in the N.B.A.” Riccardi also presented his research the past two years at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) Hockey Analytics Conference and co-authored research that was published in the International Journal of Financial Studies titled “Attendance in the Canadian Hockey League: The Impact of Winning, Fighting, Uncertainty of Outcome, and Weather on Junior Hockey Attendance.”
Perline co-authored a paper with Sport Analytics associate professor Dr. Shane Sanders titled “Informed Voters, Uninformed Voters, and Electoral Outcomes: A Natural Experiment from Major League Baseball MVP Voting,” which Sanders presented at the 2019 Public Choice Society Annual Meetings in Louisville, Kentucky. Sanders was then invited to present the same paper at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Sport Analytics students Dylan Blechner, Zak Koeppel, Will Friedeman and Cameron Johnson entered their research to the N.F.L.’s inaugural Big Data Bowl competition. The competition provided participants with access to N.F.L. playertracking data to create proposals on one of three topics: player speed, game rules and receiver routes. Their entry, “Route Clustering,” placed in the top nine from more than 100 submissions and was one of five entries to receive an honorable mention.
Jonathan Bosch ’21 and Alex Pesantez ’21 spent part of their 2019 summer in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Statistics. The program provided participants with hands-on experience working with real data, on real problems, in a stimulating, collaborative, and supportive environment. The students have worked with Syracuse University Sport Analytics professors Dr. Rodney Paul and Dr. Shane Sanders on research projects while attending classes and being active members of student-run analytics clubs on campus. “Jon and Alex’s hard work and commitment to research led to the well-deserved opportunity at Carnegie Mellon,” Paul said.
Perline, Weiss, Kyle Liotta ’20 and Josh Hentschel ’19, along with Paul, Sanders and Sport Analytics Program Manager Francesco Riverso attended the M.I.T. Sloan Sport Analytics Conference in Boston in March 2019, where they heard presentations about current topics impacting the industry and interacted with executives. The students also benefitted from networking sessions and a career fair.
Barbuto, Garrett, and Liotta co-authored a paper with Dr. Paul titled “Celebrity Attraction in the Minors: the Case of Tim Tebow” that was published in the Journal of Economics and Finance.
Sport Analytics students were asked by SU’s office of alumni relations to give a presentation to alumni before two S.U. football games in Fall 2018 and two S.U. men’s basketball games during the 2018-19 season.
Well-known New York Post sports columnist Ken Davidoff wrote about the sport analytics program’s success in September 2018 in a column titled “Next Generation of Sports Fans Ready to Take Over Baseball.”
Here’s a sampling of where Syracuse University Sport Analytics students interned in Summer 2019: Dylan Blechner, Spotted, Inc.; Bailie Brown, Florence Red Wolves; Zachary Crowe, Falmouth Commodores; Jacob Cummis, Indiana Pacers; Jack Dolitsky, B.S.E. Global; Whitaker Ellis, Clover Sonoma; Cameron Johnson, Reign F.C.; Sean Kenney, Parametric Technology Corporation (P.T.C.); Kyle Liotta, Milwaukee Brewers; Samuel Marteka, Orleans Firebirds; Stephen McClain, University of Pittsburgh Football; Colby Olson, E.B.S.C.O. Industries; Justin Philbin, New York Lizards; Joseph Pickering, Rookie Road; Hughston Preston, Cape Cod Baseball League; Nicholas Riccardi, Bankers Healthcare Group; Joseph Sabel, Costa Del Mar; Nicholas Schloop, Wasserman Media Group.
As of May 2019, 50 students at Syracuse University are minoring in sport analytics.
Falk College will welcome 59 sport analytics freshmen to campus in Fall 2019, as well as two new sport analytics faculty members in Dr. Justin Ehrlich and Dr. Jeremy Losak.
Pictures with captions in this article: Cody Barbuto, Evan Weiss, Charles “C.B.” Garrett IV and Justin Perline (from left) are the first four graduates of the Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University. They completed their degrees in May 2019, while also serving as Berlin Scholars. Jonathan Bosch ’21 (left) and Alex Pesantez ’21 spent part of their 2019 summer in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Statistics. Nick Riccardi ’20 presented his research at the 2019 Academy of Economics and Finance conference in Tampa, Florida. He won the student paper competition with his study titled “Canadian Hockey League Game-To-Game Performance.” Kyle Liotta ’20 spent his 2019 summer interning for the Milwaukee Brewers in their strategy and business analytics department.
Club members share same zest for basketball
The Syracuse University Basketball Analytics Club concluded its third year in 2018-2019, expanding its membership to more than 40 members who strive to uncover statistical trends in basketball through research, as well as maintaining a fun environment to discuss and debate all things basketball related.
The organization was assembled to conduct analysis on the N.B.A., N.C.A.A., and high school basketball. Over the past year, members have researched topics such as “Which N.C.A.A. Conferences Produce the Best N.B.A. Players,” “The Consequences of Over-Playing Starters in the N.B.A.,” and “Does College Shooting Translate to the N.B.A.”
The club aims to gather students who share the same zest for basketball, in addition to their drive for research. Members practice their analytical skills in Excel as well as utilize their research skills on basketball databases to find appropriate data for analysis.
In February 2019, club members Jonathan Bosch, Nick Riccardi, Zach Anhalt, Alejandro Pesantez, Fletcher Wilson, Isaiah Freedman, and John Litchenstein attended the McCormack Sport Analytics Trade Deadline conference at UMass Amherst. They acted as general managers in a simulation of the N.B.A. trade deadline. Attendees were broken into groups and assigned an N.B.A. franchise. The groups then began trading and transforming their rosters for the duration of the day. The event gave students the opportunity to practice first-hand what takes place during N.B.A. trade negotiations in regard to trade rules, salary cap management, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, among others.
Other projects included taking part in the Falk College Research Celebration and hosting guest speakers in person or via Skype, including basketball analytics professionals from the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, and Milwaukee Bucks.
Officers for the 2019-20 academic year are president Jonathan Bosch, executive vice president John Lichtenstein, vice president marketing Brendan McKeown, director of social media Sean Kenney, and project coordinators Alejandro Pesantez and Danny Emerman.
The club meets at 7 p.m. Mondays in Falk 175 and 1 p.m. Fridays in Falk 104 during the academic year. All Syracuse University students are welcome to join. Contact Bosch at jbosch@syr.edu for more information.
Picture with caption in this article: Club members John Litchenstein, Fletcher Wilson, Jonathan Bosch, Isaiah Freedman, Zach Anhalt, Alejandro Pesantez and Nick Riccardi (from left) attended the McCormack Sport Analytics Trade Deadline Conference at UMass Amherst in February 2019.
High schoolers test drive analytics at summer academy
Twenty-four high school students spent two weeks on campus in Summer 2019 enrolled in the inaugural Berlin Sport Analytics Academy. The program, which was held July 29 to August 9, provided students the opportunity to explore data’s role in understanding and prioritizing information to maintain a competitive advantage in the sports industry.
The group consisted of 23 students from the United States and one from China. They were shown how analytics are being used in a variety of sports, and learned skills in various applications that are currently being used in Sport Analytics courses at Syracuse University and in the sport industry, including R, Tableau, S.Q.L. and more.
Guest speakers were brought in to discuss industry trends, research topics and sample careers. Students were taught by S.U. sport analytics professors Dr. Rodney Paul, Dr. Shane Sanders, Dr. Justin Ehrlich, and Dr. Jeremy Losak. Sport Analytics program manager Francesco Riverso planned experiential learning trips for the students to the Syracuse Crunch, Buffalo Bills, Syracuse Mets, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Full speed ahead for active Sabermetrics Club
Sabermetrics is the study of advanced baseball statistics. And who better to study that than Syracuse University Sport Analytics students?
The student-led club conducts in-depth discussions about current topics in the industry, takes part in research projects, attends national competitions, hosts guest speakers, and runs a fantasy baseball league.
Club members Charles “C.B.” Garrett IV ’19, Cody Barbuto ’19 and Kyle Liotta ’20 published a research paper in conjunction with club advisor and Sport Analytics professor Dr. Rodney Paul on how minor league baseball player Tim Tebow affected attendance for teams during the 2017 season. The paper, titled “Celebrity Attraction in the Minors: The Case of Tim Tebow,” was published in the Journal of Economics and Finance.
Club competes in Phoenix
For the fifth straight year, Club members participated in the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics’ Diamond Dollars Case Competition in Phoenix, Arizona, over Spring Break in March 2019. The competition is for undergraduate and graduate students from universities across the country to compete against each other by researching and presenting on a current baseball analytics topic. Presentations were made to a panel of judges consisting of Major League Baseball executives. Five S.U. teams competed in Arizona in 2019, with two teams winning their respective divisions.
The topic was “Developing a Strategy for Pitching Usage,” and teams were tasked with defining a strategy (or multiple strategies) that M.L.B. teams can follow to assess the optimal way to deploy their pitching assets over the course of a 162-game schedule. Teams had to show how their strategy would impact team run prevention and ultimately team performance. Teams made their presentations by using programs such as R, Excel, and Tableau.
With the help of gifts from Falk College donors Jeff Lomasky and Andrew Berlin, 25 students competed at this prestigious event. The competition is part of the annual S.A.B.R. Analytics Conference in Phoenix, which featured industry speakers, as well as a networking event and job fair for the students to engage with executives who work in the baseball analytics field. Students also attended spring training games and an Arizona Coyotes game, along with meeting members of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ business analytics team, including Syracuse S.P.M. graduate Greg Ackerman ’15.
The students were accompanied by Dr. Paul, Sport Analytics program manager Francesco Riverso, and Sport Management assistant teaching professor David Meluni.
N.Y.U. Case Competition
Two teams representing the Sabermetrics Club competed at the S.A.B.R. Diamond Dollars Case Competition at N.Y.U. on November 16, 2018. Sport Analytics majors Kyle Liotta (’20), Warren Schatten (’22), Drake Mills (’22), Daniel Preciado (’22), Joseph Sabel (’20), Zachary Crowe (’22), Steven Dimaria (’22), Colby Olson (’21), Gareth Jobling (’21) and Zak Koeppel (’21) competed against other universities such as Tufts University and Fordham University.
The teams were tasked with predicting the contracts of M.L.B. free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. Students were given five days to collect data, create a model, and prepare a 30-minute presentation on the topic that was given in New York City. Judges for the competition included Cameron Barwick of M.L.B. and Chris Pang of the New York Yankees.
“We are very proud of the way our students compete at these events,” said Dr. Paul. “It’s a terrific way for them to showcase their research in front of industry professionals as well as gain experience outside of the classroom.”
Officers for the 2019-2020 academic year are president Kyle Liotta, vice president Brendan McKeown, director of research Steven DiMaria and director of outreach Hughston Preston.
The Club meets at 6:45 p.m. Wednesdays in Falk 200. Email Dr. Paul at rpaul01@syr.edu or Liotta at kaliotta@syr.edu for more information.
Picture with caption in this article: Sport Analytics majors and minors represented S.U. at the 2019 Society of American Baseball Research Diamond Dollars Case Competition in Phoenix, Arizona.
Faculty and Staff
S.P.M. news and notes
The 2018-19 academic year was productive for S.P.M. faculty and staff on campus, domestically, and internationally. From presenting research at conferences worldwide to mentoring students on campus and in the community, S.P.M. faculty and staff continue to bring new and important perspectives impacting today’s most critical issues in sport. Listed below is a small sampling of select accomplishments. We invite you to visit the Falk College and Department of Sport Management web site regularly to stay current with S.P.M. students, faculty and staff news.
Rick Burton
David B. Falk endowed professor
Burton presented his research at the 2018 Sport Marketing Association Conference in Dallas, and attended the N.C.A.A. National Convention in Orlando. He co-authored “Forever Orange: The Story of Syracuse University” in honor of S.U.’s 150th anniversary. Burton also serves as S.U.’s Faculty Athletic Representative to the N.C.A.A. and A.C.C.
Dennis Deninger
Professor of practice
The former E.S.P.N. production executive and three-time Emmy Award winner teaches Sport Communications, Super Bowl and Society, and Sports, Media and Society courses. Deninger, who was the founding director of the Sports Communications graduate program at the Newhouse School, lead a group of three S.U. student journalists to Atlanta to cover Super Bowl LIII.
Dr. Justin Ehrlich
Assistant professor
Dr. Ehrlich comes to Syracuse University in Fall 2019 after teaching in the School of Computer Science at Western Illinois University since 2010. Ehrlich will teach sport analytics classes as part of a Syracuse University-wide cluster hire. Ehrlich, whose research is focused on sport epidemiology, sport analytics, and data visualization, received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Kansas.
Dr. Mary Graham
Professor
Dr. Graham presented her research at the 2019 American Sociological Association Conference in New York City and continues as an editorial board member for the journal Human Resource Management. She also serves as a Provost’s Faculty Fellow, where she works closely with the Syracuse University Senate to implement campus-wide shared competencies for undergraduate students.
Dr. Jeeyoon Kim
Assistant professor
Dr. Kim received notification from the Falk College Promotion and Tenure Committee that her third-year review was positive and she has been given another three-year contract at Syracuse University. She presented her research at the 2018 Sport Marketing Association Conference in Dallas and the M.E.M.O.S. Olympic Sport Management Convention in Portugal. Dr. Kim will be on research leave for the Fall 2019 semester in South Korea.
Dr. Jeremy Losak
Assistant professor
Dr. Losak is a 2016 Syracuse University Sport Management graduate, who completed his Ph.D. in economics at Clemson in Summer 2019. His research focuses on sport economics, baseball arbitration and betting markets and has been published in Managerial Finance and Academy of Economics and Finance Journal. Losak will teach sport analytics courses beginning in Fall 2019. His research has been accepted for presentation at the 2019 European Sports Economics Association Conference in Spain.
David Meluni
Assistant teaching professor
Meluni spent four years as an adjunct professor in Sport Management before joining the faculty full time in Fall 2018. He has 20 years of experience in the sport industry, including at Florida State Athletics, I.M.G. College, SIDEARM Sports, Infinity Sports and Entertainment, and Skoresheet. Meluni teaches sales, marketing, sponsorship and promotion courses at S.U., and has created class projects with the Syracuse Mets, Syracuse Crunch and Brand Food.
Dr. Rodney Paul
Professor, Analytics program director
Dr. Paul presented his research at the 2019 Academy of Economics and Finance Conference in Tampa and at the 2018 European Association of Sport Economics in England. Dr. Paul, a sports economist, serves as advisor of the S.P.M. Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club, teaches Sport Analytics courses at S.U. and oversees senior thesis projects.
Dr. Gina Pauline
Associate professor, undergraduate program director
Dr. Pauline, who has taught at S.U. since 2006, is conducting research focusing on gender differences in organizational leadership as well as event management practices. She works on curriculum, assessment planning, and evaluation for the department, and is also involved with S.U. Project Advance in the offering of sport management classes to high school students.
Dr. Jeff Pauline
Associate professor, graduate program director
Dr. Pauline presented his research at the 2018 Association of Applied Sport Psychologists (A.A.S.P.) national conference in Toronto. He serves on the A.A.S.P. Continuing Education Committee and is also a member of A.A.S.P., the S.U. Appeals Board, and Falk College’s Grievance Committee. Pauline took students in S.P.M. 101 to the Syracuse Rescue Mission to serve meals and log volunteer hours.
Patrick Ryan
Associate teaching professor
Ryan mentors the S.P.M. Learning Community. He works closely with Falk College information technology staff to best outfit the college with the necessary equipment for the Milton Conrad Technology Center. He also accompanied S.P.M. 356 students on an experiential learning trip to Lake Placid.
Dr. Shane Sanders
Associate professor
Dr. Sanders presented his research at the 2019 Public Choice Meeting in Louisville, the 2018 Midwest Sports Analytics Meeting in Iowa, and at Indiana University. Dr. Sanders is the advisor for the S.P.M. Basketball Analytics Club and teaches Sport Analytics courses at S.U.
Michael Veley
Director and chair, Rhonda S. Falk endowed professor
Veley is the founding director of the Sport Management program at S.U. He serves as vice president of the Syracuse Sports Corporation, is the public address announcer for S.U. football and basketball games, and the advisor of the Sport Management Club. Veley, who spent nearly two decades working as a Division I athletic administrator, serves on the advisory board of the Center of Sports Business and Research at Penn State University.
Dr. Patrick Walsh
Associate professor
Dr. Walsh presented his research at the 2019 Global Sport Business Association Conference, had articles published in Journal of Applied Sport Management and Journal of Contemporary Athletics, and signed a contract to be a co-author on a leading sport marketing textbook. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Sport Marketing Quarterly, the International Journal of Sport Management, and the Journal of Global Sport Management.
Dr. John Wolohan
Professor
Dr. Wolohan spoke at the Clinton School of Public Service in Arkansas as a William J. Clinton Distinguished Lecturer, as well as attended the Australia/New Zealand Sports Law Association Conference and the 2018 United States Sports Congress Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. Dr. Wolohan also teaches in S.U.’s College of Law.
Sport Management staff updates
Margie Chetney finished her sixth year in Sport Management as an administrative assistant. She works closely with students and faculty, manages department calendars, organizes S.P.M. events, serves as editor of the S.P.M. newsletter and handles social media and news for the department.
Nicole Cost (S.P.M. class of 2008) finished her third year as an internship placement coordinator in Sport Management. She works with S.P.M. seniors on Capstone guidance, undergraduates on internships and advising, as well as being a liaison for department alumni. She is the co-advisor of the S.P.M. Women in Sports and Events (WISE) Club and also teaches S.P.M. 201 and S.P.M. 455.
Lisa Liparulo finished her first year as an internship placement coordinator in Sport Management. She works with S.P.M. seniors on Capstone guidance, as well as undergraduates on internships and advising. She is the co-advisor of WISE, teaches S.P.M. 201 and S.P.M. 455 and acts as a career advisor for S.V.E.M. graduate students.
Kevin McNeill joined the department as an internship placement coordinator in February 2019 after spending 12 years at Le Moyne College as associate athletics director for marketing. He works with S.P.M. seniors on Capstone guidance, as well as undergraduates on internships and advising. He will teach S.P.M. 201 and S.P.M. 455.
Francesco Riverso finished his fourth year in the department, and as the program manager for Sport Analytics has shifted focus to advising Sport Analytics majors, connecting them to internships and working to develop partnerships to benefit the program. He assists in the coordination of the Berlin Sport Analytics Symposium and the Berlin Sport Analytics Summer Academy at S.U., as well as teaching H.S.H. 101 and S.P.M. 201.
Kathryn Tunkel, who celebrated her 26th year at Syracuse University in 2019, is the administrative assistant to S.P.M. director Michael Veley. She works closely with students and faculty, handles all S.P.M. course scheduling, classroom assignments, Intra-University Transfer and S.P.M. minor applications, and student enrollment.
News and Updates
A major win for Sport Management students in Orlando
S.P.M. seniors cherish hands-on football experience
By Mary Beth Horsington, Syracuse University News
When Austin Natowitz was weighing his college options, the Scarsdale, New York, native says he decided on Syracuse University for two reasons. The first was reputation. “I wanted to be where people were proud to say they went to school,” he remembers, “and I wanted a career in a field where consumers are passionate about the product. The sport management major at Falk College was what put S.U. over the top.”
As his final semester at Syracuse approached, Natowitz, who served as a video intern for the S.U. football team, couldn’t have imagined a better finale than the one he witnessed on December 28, 2018. He accompanied the Orange football team to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, where they took on West Virginia in their first Bowl game since 2013 and came away with a 34-18 win. And Natowitz got to film the whole thing.
“The Bowl opportunity meant everything to me,” Natowitz says. “I worked for the team for three years, and seeing it all pay off with an amazing season—capped off with the Bowl experience—was a dream come true.”
Students like Natowitz gained something beyond the thrill of victory in Orlando. Experiential learning is a cornerstone of the sport management program, and for the students enrolled in the major, the Bowl game presented a live-action laboratory of hands-on experience. It encompassed nearly every aspect of the sport management curriculum—administration, business, sales, facility management, marketing and promotion, analytics, athletic compliance, law, and more.
Drew Meyer, a sport management senior from Baltimore, had been working with Brad Wittke, S.U.’s director of football operations, since his first year at Syracuse. “We focused on travel plans and team itinerary so Coach Babers could focus on the team and the game without distractions,” Meyer says. “If we did our jobs well, we went unnoticed because everything ran smoothly.”
Sport management is a popular program at Syracuse. It’s also demanding and exciting – a lot like playing on a team. “Falk is all about working on group projects that will ultimately prepare us for a career in the industry,” Meyer says. Natowitz concurs. “It’s really selective, so when I was accepted, I knew I had to be the best student I could be.” That resolve led Natowitz to take on minors in marketing through Whitman and public communication through Newhouse. His hard work paid off in May, when he graduated magna cum laude.
Sean Onwualu, a sport management major from Los Angeles, played defensive back for the Orange team. He didn’t plan on a sport management major when he came to Syracuse. “I was a psychology major until my sophomore year, but my roommate was in sport management and I was much more interested in his homework than I was in my own. So I transferred into one of the best programs in the country.”
The Camping World Bowl energized the senior sport management majors as their academic program neared the finish line. Natowitz hopes to parlay his impressive academic record—as well as hands-on experience at Syracuse, a summer internship with sport-tech company Grabyo, and a final semester capstone project at the University of Tennessee— into a career as an athletics director at a prominent university.
“Falk and Syracuse have set me up for success in reaching that goal,” Natowitz says. “I don’t want to scare him, but my dream job is currently occupied by John Wildhack,” Syracuse’s director of athletics.
Meyer’s professional goals lean toward athletic marketing and branding. “Last summer I had a great experience working with the Baltimore Ravens in marketing. I’m confident that with the support of Brad Wittke, sport management intern coordinator Nicole Cost, and countless professors who helped me over the years, I am well prepared to pursue a career in this competitive industry.”
S.U. football counts on S.P.M. students
These students assisted the Syracuse University football team in the 2018-19 academic year as interns or managers: Luke Adelstein, Ethan Barnowitz, Nick Cohen, Aaron Cornelius, Cameryn Cortese, Will Dalton, Dan Geraci, Nate Glazer, Jordan Heller, Adam Israel, Jake Kleban, Marielle McLoughlin, Drew Meyer, Austin Natowitz, Mike Powell and Ethan Yoo.
Picture with caption in this article: Sport Management majors Austin Natowitz, Sean Onwualu and Drew Meyer (from left) are shown at the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida, in December 2018. Natowitz served as a video intern for the team, Onwualu played defensive back and Meyer worked in football operations.
Students immerse themselves in New England sports culture
Eighteen students enrolled in S.P.M. 300 spent eight days during Maymester 2019 in the Boston area touring sport-related facilities, and meeting with industry executives from nearly 20 venues and organizations. The New England Sports Immersion course compares and contrasts business practices, marketing strategies, branding initiatives, social media outreach and the organizational culture of competing sports franchises and entities in the greater New England market.
Students conducted professional networking and met and interacted with more than 70 industry executives and practitioners in the sporting industry, including 13 Syracuse University graduates. The course was taught by Sport Management Director Michael Veley and Sport Management assistant teaching professor David Meluni.
“Building the Syracuse Sport Management footprint throughout New England is important for our students and our program,” Veley said. “We met with a multitude of executives, alumni and practitioners in nearly every facet of sports, which was a transformative experience for the students.”
This year’s trip included meetings with professionals from the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, T.D. Garden, Kraft Analytics and Sports Entertainment Group, Basketball Hall of Fame, New England Sports Center, Tennis Hall of Fame, UMass Lowell Athletics, American Athletic Conference, UMass Amherst Athletics, Major League Lacrosse, ISlide, Baseballism, and Boston Athletic Association.
“The engagement, support and welcome from all of the organizations was incredible,”
Meluni said. “Our students made important connections with numerous executives as they begin to pave their path for the future.”
Students attended a professional soccer match between the New England Revolution and Chelsea; a minor league baseball game at historic McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox; a Boston Red Sox game; a collegiate baseball game between Boston College and Notre Dame; and visited Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
“Seeing so many facets of the industry truly opened my eyes to what I could do with my career, from managing sports complexes to sales,” said sport management major Tasha Getten ’21. “I made connections that will help me in my future for sure.”
S.P.M. professors awarded ’CUSE Grants
Sport Management professor Dr. Mary Graham and Sport Management assistant professor Dr. Jeeyoon Kim have been awarded ’CUSE (Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence) Grants from the Syracuse University office of the Vice President for Research.
Graham teamed with Falk College Public Health assistant professor Bhavneet Walia and Distinguished Professor of Economics William Horrace of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, on a proposal titled “Management Team Diversity and Misconduct by Male Professional Athletes.” The research team seeks to build upon a study by Graham, Walia, and S.P.M. graduate Chris Robinson that found that teams with greater numbers of women executives experienced fewer instances of misconduct by National Football League players. The grant is for $20,000.
Kim teamed with Falk College Sport Management associate professor Dr. Shane Sanders, Public Health assistant professor Dr. Bhavneet Walia, School of Education assistant professor Bong Gee Jang, as well as assistant professor Eui Jun Jeong from Konkuk University in Korea. The project is titled “E-sport, psychological well-being, and sport participation: Data collection and natural field experimental analysis.” Their grant is for $30,000.
The purpose of the ’CUSE Grant is to enhance interdisciplinary collaborations, to grow the research enterprise and enhance scholarship at Syracuse University in order to increase extramural funding and high-quality scholarly output. The program is designed to support faculty in becoming competitive in securing external funding and sponsorship.
Students learn how L.A. sports mecca operates
Los Angeles is quickly becoming the sports capital of the world. Home to 11 major professional sports teams, and having recently won bids for the 2020 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, 2022 Super Bowl LVI, 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles offers a mecca of opportunities for students eager to learn about the sport industry.
Twenty Syracuse University Sport Management students did just that over their March 2019 spring break, spending eight days immersing themselves in L.A.’s sport industry.
The intensive trip to Southern California is part of a course (S.P.M. 358) that allows students to interact with industry executives and practitioners from nearly every sector of the industry. The course compares and contrasts business practices, marketing strategies, branding initiatives, social media outreach and the organizational culture of competing sports franchises and entities in the greater Los Angeles market.
“It was an amazing opportunity to meet with so many well-respected professionals in a large sporting industry such as L.A.,” said Sport Management major Victoria Kelly ’22. “The culture of the sports world in L.A. is unmatched to any other city and has opened my eyes to the professional techniques needed to be successful in the industry.”
A highlight of this year’s trip was a dinner meeting at professional Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton’s house. The group also visited Hollywood, Hoag Classic, NASCAR, U.C.L.A., L.A. Clippers, Dodger Stadium, L.A. Marathon, FOX Sports, L.A. Rams, L.A.F.C., Staples Center, A.E.G., Santa Monica Pier, Rose Bowl, U.S.C., L.A. Kings, L.A. Coliseum, N.F.L. Network, and Legends.
“We strive to introduce students to non-traditional sectors of the industry and opportunities they won’t see in Syracuse,” said Michael Veley, Sport Management director and Rhonda S. Falk Endowed Professor, who teaches S.P.M. 358. “We have more and more of our S.P.M. alumni working in L.A., with many securing their jobs from connections made on this trip.”
Students also attended a Clippers vs. Celtics N.B.A. game and Kings vs. Nashville N.H.L. game.
“I knew this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Sport Management major Marc Orlin ’21. “Eating dinner and spending three hours at Bill Walton’s house was truly amazing. He provided me with helpful information on how I should live my life. As a hockey fan, it was an incredible experience to step onto the L.A. Kings’ ice.”
The students were accompanied on the trip by Veley. Portions of the experience are made possible by a gift from Jeff and Andrea Lomasky.
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