A team of sports management majors led by Associate Professor Youngdo Kim repeated Elon’s success at the Case Study Bowl at the Sports Marketing Association conference.
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Samantha Fisher ’25, William Haynes ’24, Sierra Hopson ’25, and Nicholas Urian ’24 continued Elon University’s impressive track record in the Sports Marketing Association Conference Case Study Competition, once again reaching the finals .
Four sports management majors competed against teams representing 22 universities at the 2023 Sports Marketing Association Conference, held Oct. 25-27 in St. Petersburg, Florida. In recent years, Elon has regularly advanced to the final round of the contest, reaching the final stage of the contest in 2018, 2019, and 2021. This fall, the team will return to the final group, competing at High Point University, Ohio University, Samford University, and the University of Minnesota Crookston.
This record of success is significant given that the conference’s Case Study Bowl is the most established and nationally recognized undergraduate case study competition in the field of sports management.
Sponsored by Sucker Punch, this year’s competition challenged participants to build a fan community for Super League Tampa Bay (SLTB), the United Soccer League’s recently launched women’s professional soccer league. In the competitive sports environment of Tampa Bay, Florida, where they have recently celebrated multiple championships, SLTB faces the challenge of creating and growing a fan base from scratch. The case study posed four key questions: building a fan community, differentiating the brand story, establishing a group of passionate supporters, and leveraging corporate and local sponsors to support SLTB’s market positioning efforts. We asked about specific initiatives that SLTB can take to achieve this goal.
The four students, led by Elon’s team captain Urian, approached the project with great faith and dedication, said Yongdo Kim, associate professor of sports management and the team’s faculty mentor. .
To prepare for the competition, teams had 48 hours to analyze the incident and create a 20-minute presentation to share with a panel of experts. The students’ presentations highlighted effective and unique marketing solutions, backed by reliable sources of empirical evidence, aimed at increasing brand awareness and increasing attendance for the upcoming season. said Kim.
After the competition, the Elon team heard from several judges who praised their work and submissions. One of the judges praised the flow of the group’s presentation and supporting data. Her second judge, who gave Elon a perfect score in the first round, said the students’ presentations were “very well thought out and clearly communicated.”
During the final round of the competition, the Elon team presented in front of a panel of experts, including Super League Tampa Bay President Christina Unkel.
“I am so proud of our team, Samantha Fisher, Will Haynes, and Sierra Hopson, for their unwavering dedication and countless hours of hard work on this project,” Urian wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. Ta. “Overall, I am very grateful to the Department of Communication and my advisor, Dr. Youngdo Kim, for giving me this great professional experience. The skills I gained through this competition will help me continue my journey in the sports business. I’m sure it will be helpful.”
Mr Kim praised the students for their excellent performance in a competitive atmosphere and said this will definitely help them as they prepare for careers in the sports and business worlds.
“Participating in marketing case study competitions is the best way to learn about real-world business challenges, gain new knowledge, develop analytical skills and improve teamwork abilities,” said Associate Professor . “All four of our team members selflessly took on difficult challenges and brought tangible insights and skills to support each other, especially Sammy Fisher and Sierra, student-athletes on the women’s lacrosse team. Hopson will leverage her field coaching experience to create core content solutions centered around player coaching, after-school child care, and women’s empowerment through youth academy programs. The Elon team’s diverse perspectives and unique expertise This experience has been a key strength in creating more innovative and differentiated solutions to business problems.”
While in Florida, students attended presentations from several industry expert speakers, including Matt Silverman, president of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Steve Griggs, CEO of Vinik Sports Group. I heard the story. Students also toured Amalie Arena, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice facility, and watched a Tampa Bay Lightning NHL game.
Founded in 2002, the Sports Marketing Association (SMA) develops and expands the body of knowledge in sports marketing by providing a forum for professional exchange among practitioners, academics, and students dedicated to the field of sports marketing. I have been leading the.