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A four-student team from the Sport Management Department attended the 2021 Sport Marketing Association Conference in Las Vegas to participate in the event’s – the most established and nationally recognized undergraduate case study competition in the field of sport management. In a contest consisting of nine universities, the ���ϲ����� team advanced to the competition’s final round against Arizona State University and Loras College and, ultimately, placed second.

This is the third straight year an ���ϲ����� team was named a finalist.

This year’s case study bowl was sponsored by SBRnet (Sports Business Research Network), a leading source of sport market analytics and business insights for the academic and corporate applications. The competition focused on developing comprehensive marketing strategies to position one of the American Hockey League teams, the Silver Knights, in Henderson, Nevada. Each student team had full access to proprietary SBRnet data and sports fan studies to analyze market challenges and demographic targets, develop marketing objectives and a positioning statement, and create short- and long-term marketing plans to build brand loyalty for the Henderson Silver Knights. The main objective of the case study was to fully utilize the large sets of the data and credible sources to bring real-life initiatives and evidence-based marketing solutions for the minor league hockey team in the middle of the desert.

The ���ϲ����� team consisted of team captain Kylee Hebert ’22, Taylor Schmitt ’23, Hunter Small ’23 and Jordan Ziegler ’22. In advance of the competition, the foursome was given a 48-hour period to complete the case and prepare a 20-minute oral presentation. The students provided effective and feasible marketing solutions backed up by their empirical data analyses to enhance brand awareness and sell out Dollar Loan Center, a new arena for the Henderson Silver Knights opening in early 2022. In addition, the positioning statement was proposed as “Only 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas, the Henderson Silver Knights bring the fast-paced culture of Las Vegas into a budget-friendly entertainment and sport experience for both the Henderson community and the greater Las Vegas visitant population.”

Following the competition, a judge from the first round commended the ���ϲ����� team, saying “great statistics on the influx of sport betting connecting to 18-34-year-olds plus secondary research on a gambling zone inside Dollar Loan Center.” Another judge from the final round commented that ���ϲ����� had a “cool idea to use a ticket membership model and good understanding of this trend.” The judge went on to say that, “overall, great knowledge of your data and current trends in sport industry.”

According to Associate Professor Young Do Kim, who mentored the team, the comments from industry professionals –  and a second-place finish – prove that the ���ϲ����� team’s analytical and presentation skills were among the best at the competition.

“Each member’s professional mentality and understanding of current industry trends are unparalleled and truly amazing,” he said. “The ���ϲ����� team’s performance – led by team captain Kylee Hebert – indeed raised the bar of the undergraduate case study competition at the 2021 SMA conference. I was proud to represent these well-rounded and passionate future industry professionals.”

Schmitt commended her fellow teammates for their collaborative efforts in .

“Through two tough days of competition, competing against teams from all over the country, our team finished as runners up!” she wrote. “I am so proud of this team for coming together and the hard work we all put in to bring our ideas to life!

“From this experience as a whole, I am very appreciative of all the networking connections I was able to create with industry professionals that I look forward to keeping in touch with!”

In addition to competing in the case study competition, the students had an opportunity to tour the Ultimate Fighting Championship headquarters and attended a University of Nevada-Las Vegas football game at Allegiant Stadium.