Western New England University College of Business Dean Sharianne Walker is pleased to announce that a team of WNE sport management students was crowned champion of the New England Sport Management Case Competition hosted by Nichols College.
Among the 14 teams entered, two of the three finalists' teams were WNE teams led by College of Business Associate Dean and Professor of Sport Management and Marketing Paul Costanzo. Taking top place honors were sophomore Liam Wallace, and juniors Zachary Marino, Evan Jackman, and Kason Romanowski. The other WNE finalist team, coming in third, included juniors Cameron Leblanc, Dalton Franco, Katerina Varholak, and Griffin Anthony.
"I am extremely proud of our students for developing real-life sport management solutions for the 2022 New England Sport Management Case Competition," said Dr. Costanzo. "The competition provided the opportunity for students to engage in experiential learning and develop creative solutions supported by research."
In advance of the competition, student teams in Dr. Costanzo's Sport Marketing course were provided with a case study and given two weeks to prepare a 10-minute presentation followed by 5-minutes of Q&A from a panel of judges addressing ethical and managerial issues involving human rights concerns pertaining to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
"The teams presented their proposals to sport industry professionals and in so doing, gained valuable experience that will be applied in their future careers," added Costanzo.
Student teams were tasked with selecting two issues of concern in the case study and proposing solutions that considered the financial implications, reputations of FIFA and the host country, FIFA's code of ethics, the impacts that the decisions will have on the participants and spectators, and the precedents that the decision will set for future World Cups.
The presentations were reviewed by a panel of judges consisting of sport management professionals including executives of the New Orleans Saints, Rugby Premier Sevens, Connecticut Sun, and other top-level sport businesses.
"I couldn't be prouder of our sport management program and students participating in this competition," said Dr. Walker. "Our robust AACSB business-based sport industry curriculum provides our students time and time again with a real advantage in understanding and navigating the complex world of sport business. This accomplishment is just further validation of our student's preparedness for the future of work in the sport industry."
