Sport Management Class Hosts Students from Utica City School District
Sport Management News
A Future Path
Students from the Utica City School District spent a day on the Syracuse University campus as part of an event with a Falk College Sport Management class.
Over the past two months, students from Syracuse University’s Falk College, under the guidance of Sport Management Assistant Teaching Professor Alexia Lopes, Ph.D., collaborated with the Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN) to host a campus visit for middle and high school students from the Utica City School District. The April 18 event aimed to introduce higher education as a future path, while also showcasing the programs in Falk College.
A panel of Syracuse University student-athletes shared insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with aying sports at the collegiate level (both club and NCAA). The event emphasized experiential learning through the lens of sport for development, highlighting the potential of sport to drive positive social change and empower youth in the local community.
ICAN, a non-profit organization based in Utica, provides an array of support services to meet the needs of Utica City School District students. Services include a comprehensive program providing behavioral and mental health support within special education classroom settings.
More than 25 Utica students took part in the event, where they enjoyed lunch, games, and tours across campus, and even had a photo opportunity with Otto the Orange.
Sport management majors Cooper Feldstein and James Taite co-led the class project.
“We spent months working with Dr. Lopes to make this event a success,” Feldstein said. “I’m also incredibly thankful for (ICAN Director) Jesenia Wright for her inspiring work and tireless effort in bringing this vision to life. This event was so special, and I’m excited to see how this partnership grows in the future.”
‘There to Help Lift Us’
Women Leaders in Sports Helping to Create a Promising Future for Falk Students
One of the many benefits of the new partnership between the nationally recognized Women Leaders in Sports and the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics is the mentorship that Women Leaders in Sports executives are providing to Falk students.
That benefit was on full display recently in Falk College, where Women Leaders in Sports Chief Executive Officer Patti Phillips and Chief Strategy and Operating Officer Christina Turner met with Falk students for a networking and professional development session and hosted a lunch meeting with students from Falk and the Newhouse School of Public Communications.
We asked Falk College students Emily Gilbert, Lexi Katz, and Allison Vims to share what they learned from Phillips and Turner at the lunch session, and here’s what they wrote:
Emily Gilbert ’27 (sport management major, political science minor)
“Meeting with Christina and Patti was a wonderful experience, and learning more about their professional journeys and how they got to where they are now was eye-opening. It was inspiring to hear how Patti started as a coach with mostly male mentors and that pushed her to want to create an environment where women had other women to lean on.
“I asked Patti why she was coming to Syracuse and how the new partnership would be beneficial for female students, and her reply resonated with me. She said their organization is a hub for women to meet other women and learn valuable skills that will help grow their careers.
“Patti also explained how they will tell us the truth about the industry. She said that getting into the industry is not easy and sometimes putting in the work is not enough. There will be times that you will get overlooked, but the Women Leaders in Sports organization is there to help lift us. They will provide us with opportunities to grow, learn, and adapt to make us the best candidates so that organizations will have no choice but to hire us.”
Emily Gilbert is the Community Outreach and Fundraising Chair for the Women in Sports and Events Club (WISE), Vice President of Community Service for the Sport Management Club, and Vice President of Philanthropy for the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
Lexi Katz ’27 (sport management major, Spanish minor)
“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with Patti Phillips and Christina Turner and they shared valuable insights on how to be a successful woman in sports and break into the competitive industry. I enjoyed hearing their networking and interviewing tips such as making a good first impression, how to follow up and stay connected to build your network, what questions to avoid in an interview, and how women can support each other in different organizations.
“One valuable conversation we had was about how important it is to have a growth mindset. If you want to grow and progress in the industry, you need to try new things and push yourself while also being detailed and taking pride in doing the small things.
“We also discussed the partnership between Falk and Women Leaders in Sports and I mentioned how grateful we are to have a dean like Jeremy Jordan who recognizes the lack of support women have in sports and encourages us to get our foot in any way we can. I hope more students in Falk learn about the partnership, take advantage of it, and use their network to find other opportunities. I love all that Patti, Christina, and Women Leaders in Sports are doing, and I am so happy to be part of it.”
Lexi Katz is the Communications Chair for the Women In Sports and Events Club (WISE), a member of the Sport Management Club, and a two-year member of the inventory team for the Sport Management Club’s Sport Charity Auction.
Allison Vims ’27 (sport management major, double minor in business and Spanish)
“My table’s discussion was led by Patti Phillips, who asked us each to individually share our goals and leadership aspirations. Patti made the time to get to know us as individuals and encouraged us to figure out ways that she could help us.
“Over our lunch, my fellow attendees and I began to share stories of our hardships and success stories in the industry. Patti listened first, then broke down scenarios and different ways to attack each situation to ensure that we would keep our seats at the table. The Women Leaders in Sports team ended the lunch with the advice to keep leading, because we, as students, are the future of the sport industry. I left the lunch feeling a sense of empowerment.
“Prior to this lunch, I knew that the partnership would make Falk College stand out from other sport management programs, but I didn’t see how students would be involved. However, being able to ask the CEO her opinions and having the opportunity to share my input as a student leader helped me see how the partnership will benefit students. The future is promising with such an incredible team of leaders backing us! Thank you to both Women Leaders and Falk College for giving me the opportunity to be a leader, and I cannot express my gratitude enough.”
Allison Vilms is President of the Women in Sports and Events Club (WISE), and Vice President of Programming for the Sport Management Club.
Pioneering Partnership
Announced in August 2024, the partnership between Women Leaders in Sports and Falk College and was inspired after Syracuse University’s Women in Leadership Initiative hosted Women Leaders in Sports CEO Patti Phillips on campus in March 2024 for a series of meetings and presentations.
The partnership creates mentoring, learning, fellowship, internship, and membership opportunities for Falk students, provides access to professional memberships to Falk faculty, and supports faculty attendance at significant events such as the Women Leaders in Sports National Convention. In October, a contingent of Falk College students, faculty, and staff attended the Women Leaders in Sports 2024 National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.
As part of the collaboration, Phillips serves as special advisor to Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan and an “executive in residence” at Falk. The partnership also calls for an exchange of relevant Syracuse University research and co-creates a Women Leaders in Sports Fellowship. All Falk College female students receive a membership to Women Leaders in Sports.
Major League Advice
Falk College Students Meet Baseball Legend Darry Strawberry
As a teenager growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Darryl Strawberry taped a sign on his bedroom door saying that he was going to be a Major League Baseball player one day.
At first, he didn’t really believe it. But as he told a group of Falk College students in late March, he looked at that piece of paper every day and started to believe.
“You have to build yourself up and say that is me; that’s how you push through those fears and anxiety,” Strawberry said. “Every time I walked in or out of that room and looked at that door, I said, “That’s going to me. I’m going to make it.’’’
Indeed, Strawberry did become a major league star and won the World Series with the New York Mets in 1986 and three times with the New York Yankees (1996, 1998-99). But Strawberry’s message to the students wasn’t just about overcoming obstacles to get where you want to go, it was about how to avoid pitfalls so you can stay there.
“Believe me, part of the journey on the road to where we want to go isn’t always a smooth road,” Strawberry said. “That’s why you have to remember who you are, and the ones that win in this business (the sport industry) are the ones who have real character.”
Strawberry was in Syracuse to attend an ESPN Radio event with Brandon Steiner, the chair of Falk College’s Sport Management Advisory Council. Before hopping on a plane back to New York City, Steiner and Strawberry visited Falk College to meet with students and answer their questions for about an hour.
Steiner, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1981 and served as founder and chairman of Steiner Sports Marketing and Memorabilia for more than 30 years, is now running The Steiner Agency and Collectible Xchange and has worked with Strawberry in various roles since the mid-1980s, when Strawberry was one of baseball’s brightest young stars with the Mets.
“I’ve known this guy for 40 years and he was one of the most talented ballplayers I’ve ever seen,” Steiner told the students. “But I’ll tell you, he’s a better person than a ballplayer, and it’s good for you to hear from him and understand that life’s going to present a bunch of ups and downs.”
The Mets made Strawberry the No. 1 pick in the June 1980 amateur draft, and Strawberry turned down a scholarship offer from Oklahoma State University to sign with the Mets for what was then a record $200,000 bonus. He was assigned to the lowest level of the minor leagues in Kingsport, Tennessee–about as far away from South Central LA as you’re going to get.
“I didn’t like it there, and I kept telling my mom, ‘I don’t think this is for me,’’’ said Strawberry, who was 18 at the time. “But I learned from my mom what I told my kids when they played sports in college: Quitting is not an option. If you push through the adversity you’re going through, you’ll get to the other side.”
Strawberry reached the other side, and for several years it was glorious as he won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1983, led the Mets to the 1986 World Series title, and appeared in eight consecutive All-Star Games. Following the 1990 season, Strawberry became a free agent and returned home when he signed a five-year, $22.25 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the personal problems that plagued Strawberry in New York followed him to Los Angeles. He was bothered by injuries, his performance declined, and the Dodgers released him in May 1994 after he failed to show up for a game. He signed with the San Francisco Giants, but at the start of the 1995 season he was suspended after testing positive for cocaine.
“You can be talented, but you can also be stupid,” Strawberry said. “I was a real fool, and I had a bunch of fools following me. Guess where I’m going? Nowhere.”
Strawberry’s rollercoaster career continued with the Yankees as he showed flashes of his former brilliance and was a key member of the 1998 championship team with 24 home runs in 101 games. But during the playoffs that year, Strawberry disclosed that he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and after receiving treatment he was suspended for drug use again in 1999 and 2000, effectively ending his career.
Following baseball, Strawberry became an ordained minister who founded Strawberry Ministries with his wife, Tracy. He now travels the country spreading the messages that he shared with Falk College students.
“I wanted to stop by and encourage you guys because I want you to win this thing called life,” Strawberry said. “You’re smart, you’re bright, your IQs are off the chart; use what you have been given and be great at who you are.”
Falk College students often have the opportunity to engage with all-star guests like Strawberry, Steiner, running legend Kathrine Switzer, and Falk College benefactor David Falk and Danielle Cantor, the first female NBA-certified player agent. Visit the Falk College website to learn more about academic programs, career opportunities, and experiential learning in Falk’s Department of Sport Management.
‘We Are National Champions!’
Falk College Student Jordan Boron Plays Key Role in National Championship for Syracuse Women’s Club Hockey Team
The Syracuse University women’s club hockey team celebrates its first Amateur Athletic Union national championship in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jordan Boron loved to play ice hockey, but she came to Syracuse University in 2022 because its sport management program in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics is widely considered as one of the best sport management programs in the country.
Syracuse’s women’s club hockey team? Not so much.
But in Boron’s three winters on campus, the club team went from having only six players in the season before Boron arrived to going undefeated (20-0) and winning the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championship in early March, with Boron as one of the team’s leading defensemen.
Turned out, Boron really could have it all at Syracuse.
“I am honored to be a part of this team and to be a part of how far it has come,” she says. “The team’s leadership has done incredible things to build out this program and our coaches, Christina Beam and Marty Sicilia, have been a huge part of that. This team is a group of deeply dedicated players that worked so hard to win that national title.
“That is what made this win so much better, the hard work that we all put into this team,” Boron says.
Boron is one of five Falk College students who played on Syracuse’s first women’s club hockey national championship team. The others are Sarah Anderson ’28 (health and exercise science and premed), Sophie Lauzon ’26 (public health), Neve Padulo ’28 (exercise science), and Bryana Treon ’27 (social work).
Boron was on the ice when the buzzer sounded to end Syracuse’s 4-2 win over the University of Tampa in the AAU Women’s National Championship game in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a moment she’ll never forget.
“During the last few minutes of the championship game our bench was going wild because the inevitable win was in sight,” she recalls. “All I was thinking was ‘I need to go hug Emma (goaltender Emmalyn Lacz) because she played so incredibly.’ The next thing I know, the whole team is on the ice, gloves and sticks thrown about and we are all screaming at the top of our lungs. We are national champions!”
‘We Had A Real Chance’
Growing up in Mount Airy, Maryland, Boron started playing hockey when she was 10. She played in youth leagues and in her senior year of high school was talented enough to play for the Tier 1 Washington Pride. In youth hockey in the United States, Tier 1 represents the highest level of competition and requires significant time and travel commitments.
Boron could have certainly tried to play hockey in college, but she focused her choice on academics and once she learned about the sport management program at Syracuse, she “knew this was where I wanted to go.” While touring campus and visiting the Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion on South Campus, she met one of her future hockey teammates, Amanda Wheeler, who was working at the pro shop. They started talking about hockey, and Wheeler encouraged Boron to try out for the team if she came to Syracuse.
AAU College Hockey was founded in 2022 as a way to give club teams more structure and competitive opportunities. The league is comprised of three men’s divisions and one women’s division, and the divisions are split into regional conferences. For the women, the division includes 18 teams divided into College Hockey North and College Hockey South divisions.
The time commitment is significant–three practices a week and home and away games each weekend with the away games often involving hours of travel and some overnight stays. Guided by coaches Beam and Sicilia, the team steadily improved over the years and this past season went 14-0 before defeating Springfield and Paul Smith to win the College Hockey North.
In the national tournament in Jacksonville, Syracuse defeated Springfield again before facing the Alabama Frozen Tide–the first team Syracuse played from the College Hockey South.
“The 10-2 win against Alabama was the moment for our team that made us feel like we had a real chance to win a national championship,” Boron says. “Seeing that we could win against a team that had previously beat Tampa, our next opponent, gave us the confidence boost we needed.”
‘The Moment Did Not Feel Real’
With a pool-play format, Syracuse qualified for the national championship after defeating Alabama but still had to play Tampa, which had also won its first two games to qualify for the final. But while Syracuse’s pool-play game against Tampa didn’t decide the national title, it did set the tone for the championship game that followed the next day.
“I would argue that this was one of the most important games of the tournament,” Boron says. “We needed to play that game just like we would the next day to win the title.
“After our 3-2 win in our first game against Tampa, our excitement continued to build, and everyone was locked in and set on winning the next day,” Boron adds. “We went on to win the championship game 4-2, playing and fighting even harder than the game prior.”
For Boron, who will be graduating early in December after completing her Capstone internship this fall, the championship put an exclamation point on her stellar athletic and academic experience at Syracuse. This season, she worked as a community relations intern for the Syracuse Crunch American Hockey League team, assisting with community-related projects such as honoring military members and auctioning autographed game-used memorabilia for fans during games. Previously, she had internships with the Syracuse Athletics Communications team, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, and with the Premier Lacrosse League at the Championship Series in February.
Boron is a member of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) in Falk College, and for the past two years she was co-chair of the Donations Committee for the Sport Management Club’s Sports Charity Auction. The 20th annual auction in December raised $59,500 for the Rescue Mission of Syracuse, and the club has now raised more than $760,000 for local charities since 2005.
As she prepares to start her professional career, Boron says she would like to work in youth hockey development to make the sport she loves “more accessible to all.” Her hope for young players is that they all have an opportunity to experience what she felt on the ice in Jacksonville, where all the hard work and sacrifice paid off in a historic championship for Syracuse club hockey.
“It was incredible to share this moment with my teammates,” she says. “After the huddle dispersed, I found some of my closest friends on the team hugged them because the moment did not feel real. There is no one I would rather be on that ice with.”
To learn more about the women’s ice hockey club, follow the team on Instagram. If you’d like more information about the team or to try out, email suwomenshockey@gmail.com.
Activating NIL Education
Syracuse NIL Summit Provides ‘Meaningful Opportunities’ for Student-Athletes
The 2025 Syracuse Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Summit was the first of its kind, but not the last.
The inaugural NIL Summit, which was first NIL event organized by students for student-athletes at Syracuse University, was hosted March 28 by the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics in partnership with the student-run Syracuse Sport Group and Syracuse University Athletics. The event brought Syracuse student-athletes together with corporate brands for networking, education, and NIL development.
The NCAA’s rules on NIL changed in 2021, allowing student-athletes to monetize their fame and popularity through endorsements, sponsorships, and other commercial activities. Since then, athletes who combine strong social media presence, business savvy, and prowess on the field have found partnerships with businesses from mom-and-pop stores to international brands.
“In this environment of collegiate sports, it’s critical that we provide student-athletes with as many meaningful NIL opportunities as possible,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack told the student-athletes and others gathered in Falk College’s Grant Auditorium for the NIL Summit. “Building the relationship between Falk College and athletics is one of the ways that’s going to benefit our student-athletes.”
Starting July 1, Falk College will become the Falk College of Sport, the first college on a high-research activity (R1) campus dedicated exclusively to sport-related disciplines. Named after visionary benefactor and legendary sports agent David B. Falk, the new college will unite Falk’s distinguished programs in sport management, sport analytics, exercise science, nutrition, and esports (offered jointly with the Newhouse School of Public Communications) under one dynamic academic umbrella.
Led by students in Falk’s Department of Sport Management, the NIL Summit featured GEN Agency and GEN NIL founder and CEO Rachel Maeng Brown, the 2024 CEO of the Year in Influencer Management and NIL Education who presented brand deal case studies and led a content creation workshop with products from W by Jake Paul. Brown returned home to Central New York for the Summit as she is a 2014 graduate of C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville.
In addition to Brown’s content creation workshop, representatives from the Global Sports & Entertainment Wealth Management sector of Morgan Stanley hosted a session to educate student-athletes about financial literacy.
As a result of the workshops and networking with corporate representatives, student-athletes gained valuable insight into NIL deal structures, financial literacy, personal branding strategies, and partnership opportunities. For example, every student-athlete who visited the content creation station left the event having activated a unique NIL deal with W by Jake Paul.
“The Syracuse NIL Summit demonstrated the impact and innovation of Falk College and its students,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan. “This event was another example of the collaboration we have with Syracuse University Athletics to provide Falk students with learning experiences beyond the classroom, and it connected Syracuse student-athletes with NIL industry leaders at a time when NIL is redefining collegiate sports.”
Learning Across the Globe
Falk College Students Experience Immersive Travel Programs Over Spring Break
Learning didn’t stop during spring break for dozens of Falk College students who took part in immersive travel opportunities. Falk College offers a wide array of travel programs for students, with study abroad and study away being pillars of the Syracuse University experience.
Three immersion travel programs this spring provided Falk students with unique opportunities for hands-on learning from leading industry professionals, while also discovering and embracing different cultures.
Ireland
Students enrolled in the SPM/EXE 300 “Sport Culture in Ireland” class spent nine days in Ireland over spring break. The group of 13 students, comprised of sport management and exercise science majors, traveled to iconic Irish spots such as the Cliffs of Moher, Temple Bar, and Kilmainham Gaol to experience the culture of Ireland.
The students visited the Na Fienna Gaelic Athletic Association club, where they participated in Gaelic football, hurling, and handball games with classmates while learning about the sports’ history and impact in Ireland. At University College Dublin’s Institute for Sport and Health, experts in the fields of sports medicine and exercise science gave insightful presentations about injury and rehabilitation research. At a visit to the Leinster Rugby Club, students learned from team officials about the role of technology in athlete development and what it takes to manage a winning sport organization.
Visit the Ireland 2025 blog to learn more about the students’ experiences in Ireland.
Italy
In each of the last two springs, students in the SPM/SAL 300 “Italian Football: Impact and Outcomes” class have visited Italy to meet with representatives from Serie A soccer clubs and learn about Italian culture surrounding soccer, or calcio.
The sport analytics students on this year’s trip met with representatives from Soccerment, an Italy-based artificial intelligence platform seeking to accelerate the adoption of data analytics into soccer; networked with front office officials from Bologna FC; and toured Viola Park, home of ACF Fiorentina. Students experienced exciting Serie A matchups at Stadio G. Sinigaglia, home of the Como 1907 football club, and Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, home of Inter Milan. Aside from soccer, students toured historic locations such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Milan Cathedral. On the final day of the trip, students learned how to make authentic Italian pasta from scratch.
Los Angeles
Students have enjoyed the Falk in Los Angeles Career Exploration trip for more than a decade. Open to all Falk students, the trip offers students the opportunity to connect with industry professionals, explore career paths, and visit leading organizations in one of the country’s largest sport markets.
This year’s trip included stops at the NFL Network, FOX Sports, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, the Rose Bowl and more. Students met and networked with with Falk’s extensive alumni network based in southern California to set themselves up for successful careers in the industry.
Giving Day at Falk!
Falk College Giving Day Message from Dean Jeremy Jordan
Dear Falk College Family,
Happy Syracuse University Giving Day! March 27 is the day when Syracuse’s global community unites for 24 hours of impact, friendly competition, and plenty of Orange pride!
Here in Falk College, we’re promoting giving that provides Falk students with transformative learning experiences from the classroom to the community and around the globe.
You have several giving options. Visit our campaign page to give directly to the Falk College Dean’s Fund, or visit our giving page if you’d like to give to a different fund that will support students in a specific program. For our friends in the human dynamics’ programs, please know that gifts to your programs will follow you to your new homes in Arts and Sciences, the Maxwell School, and the School of Education.
Please consider making a gift today to help our students reach their full potential!
Sincerely,
Jeremy S. Jordan, PhD
Dean and Professor
Falk College
Special Teams
UFL, Syracuse University Enter Sport Analytics Agreement
The United Football League and the Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University have entered an agreement that will allow Syracuse sport analytics students to complete statistical analysis and provide insights and visualizations to the UFL. The agreement marks the first time an American college or university has worked with the spring football league.
As part of the agreement, the UFL will provide Syracuse students with experience in professional football and access to its employees, while Syracuse will provide the data analysis skills of students from the leading sport analytics program in the country.
“The United Football League is proud to team up with the two-time national champion Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University,” said UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon, a member of Syracuse University’s Department of Sport Management Advisory Council. “Innovation is at the heart of the UFL, so it is only fitting that we seek out the creativity and the expertise of these students as we look toward a new approach to sports analytics.”
The UFL is the premier spring football league formed from the merger of the XFL and USFL in 2024. Under the combined ownership of RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia, and Dwayne Johnson, the UFL features eight teams in key markets: Arlington, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Detroit, Mich.; Houston, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Mo., and Washington, D.C.
The 2025 UFL season will kick off at 8 p.m. ET Friday, when FOX Sports debuts FOX UFL Friday – a new night dedicated to UFL action taking place each Friday during the 10-week regular season – with a matchup featuring the St. Louis Battlehawks against the Houston Renegades. The league’s second season will conclude on Saturday, June 14, when ABC presents the 2025 UFL Championship Game.
“The UFL envisions itself as a gathering place for innovative thinkers,” said UFL Vice President of Football Technology Brad Campbell. “Thanks to the contributions of the sport analytics team at Syracuse we will be able to raise this vision to a whole new level.”
Under the leadership of Sport Analytics Undergraduate Director and Professor Rodney Paul, Syracuse’s sport analytics students captured back-to-back National Sport Analytics Championships in 2023-24, and they have won numerous player and team analytics competitions in football, basketball, and baseball. About 70 students are providing data collection and analysis for 13 of Syracuse University’s athletic teams, and the program’s other professional partners include the Kumamoto Volters’ men’s basketball team in Japan, the Farjestad BK women’s hockey team in Sweden, the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, Major League Soccer’s CF Montreal, and others.
Under the agreement with the UFL, the Sport Analytics program is coordinating student participation, and seven students have joined the first phase, with more to be added later. The UFL is assigning projects related to league operations and initiatives, and the parties are holding regular meetings to discuss projects, share findings through visualizations (charts, graphs, dashboards), and strategize on next steps.
“We are honored to partner with the UFL and look forward to providing insights and actionable items for the teams and league,” Paul said. “The experience and feedback our students will gain from this partnership is something that’s impossible to replicate in the classroom. Opportunities like this have been our dream since the start of the program, and we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people in the UFL and how their experience and expertise will benefit our students in so many ways.”
About the UFL
The United Football League (UFL) is the professional spring football league born from the groundbreaking 2024 merger of the XFL and USFL. With the visionary backing of RedBird Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson, the UFL is redefining the football landscape. Built on tradition and positioned to innovate and expand fan engagement and player opportunities, the league is poised for growth with its eight teams in key markets: Arlington (TX), Birmingham (AL), Detroit (MI), Houston (TX), San Antonio (TX), Memphis (TN), St. Louis (MO), and Washington D.C. The UFL is committed to pushing the boundaries of the game and delivering an elevated experience for players, fans, and partners alike.
About Syracuse University’s Sport Analytics Program:
The Sport Analytics program in the Falk College of Sport at Syracuse University is a first-of-its kind program focusing on key skills to prepare students for a career using analytics in sports. The curriculum approaches sport analytics from both the player/team performance and business side of sports. Students gain skills related to high-level mathematics, coding and database work, business courses, visualization, statistical modeling, and machine learning. In its brief history, Syracuse Sport Analytics majors have placed with teams across all major leagues in sports, betting and daily fantasy companies, and tech and business companies using a wide range of analytical skills.
The Analytical Advantage
Students Use Data to Help Orange Sports Teams Optimize Their Performance
Imagine the insights you could uncover by having every jump, swing, pivot and sprint captured and transformed into precise data. That’s exactly what students in the sport analytics program are doing, through a partnership established in 2022 between the Syracuse University Department of Athletics and the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. By revealing a deeper understanding of performance and potential, students collaborate with Orange coaching and training staff to deliver data-driven insights gathered through a combination of wearable technologies and good old stats-keeping.
“For the teams that have embedded these students into their programs, it’s worked out very well. They’ve been able to get insights that have led to a lot of success,” says sport management professor Rodney Paul, director of the sport analytics program. “That’s opened up doors for not just those students, but all the students who follow.”
Members of the Syracuse University men’s soccer team practice in PlayerData vests, which feature a GPS device to track their movements. Head coach Ian McIntyre welcomed a partnership with Falk College’s sport analytics program in 2022.
The partnership originally started with the men’s soccer team, and head coach Ian McIntyre considers the sport analytics team an integral part of the program. “They played a very important role in helping us secure a national championship in 2022,” McIntyre says. “Our analytics team wonderfully complements our coaching staff to help create the best possible training environment for our players and allows our program to compete at the very highest national level.”
The program now includes 11 teams, with students contributing to performance analysis based on each team’s needs. “We created an internship program to add value by helping teams analyze their data in meaningful ways,” says sport analytics program manager Francesco Riverso.
Students gain practical experience, refine their skills and pass on their knowledge to new interns, creating a cycle of continuous improvement. “We don’t rebuild—we reload,” Paul says.
Tracking Movement for Real-Time Insights
Nick Rovelli ’24, G’25 (center), lead analyst for the Orange men’s soccer team, joins associate head coach Jukka Masalin (left) and head coach Ian McIntyre (right) during a talk with the players.
When the Orange men’s soccer players take to the pitch, they’re outfitted in PlayerData vests with GPS trackers that provide real-time data on their movements. The sport analytics interns track and analyze metrics like total running distance, acceleration, deceleration, sprint distances, how often players speed up or slow down. The students generate heat maps that reveal player positioning during a match and have created two apps that allow them to organize their information into data visualizations. “We can transform the raw data in a way that allows the coaches to see it easily and gain insights,” says lead analyst Nick Rovelli ’24, G’25, a sport analytics graduate who has worked with the soccer team since 2022 and is now an applied data science graduate student.
Theo Schmidt ’26 sets up a GPS motion-tracking sensor during men’s soccer practice in the Ensley Athletic Center.
During home games, Rovelli is on the sidelines while analyst Theo Schmidt ’26 sits in the stands, collecting data that he feeds to Rovelli, who communicates with the coaches. “It’s definitely high pressure, so there’s some growing pains,” Rovelli says. “But the coaches have been great at giving us positive feedback and are always encouraging us to do more.”
Even during away games, the analytics team watches matches on the ACC Network and ESPN+ to gather stats, view player data and communicate with coaches. They also create scouting reports, as well as pre- and postgame analyses. Next season, they plan to use Wyscout, a platform that offers video analysis tools and a comprehensive database of teams. “The program is a great opportunity—a win-win, both for the department and the students,” says Schmidt, who joined the team in 2023. “We’ve had to build so many tools. It allows us to experiment with different applications and really take advantage of the coaches’ willingness to let us learn.”
Monitoring Player Workloads
Caden Lippie ’25 (left), an analyst with the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team, talks with associate athletic trainer Kat Chaney. Wearable GPS technology helps the team monitor player loads and minimize injuries.
Women’s lacrosse analytics interns Caden Lippie ’25 and Ryan Severe ’25 will admit they didn’t know much about lacrosse before they began working with the team in 2022-23. But since then, they’ve helped monitor player performance through the VX Sport system, a wearable GPS technology that tracks the players’ movements in real time. “Working in a program for this extended amount of time is unique,” Lippie says. “You get a different perspective working with a small staff, which is a good experience.”
The data—including live metrics on game days—helps the coaching, training and conditioning staffs manage player loads and minimize injuries. “We can work someone back into practice from a recovery or injury standpoint,” says assistant strength and conditioning coach Mike Sullivan. “It helps us plan for the future in a safe manner so we can try to keep everyone healthy and minimize any risks of overloading them.”
Analyst Ryan Severe ’25 checks the GPS devices used by the women’s lacrosse team.
Lippie and Severe upload data after practices and games into Microsoft Power BI, a software system that allows them to produce visualizations and reports. Lippie worked with associate athletic trainer Kat Chaney to incorporate a daily wellness survey the players take before practice into a dashboard with the GPS data. “It’s awesome for us to have a snapshot of each student-athlete on the team, of all their metrics we’re collecting and how the team is feeling on the whole,” Chaney says. “Caden’s information is helping us on a daily basis improve our communication with the student-athletes.”
Lippie and Severe both appreciate the opportunity to work with different technologies, especially as their use becomes more prevalent among college and pro teams. “It’s been a super valuable experience that could help us in our professional careers,” Severe says. “Learning the technologies that a lot of teams use and interacting with DI lacrosse coaches has been such an amazing experience.”
Gavi Sela ’26 (center), lead analyst for the Orange softball team, appreciates the insights he gains talking to players and coaches.
Capturing Pitching and Hitting Data
At Orange softball team practices early this semester, Gavi Sela ’26 and Andrew Diamond ’27 parked themselves behind the catchers to track pitches and hitting during batting sessions. “In the long run working with sports data, particularly in baseball or softball, will help my analytical skills, looking at all aspects of the data and being able to break it down, analyze it and look at the tendencies that a player or teams may have,” says Sela, lead analyst for the eight-member analytics team that launched a partnership with the softball team last fall.
From there, they log the location and outcome of the pitch as well as the kind of contact the batter makes. They feed the data into a spreadsheet and analyze it, helping to determine which pitches were successful and what batters were swinging or not swinging at. “The goal ultimately is to provide accurate insights to the coaching staff that can help the team improve its performance,” Diamond says.
Softball head coach Shannon Doepking says the analytics team “has already made an incredible impact on our program,” citing their work building out charts that help develop better hitting and pitching plans as well as in-depth scouting reports. “I’m excited for the future with this team and truly believe they will help us achieve goals that we have had with their help in true development of our student-athletes,” Doepking says.
Andrew Diamond ’27 (left) and Gavi Sela are part of the analytics team that began working with the softball team last fall. They regularly gather pitching and hitting data at practices.
As the softball season progresses, the analytics team hopes to work with other technologies, including Rapsodo, which tracks hitting and pitching data, and Synergy, a scouting platform that features opposing team statistics and game videos. They aim to build a foundation that will continue to grow the analytics program. While improving their analytical skills, they’re also developing interpersonal relationships with the team, learning from exchanges with coaches and players.
“Once we have a lot of data collected cleanly, we should be able to look into it at a deeper, more analytical level,” Diamond says. “Next year we’ll all be back and have a good feel for how everything works out year-round with the team.”
Effectively Communicating Data
Ian MacMiller ’25 (left), lead analyst for the Orange women’s soccer team, sets up a video camera at practice as analyst Matt Liddell ’25 checks information on his laptop.
Last season, the Syracuse women’s soccer team transitioned to wearing PlayerData vests, which use the live data from GPS trackers to monitor player workload. “I’ve worked for the team for three years now and I’ve loved every second of it,” says lead analyst Ian MacMiller ’25.
MacMiller was joined on match days by several other analytics interns who collected statistics on a shared spreadsheet and produced visualizations for a presentation that MacMiller shared with the coaches. “The interns’ main responsibility during games is to track stats that we communicate to the coaching staff so they can make necessary adjustments,” MacMiller says.
MacMiller (left) and Liddell track data during a women’s soccer practice.
Along with the wearable technology data, the student analysts track ball losses, crossing accuracy, ball receptions in the attacking half of the field and other statistics that are “helpful for coaches to know what the players could work on in practices and games,” says analyst Matt Liddell ’25, who worked with the team last fall. “I got great data collection experience, which will definitely be important for lots of entry-level jobs in data analytics. It was a great test of my multitasking skills as well, since at times I was in charge of two to three statistics.”
MacMiller created dashboards through Power BI, so coaches could view data after practices and matches. For MacMiller, the opportunity to work closely with the coaching staff, including learning how analytics can be used to minimize injury prevention, has been a welcomed benefit. “The experience has allowed me to learn how to effectively communicate data and how coaches apply that data to their game plans and training sessions,” he says.
A Syracuse University story by Jay Cox originally published on March 4, 2025.
The Ultimate Goal
Falk College Team Wins Prestigious Sports Analytics Research Paper Competition
A research team from Syracuse University’s Falk College won the 19th Annual MIT Sloan Research Paper Competition.
Department of Sport Management student and lead author Alivia Uribe ’25, Sport Analytics Professor Shane Sanders, and Sport Analytics Associate Professor Justin Ehrlich teamed with University of Reading (U.K.) Professor James Reade and University of Stirling (Scotland) senior lecturer Carl Singleton to write “Do Behavioral Considerations Cloud Penalty-Kick Location Optimization in Professional Soccer: Game Theory & Empirical Testing using Polynomial Regression and ML Gradient Boosting.”
Their research was named best in field at the prestigious MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference March 7-8 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
The Sloan Sports Analytics Conference showcases cutting-edge research that’s featured in top media outlets throughout the world and has changed the way sports are analyzed. This year’s competition featured six sports tracks: Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Football, Business of Sports, and Other Sports. Abstracts were selected based on the novelty, academic rigor, and impact of the research.
Ehrlich explained that the group submitted an abstract in the fall. Out of thousands of submissions, the most promising were invited to submit full papers. These manuscripts were then evaluated, and the authors of the top seven papers were invited to present orally at the conference in Boston earlier this month. A panel of industry experts judged these presentations, and the winner was announced during an awards ceremony at the conclusion of the conference.
The research team that won the Research Paper Competition at the prestigious MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference included, from left to right, Shane Sanders, James Reade, Alivia Uribe, and Justin Ehrlich.
I am incredibly proud of our team’s work as it resulted in a fantastic project that resonates deeply with others,” Ehrlich says. “Although aiming for riskier, higher areas of the goal can yield greater expected conversion rates, players typically avoid these zones due to the increased risk of missing entirely, which carries negative perceptions. Our findings generated enthusiasm among many attendees and received considerable attention at the conference.”
Uribe, a forward on the Syracuse University women’s soccer team, is the first female lead author to be on the Research Paper Competition winning team in MIT Sloan’s 19-year history, according to the event organizers.
“This is something I’m extremely proud of,” says Uribe, a sport analytics minor. “I could not be more grateful for the professors who have helped me create this opportunity. The knowledge and expertise I bring into it as a student-athlete is something very unique.”
Sanders and Ehrlich built on their previous analytics research to assist Uribe with her research, while Reade and Singleton provided invaluable soccer data. This was the second consecutive year that Sanders and Ehrlich had a research paper selected among the top seven at MIT Sloan. Last year, they presented their study on the NBA that shows the average expected value of 3-point shots has become less than 2-pointers since the 2017-18 season.
“Falk College is an ideal place to work and teach, the best college I’ve ever been affiliated with by far,” Sanders says. “The administrators, faculty, and students really pull together here like nowhere else I’ve been. Moreover, our leadership team has positioned sport analytics to shine as a program.”
Read the team’s full research paper on the MIT Sloan Research Papers web page.
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