Sport Management  News

At the Tulane Pro Basketball Negotiation Competition, Syracuse University’s Preston Klaus (left) and Jackson Hett were the youngest team in the event and finished just two votes shy of the winning team.

Syracuse University students Jackson Hett and Preston Klaus aren’t studying law, but they proved they can negotiate with some of the best law students from around the country.

Sport Analytics major Hett ’23 and Sport Analytics alumnus Klaus ’22, MS ’23 recently finished second at the Tulane University Pro Basketball Negotiation Competition (TPBNC) in New Orleans, Louisiana. The competition annually attracts competitors from top law schools across the United States and high-profile judges from the NBA.

“I was thrilled to place second overall in the competition,” says Hett, who’s from North Berwick, Maine. “In a field of over 40 teams, my goal was to make the final round. As the event progressed, I did believe that we could win. We gave it our best effort, but came up just short.”

Department of Sport Management alumnus Chris Robinson ’15 created the event while he was a student at Tulane Law School. The competition randomly assigns students to act as an agent or a team to represent an active NBA player who is eligible for free agency in the summer.

Both sides negotiated, seeking to come to a legal contract under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. The competitors were judged on Negotiation Ability/Strategy, Basketball/NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement Knowledge, and Strength of the Deal.

“We were told this year’s negotiations were the most competitive and that we were just a few votes shy of winning it all,” says Klaus, a Palm City, Florida, native who graduated from Sport Analytics last year and is now studying finance at Syracuse University. “Even in defeat, we knew we made a positive impression and exceeded expectations.”

In the first two rounds, Hett and Klaus faced off against law students from Loyola University Chicago/Chicago-Kent College of Law and University of California, Berkeley. After negotiating against the University of Massachusetts, Syracuse’s Hett and Klaus were one of four teams to reach the final round, where they negotiated against third-year law students from Tulane in front of 32 NBA executives.

In the final negotiation, Hett and Klaus placed second by two votes. It was the highest finish by a non-law school team in the competition’s history, and they were the youngest team in the event this year.

“The department is very proud of Jackson and Preston for not only taking the chance to enter this top-notch competition, knowing it was stacked with law students and graduate students, but to then finish second is unbelievable,” said Sport Analytics Director Rodney Paul. “It truly shows how talented they are and how Falk College Sport Analytics is making a name for itself around the country in these types of competitions and conferences. Jackson and Preston are destined for success in the sport industry.”

Jackson Hett (left) and Preston Klaus display their runner-up plaque after earning the highest finish by a non-law school team in the history of the Tulane Pro Basketball Negotiation Competition.

To learn more about their performance at the TPBNC, we asked Hett and Klaus about their passion for sport analytics, their negotiating strategy, and what it was like to reach the finals. Here’s that conversation:

Q: Why did you want to study sport analytics and what brought you to Syracuse University?

Klaus: I wanted to study sport analytics because I’ve always had a love for math and wanted to combine it with my passion for sports. Syracuse University was the best–and at the time, only–place to get this analytical focus using sports data, all built into one academic major. As a bonus, I was able to graduate early and use my fourth year to earn a finance master’s degree.

Since I enrolled, I’ve honed my interest toward the NBA salary cap sector and upon graduation in May I’m looking to work for a team in basketball operations and strategy.

Hett: I wanted to study sport analytics because I have loved basketball my entire life and realized I had a passion for statistics during high school. I chose Syracuse University because this is the perfect major for me and brought together my passions and talents. During my childhood, I crafted NBA big boards and watched or played basketball almost every night. I plan to work in an analytics or strategy department for an NBA franchise in the future.

Q: What made you decide to enter the TPBNC that was filled with law students?

Hett: The main reason I decided to enter the TPBNC was because of the mentorship of Chris Robinson. I worked with Chris when he was in charge of Edwards Robinson Sports, a consulting company for a large NBA agency. Although his role ended when he was hired by the Utah Jazz, I kept in touch and he encouraged me to apply to the TPBNC.

Last year, I did not decide to pursue the opportunity because I didn’t think I could compete with law students. This year, I knew we could be competitive because Preston has studied the intricacies of the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement and I was confident in my knowledge of basketball.

Klaus: TPBNC was something I have personally been looking to compete in for a couple of years since it is the premier competition for NBA salary cap and strategy. Since basketball operations is an extremely competitive position, this was my best chance to showcase my capabilities in front of people who are working my dream job and get my name on their radar. It was a welcome challenge; to be the best, you have to beat the best.

Q: Can you describe your assignments at the TPBNC and how did you divide your duties for the assignments?

Klaus: Before the competition, we created a presentation designed for (San Antonio) Spurs’ ownership regarding Devin Vassell’s upcoming contract extension. This helped decide who we went up against; the competition committee tried to match up teams of equal skill.

At Tulane, there were three preliminary rounds and one final round. Given my finance background, I mostly handled the salary cap side during negotiations, while Jackson focused on finding player comparisons. However, before the competition, we both prepared statistics on our player, discussed what the other side might propose, and decided on an initial and walkaway price.

Hett: We acted as the Minnesota Timberwolves in a negotiation for Jaden McDaniels; as the agent for Grant Williams in a negotiation with the Boston Celtics; and as the New York Knicks in a negotiation for Josh Hart. Finally, we acted as the agent for Spencer Dinwiddie in a negotiation with the Brooklyn Nets. Preston focused on creating cap sheets for each team while I focused on finding comparable players and talking about the basketball side of things.

Q: Describe the feeling you had as you moved on and what was it like negotiating against third-year law students in front of 32 NBA executives?

Hett: As the event progressed, we felt like we were a competitive team since we competed against two of the top four teams on the first day. At first, it was nerve-wracking negotiating in front of so many NBA executives. We knew we just needed to focus on the task and tune out everything other than the students in front of us. We knew we were prepared, and the previous negotiations helped us build confidence.

Klaus: In the preliminary rounds, we faced law school teams from Chicago, a team in last year’s final four, and last year’s winner, UC Berkeley, which both made this year’s finals. We knew if we could go toe-to-toe with them, we could do well against anyone.

The final negotiation in front of Tulane third-year law students was tough because we only had 90 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to negotiate. I was less intimidated by the judges after the earlier rounds, but accuracy was even more critical because no mistake would slip by a full room of NBA executives.

Q: How did the Sport Analytics program at Syracuse University prepare you for this competition and your future professional careers?

Klaus: Our sport analytics background proved to be a hidden advantage. Going against law students, we needed to find an edge and were able to do that analytically. Our player comparisons gave us a huge upper hand, which we sourced via advanced statistics. I hope to be doing similar projects in my future career, using my unique skillset.

Hett: I have learned through the Sport Analytics program how to build an argument using statistics. Additionally, my experience as president of Syracuse University’s Basketball Analytics Club helped me prepare for the TPBNC. I am confident all the skills I have developed at Syracuse make me a competitive applicant for the jobs that will help fulfill my professional dreams.

This article from The Athletic looks at how the competition became a “retreat” for present and future NBA executives (an account from The Athletic is required).

Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management and David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics are launching a new undergraduate dual degree program that helps students pursue growing career opportunities in sports business.

The new undergraduate Sport Management/Business dual degree program is an innovative program that combines rigorous business training with in-depth knowledge of the high-growth area of sport management. This new dual degree program will prepare students to be versatile, multidisciplinary, and future-leading thinkers well-prepared for careers related to various aspects of sport management and business.

This dual degree program is offered in a streamlined format. For the undergraduate dual program, students can complete the degree with a minimum of 148 credits and can graduate in four years.

“There is so much potential for this new dual-degree program as the areas of sports and business continue to overlap. We have seen this recently as part of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) regulations for student-athletes; the commercial aspects of sports and related events, merchandising, marketing, and entrepreneurship; and the emergence of the business side of esports, among other areas. Having our students become stronger interdisciplinary thinkers about these issues is truly beneficial,” Whitman School Interim Dean Alexander McKelvie says. “We’re also delighted to partner with Falk and its outstanding sport management program. We hope that this will continue to pay dividends for preparing our students for the future.”

“Falk College has been a national leader in educating future industry professionals in sport business, marketing, and analytics for two decades,” says Falk College Dean Diane Lyden Murphy. “The new undergraduate dual degree program between Falk’s sport management program and the highly regarded Whitman School capitalizes on synergies between sport management and business disciplines to give students a competitive edge in the job market. By gaining specialized skillsets in both sport management and business, students will be well-equipped to meet new emerging and evolving sectors of the thriving global business of sport.”

“We are confident that this new dual degree sport management and business program will attract highly qualified and diverse students based on the quality and unique approaches of both schools. We hear with great regularity from students and their families about the demand for this type of program,” McKelvie says.

Admission requirements will remain similar for both programs and emphasize both academic credentials and leadership potential. Dual degree programs are highly demanding, and students should possess both strong analytical abilities and the soft skills needed for leadership positions.

Learn more detailed information about these new dual programs.

About the Whitman School

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University inspires students for a world of accelerating change. Offering B.S., MBA, M.S., and Ph.D. programs, all accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Whitman School’s faculty includes internationally known scholars and researchers, as well as successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. Whitman continues to be ranked among the nation’s top business schools by U.S. News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.

About Falk College

The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University offers degree programs in exercise science, food studies, human development and family science, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science and dietetics, public health, social work, and sport management. Named in 2011 by a generous gift from David B. Falk ’72 and Rhonda S. Falk ’74, Falk College’s legacy is grounded in the values of social justice and global citizenship and continues the meaningful work that originated at Syracuse in 1917. Falk College is the alumni home of programs in the former Colleges of Home Economics, Human Development, Human Services and Health Professions, Human Ecology, and Nursing, and the School of Social Work. The College’s signature theory-to-practice academic model includes intensive hands-on learning to prepare students for professions that improve the emotional and physical well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is an independent research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our 13 schools and colleges and over 200 majors close the gap between education and action, so graduates are equipped to be resourceful, responsive and real-world ready. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected issues with innovative approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community of game changers that moves ideas, individuals and impact forward.

Syracuse University will soon begin offering a new, first-of-its-kind degree program focused on esports.

The program, Esports Communications and Management, will be offered jointly by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Falk College. It will include three tracks: Esports Business and Management; Esports Communications; and Esports Media and Design. The University will begin enrolling students to the program in fall 2024.

“The esports program is a natural extension of Syracuse University’s leadership in sport-related programs and commitment to 21st century academic excellence,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “This new major is the latest example of Syracuse University innovating, expanding career options in emerging fields and delivering programs students want.”

“This new academic offering is particularly exciting because it leverages the University’s key areas of strength, distinction and excellence to embrace an emerging, fast-growing field and provide our students with the tools to enter that field,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “Investment in our sport-related academic disciplines will be one of the keys to our success moving forward.”

A proposal for the Esports Communications and Management degree was passed by Falk College and Newhouse School faculty last fall. It was subsequently passed by the University Senate in December and approved by the New York State Department of Education in February. A search is currently underway for an executive director of esports.

The program, which will be among the first of its kind at a major university, taps into the rapidly growing, multibillion dollar esports industry and builds upon work already happening on campus. The Barnes Center at The Arch, the University’s recreation center, includes a designated esports gaming room outfitted with Omen Obelisk gaming stations; Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo consoles; SIM racing stations; and a virtual reality unit. An active Esports Club has also flourished in recent years.

Jeff Rubin, special advisor to the chancellor on esports and digital transformation, has been leading the effort to bring an esports major to Syracuse. For more than a year, Rubin has been working with faculty and deans from both Falk College and the Newhouse School to develop the program that will span both colleges.

“It has been an extraordinary experience working with some of the smartest minds in communications and sport management to develop a program that will be at the forefront of this burgeoning industry,” says Rubin. “I am especially proud of the collaborative work that is producing the educational opportunities and experiences are students are looking for.”

In 2018, the Newhouse School collaborated with social video service Twitch to launch an innovative new course, Esports and Media, which is still offered through the school’s Sports Media Center (SMC). Rotating industry partners serve as case studies for the students, who develop skills to enhance the company’s social media strategy, distributed content and brand management. Some recent partners include ESL, Microsoft and Super League. The course is co-taught by SMC director Olivia Stomski and Chris Hanson, associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, who has taught multiple courses with an esports component over the last several years.

“The Newhouse School has long been known for excellence in sports communications, with roots stretching back to 1939 alumnus Marty Glickman, one of the first great sports broadcasters,” says Newhouse School Dean Mark J. Lodato. “We are excited to build on that foundation with this new degree, which—as we have already seen with our academic programming in esports—will set students up for success in this burgeoning field. Our partnership with Falk College ensures a truly top-notch program that will provide students with the best possible education and training to keep pace with the industry.”

The Falk College has been at the forefront of sport industry education for 20 years. In 2005, Falk launched one of the nation’s earliest undergraduate degrees in sport management, followed by one of the very first undergraduate degrees in sport analytics in 2017.

“The Falk College is an established leader in sport management and sport analytics academic training, preparing future leaders who have found great career success in the sport industry,” says Falk College Dean Diane Lyden Murphy. “With this partnership between the Falk College and the Newhouse School, Syracuse University is well positioned to enter the next era of growth in sport academic programming with a major in esports.”

“This pioneering esports degree will focus on an emerging sector of the global and domestic sport industry,” says Michael Veley, chair of the Department of Sport Management in the Falk College. “It combines the strengths of Falk and Newhouse programs in sport communications, media production, technology, business and event management to offer a cutting-edge degree.”

“This esports major embodies the culture and reputation of both the Newhouse School and the Falk College,” says Stomski. “We have spent countless hours researching the industry and the interests of our students to create a rigorous and dynamic curriculum that will prepare graduates to succeed in this thriving, ever-changing field.”

Stomski, Veley and Hanson—together with Newhouse School Assistant Director of Academic Operations Rachel Francisco, sport management Undergraduate Director Gina Pauline, David B. Falk Endowed Professor Rick Burton and Falk College Senior Associate Dean Eileen Lantier, and Falk Academic Operations Manager Kelly Pettingill—worked to build the new degree as part of a University-wide task force convened last spring. The well-rounded curriculum is designed to provide students with industry-specific competencies in event management and marketing, broadcasting/production, communications, content creation, entrepreneurship, strategic communications and esports experience and design. The three tracks will provide students with the ability to tailor the degree according to their career goals.

• Esports Business and Management: Covers such topics as sport promotion, sport venue management and finance for emerging enterprises.
• Esports Communications: Includes coursework in virtual reality storytelling, esports and advertising, public relations principles and sports in the metaverse.
• Esports Media and Design: Covers 3D animation, game experience design and virtual production.

In their professional careers, students from Syracuse University’s Sport Analytics program will have to adjust to adverse situations, think on their feet, and meet demanding deadlines.

If recent events are any indication, they’ll do just fine in the real world.

Eight Sport Analytics students from Falk College competed in the AXS National Collegiate Sports Analytics Championship in early February and finished first in the Game Analytics category and second in the Business Analytics competition as Syracuse University was the only school to have a team finish in the top four of each category.

The Game Analytics team from Syracuse University included, from left to right, Matthew Gennaro, Alexander Borelli, Sam Gellman and Benjamin Wachtel.

The Game Analytics team included Alexander Borelli ’23, Benjamin Wachtel ’23, Sam Gellman ’23, and Matthew Gennaro ’23. The Business Analytics team featured Eli Miller ’22, G’23, Kylie Dedrick ’23, Shane Halpin ’22, G’23, and Corey Goldman ’23.

The eight students qualified for the second half of the national championship by finishing first in both team categories in the first half, which was held virtually. The second half was scheduled to be in-person at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas, but after flying to Washington, D.C., the students had to compete virtually because ice storms cancelled the connecting flight to Dallas.

The students had to turn around and fly back to Syracuse, where the next morning they were given just six hours to create a presentation out of the information they were provided.

“The overall competition mimicked real-world situations, which is a wonderful situation for our students, and was challenging, both in terms of doing the analysis and picking out how to present their results in the time allotted,” says Rodney Paul, director of Syracuse University’s Sport Analytics program and a professor in the Department of Sport Management at Falk. “Winning the Game Analytics portion and finishing second in the Business Analytics competition is a testament to the talent of our students, and we look forward to competing in both events and defending our national title in Game Analytics next year.”

More than 150 students from across the country competed in both competitions. In the final individual rankings, Borelli finished second overall in Game Analytics, and Miller and Dedrick ranked 3-4 in Business Analytics.

Borelli says while it was disappointing that they couldn’t participate in Dallas, it was still “an amazing experience” to present virtually to industry professionals who are in positions that he hopes to hold one day.

“It was awesome seeing the program take first place in Game Analytics and playing a role in that success,” says Borelli. “It means a lot to me and the program as Dr. Paul and the rest of the faculty have put a lot of work in to set us up for success in these competitions.”

The Game Analytics competitors analyzed Big 12 Conference basketball data. The Syracuse team of Borelli, Wachtel, Gennaro, and Gellman finished ahead of teams from Roanoke College, Trinity University, and University of the Pacific.

In Business Analytics, Syracuse’s team of Miller, Dedrick, Halpin and Goldman finished second to the University of Iowa and ahead of Texas Christian University and Baylor. Dedrick says the six-hour limit for the presentation was challenging, but “showed me what I am able to accomplish in a short period of time.”

“It was an amazing feeling to represent the Sport Analytics program, especially being one of the few women in the program,” Dedrick says. “Placing fourth boosted my confidence in terms of my analytical skills and my ability to see a project through on my own.”

Miller says the national championship allowed the students to put into practice what they learned in the Sport Analytics program since arriving at Syracuse University.

“The finals in this competition allowed us to showcase these abilities as well as meet many amazing professionals from the sports industry,” Miller says. “I was happy to help the school by finishing as well as I did, and I hope that this competition has piqued the interests of industry professionals and allowed them to truly see how special this program is.”

Austin Murphy Named Best Undergraduate Researcher

Sport Analytics student Austin Murphy ’23 won the undergraduate research competition at the Academy of Economics and Finance conference Feb. 8-11 in Orlando, Florida. Murphy’s paper, which was based on his senior thesis, was titled “The Madness of March: Using Betting Spreads to Identify Selection Bias in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.”

“Austin combines a natural intuitive ability in performing research with great data analysis and writing skills,” Paul says. “He also is a terrific presenter; his presentation at the conference was a pleasure to watch and was well received.”

Austin Murphy ’23 says winning the undergraduate research competition at the Academy of Economics and Finance conference “was an amazing feeling and something I am very proud of.”

Murphy’s victory and the national championship results capped a banner month for a Sport Analytics program that continues to grow in stature and excel at these events. Murphy says college basketball is one of his favorite sports, so it was a thrill to present his research at the conference.

“Winning the competition was an amazing feeling and something I am very proud of,” Murphy says. “I have put a lot of effort into my thesis, and it was incredibly rewarding to be recognized for my hard work. I’m hoping my success will inspire other students to continue developing their skills to push the success of this program to even higher levels.”

The Game Analytics team from Syracuse University that will compete in the AXS National Collegiate Sports Analytics Championship Feb. 1-2 includes, from left to right, Matthew Gennaro, Alexander Borelli, Sam Gellman and Benjamin Wachtel.

Move over, men’s soccer team. There’s another team on campus vying for a national championship.

Eight Sport Analytics students from the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics will compete Feb. 1-2 in the AXS National Collegiate Sports Analytics Championship hosted by Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. This is the second half of the competition; in the first half, which was held virtually, Syracuse University finished first in both categories – Game Analytics and Business Intelligence – and had four students in each category finish in the top 15.

“This competition means a lot to me and the rest of the Syracuse University team as it’s a good representation of the work that the Sport Analytics students and faculty have put into the program,” says Alexander Borelli, a Sport Analytics major with minors in Economics and Sport Management. “We’ve been able to practice working with datasets like the ones provided in this competition throughout our courses and clubs, and to see our success displayed on a national level is really fulfilling.”

In the virtual part of the competition, where students were given a prompt and had to prepare and present their analytics work to judges, the performance of the Sport Analytics students enabled Syracuse University to rank ahead of Rice University and Baylor in the Game Analytics category, and ahead of Baylor and the University of Iowa in the Business Intelligence category.

The Syracuse University Business Intelligence team that will compete in Dallas, Texas, Feb. 1-2 features, from left to right, Eli Miller, Shane Halpin, Kylie Dedrick and Corey Goldman

Rodney Paul, director of Syracuse University’s Sport Analytics program and a professor in the Department of Sport Management at Falk, and Sport Management Assistant Professor Jason Maddox are the “coaches” of the Syracuse team and will travel to Dallas with the students. The trip is funded through a gift from Syracuse University Trustee and alum Andrew Berlin ’83, who continues to support Sport Analytics student-focused initiatives.

“I’m very pleased that our students will have the opportunity to take part in the competition and I’m extremely proud of their hard work, dedication, and resolve which has led to their individual and group success,” Paul says. “Going into the finals, we are in the position of the hunted as we lead both tracks, and it’s sure to be a pressure-packed environment that will prepare them well for their future endeavors.”

The Syracuse students participating in the Game Analytics category include Borelli ’23 (ranked No. 1 after the first half of the competition); Benjamin Wachtel ’23 (No. 2); Sam Gellman ’23 (No. 13); and Matthew Gennaro ’23 (No. 15). The individual “power rankings” for Game Analytics are listed on this Sports Analytics Championship LinkedIn page.

The Syracuse students in the Business Intelligence category include Eli Miller ’22, G’23 (ranked No. 3 after the first half of the competition); Kylie Dedrick ’23 (No. 4); Shane Halpin ’22, G’23 (No. 9); and Corey Goldman ’23 (No. 14). The individual “power rankings” for Business Intelligence are listed on this Sports Analytics Championship LinkedIn page.

As an example of what the students were required to do in the first half of the competition, Wachtel says he was given the data set of Big 12 Conference men’s basketball games and he chose to predict the shot outcome based on the actions taken by the offense each time it possessed the ball.

“This competition allowed me to explore new and more advanced data analysis techniques and gave me the freedom to approach the data provided in any way that I saw fit,” says Wachtel, who’s majoring in Sport Analytics with minors in Economics and Information Management & Technology. “I’m looking forward to representing Syracuse University on the national stage for the next phase of this competition, where I’ll have the opportunity to network and interact with like-minded peers and industry professionals.”

Dedrick, who is president of Falk College’s Sport Analytics Women (SAW) Club, says participating in this competition enables her to showcase the skills she and her teammates have acquired in the Sport Analytics program.

“Any competition I have competed in during college has focused on the player side of sports, but (the National Championship) has allowed me to dive deeper into my true interest, the business side,” says Dedrick, a Sport Analytics major with minors in Marketing and Applied Statistics. “The sport industry is a daunting place to start coming out of college, but hopefully my participation and success in this competition will help me show the sports world what I can offer.”

Miller, who majored in Sport Analytics and Economics as an undergraduate and is now pursuing a master’s degree in economics, agrees that the data analysis and coding skills he learned in Sport Analytics prepared him and his teammates to compete with the best sport analytics schools in the country.

“I look forward to seeing how these skills will continue to be pushed as we go to the finals,” Miller says. “This competition is just one of the many ways in which Syracuse has continuously given me new opportunities to grow and prepared me for life after graduation, and I look forward to representing this great University come early February.”

For these students, the competition had already been a success but now they look to duplicate what the men’s soccer team accomplished in December – bringing home a national championship to Syracuse.

“It’s been awesome to see the appreciation the (Sport Analytics) program has been receiving as a result of the success of our team,” says Borelli, a Sport Analytics major with minors in Economics and Sport Management. “It’s exciting to go to Dallas and perform in front of analytics professionals in the sports industry and put our skills up against some of the best students in the nation.”

Alison Gilmore ’24 has a deeply heartfelt passion for baseball and softball. Diagnosed at 2 ½ years old with cerebral palsy, she never had the opportunity to compete on the diamond, but she sure embraced the game. The Pennsylvania native, who has a twin sister, settled in on the sidelines, rooting for her siblings, tracking statistics and joining her dad as a longtime dedicated fan of the Baltimore Orioles. “The baseball and softball fields were kind of my home growing up,” says Gilmore, a sport analytics major in Syracuse University’s Falk College. “I looked forward to the early morning games. I loved interacting and watching them play—and my love of sports grew from that.”

Today, that love is evident. Gilmore relishes tuning into ballgames, soaking up stats and building her knowledge base. She’s a Dean’s List student who’s enhancing her education with a minor in sport management and one in information management and technology from the School of Information Studies. All of this supports her focus on developing her programming and data analysis skills with the goal of landing a front-office analytics position with a Major League Baseball team after graduation. “I think data is really powerful,” she says. “To uncover extra information that could help a team or an organization improve its performance excites me.”

Gilmore recognizes her identity as a disabled woman is a rarity in the male-dominated sport industry, and she is motivated by the idea of being a role model for others, carrying that drive with her beyond the playing fields. “I have always realized the importance of educating others in order to create a more inclusive society,” she says.

As a disability advocate, she shares her story to help other students with disabilities navigate their journeys. She does that, in part, as a student assistant at the Intercultural Collective and Disability Cultural Center, where she welcomes students at the front desk and serves as a peer mentor. “I always say that my disability doesn’t define me, but it’s a huge part of my identity and who I am. Obviously our society was built for able-bodied individuals, and so I often have to overcome the inaccessibility and ableism that’s deeply rooted in society,” she says. “I’m faced with that every day, and I have a huge compassion for individuals with disabilities, so being able to engage with them as a mentor is really important to me.”

Finding the Right Fit

Gilmore saw sport analytics as a perfect way to combine her math and statistics skills with her love for sports—and she credits her father for first learning about the Syracuse University program and knowing she’d love it. “I looked into sport analytics and from that day I knew I wanted to come to Syracuse,” she says. “I’m so grateful to be here and forever grateful to my family for encouraging me.”

Once on campus, Gilmore needed little encouragement to get involved. While facing some difficult challenges during her transition to college life, she appreciated the support she received from the Falk College community, especially sport analytics program manager Francesco Riverso G’05 and academic counselor Matthew Yager. Riverso has seen Gilmore blossom throughout her time at Syracuse, noting her determination and that she “has never shied away from an opportunity to grow, personally and professionally,” he says.

For instance, Riverso recalls Gilmore speaking to her peers in the Sport Analytics Living Learning Community at an event focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA). “Alison was candid about her journey as a disabled woman studying in sports, and it was incredibly inspiring,” he says. “She captivated the audience with her honesty, sharing her experiences in an effort to educate and inspire the first-year students. This was quintessential Alison, a young woman who is dedicated to impacting her community through her advocacy, insight and passion. To say that we’re lucky to have her as part of our program would be understating her importance. She is a role model and one of the most motivated students I have worked with in over two decades in higher education.”

Digging into Data-Driven Performance

Right off the bat, Gilmore joined the Sport Analytics Women club and currently serves as vice president of the student organization, which conducts research and networks with women leaders in the field. She also became a member of the Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club, which does research and competes in Diamond Dollars Case Competitions hosted by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Her devotion to analyzing baseball stats was rewarded when she received an Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation scholarship to attend SABR’s 50th anniversary convention in August in Baltimore. Not only did she enjoy the convention and attend an Orioles’ game, but she met members of the team’s front office, including Sig Mejdal, vice president and assistant general manager, analytics, who shared advice with her on building her technical skills. “I learned so much and engaging with those individuals was super meaningful,” she says.

That wasn’t Gilmore’s only valuable experience last summer. She was also the recipient of a Women in Sports Tech Inc. Fellowship, which placed her at Zoomph—a sport analytics platform that tracks sponsorship, media-value exposure and audience behavior—as a social intelligence analyst intern. The highlight of her work was analyzing social media data and engagement and content value of the 2022 NCAA Women’s College World Series and publishing a blog entry on her findings. “My internship at Zoomph was a really valuable experience in terms of being able to analyze data in the sports realm,” she says.

As a Berlin Scholar at Falk, Gilmore is among an elite group of students in the sport analytics program who receive scholarship and financial assistance, participate in competitions and symposiums, and conduct research with a faculty mentor. Under the guidance of Professor Rodney Paul, director of the sport analytics program, she plans to explore the effectiveness of the changing roles of pitchers in Major League Baseball. “I really look forward to engaging in the research,” she says.

Spreading Passion and Inspiration

When Gilmore needs inspiration, she keeps in mind the work of acclaimed sportscaster Jason Benetti ’05, whose broadcasts she’s admired for years, long before she even knew he was a Syracuse alumnus or that they shared the same disability. Through the Falk College network, Gilmore connected with Benetti, who’s now with Fox Sports. He serves as a mentor to her—his hard work, dedication and success showing her that “you can do anything if you put your mind to it,” she says. “Jason is someone I greatly appreciate. His willingness to interact with me is something I truly value.”

Outside of the sports world, Gilmore is passionate about making a positive impact on other students and helping them succeed, giving back for the support from faculty and staff that means so much to her. She meets prospective students as a Falk admissions ambassador and serves as a First-Year Seminar peer leader, facilitating DEIA discussions. She’s been active in OrangeSeeds— the University’s first-year volunteering and leadership empowerment program—as a participant, mentor and member of the executive and membership boards; and has served on the Goon Squad and as a committee member of OttoTHON, the University’s dance marathon that raises funds for the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Gilmore cites her experiences at Syracuse University for helping her build leadership and public speaking skills and gain self-confidence, and she says the sport analytics program “has done wonders in preparing” her for the work she wants to pursue. “The resources at Syracuse University are just incredible and there’s no shortage of opportunity,” she says. “That truly means a lot to me and has had a major impact on the person that I am.”

Jamal Salmon ’12 plays a major role in the motion picture industry. He’s not a Hollywood star, director or producer, but he’s influential when it comes to understanding audiences and promoting blockbusters. As the senior vice president of global data analytics at Paramount Pictures, he infuses data and information into studio executives’ decision-making process on movies. Whether questions focus on advertising and marketing, targeting specific audiences or even adjusting trailers to amplify a movie’s appeal, he provides data-driven guidance that shapes a film’s fate. “My role is to help inform everything—from is this the right ad to run on Monday Night Football, to is this the right audience to advertise to for a film, to everyday questions of should we be making more or less of this type of movie?” says Salmon, an alumnus of Syracuse University’s Falk College.

Salmon’s work has helped propel the success of such smash hits as A Quiet Place and Top Gun: Maverick, which blasted by the billion-dollar mark at the box office. With the proliferation of streaming services and changing viewer habits, Hollywood has had to adjust accordingly—and embracing data analysis is a key part of that shift. According to Salmon, who joined Paramount in 2017, incorporating data as part of the business strategy is relatively new for the film industry. “My favorite thing about my role is that I’m often tasked with trying to come up with solutions for problems that didn’t exist even two years ago,” he says. “I’m always solving new challenges in a space where people are watching movies at home and in the theater, and that pattern changes every single day.”

Salmon—who was honored at Orange Central with the 2022 Generation Orange Award, which recognizes outstanding graduates of the last 10 years—previously held analytics positions at Netflix and Google. But he forged his foundation in analytics in the sports world. After earning a bachelor’s degree in sport management, he joined Bloomberg Sports as a basketball/baseball analyst and then became a senior research analyst at ESPN, where he’d interned in college.

“At the time I was a Falk College student and as a sport analytics professional, a lot of the learning was around trying to understand how we could infuse traditional business concepts into the very specific realm of sports,” he says. Now, Salmon draws comparisons between the evolution of analytics in the sport and film industries. “For me, the biggest parallel is they’re both environments that historically haven’t had strong data representation,” he says.

Captivated by Sports Stats

Salmon has always been a big sports fan. Growing up in Queens, New York, he spent a lot of time watching ESPN’s SportsCenter and feasting on box scores and stats. “My connection to sports has always been through numbers,” he says. “I could quote batting averages, league leaders and many different stats for baseball and basketball.” And when he realized there were careers in the sport industry for a numbers guy like him, he looked to explore that path in college. “Falk College was the leader in the sports program space, and that’s where I wanted to be,” he says.

For Salmon, his Syracuse University experience was transformational. He built strong relationships with Falk College faculty advisors, who provided both academic and career guidance. He emphasizes how collaborating on group projects and managing an intense course load while carving out time for a social life and activities helped prepare him for the problem-solving challenges he faces today. “The ability to go to Falk College was really special for me,” he says. “The idea that I could take courses that touch so many disciplines and were all connected by what I was most passionate about—the sports business—was really unique, hard to find and everything I thought it would be.”

Among Salmon’s fondest campus memories are playing basketball, especially intramural league battles on the court. He was also tight with a group of friends who met regularly at the Schine Student Center to hang out and catch up on their days together. Many of them became lifelong friends. “The friendships I made at Syracuse have supported me not only in my personal life, but also in my career,” he says. “Friends of mine have shared opportunities, and I’ve been able to do the same for them. The opportunity, almost by chance, to meet them on this campus has changed my life.”

Creating Student Opportunities

Salmon says his career vision began to take shape on campus, and he treasures those moments where he learned and grew as a person, realizing the positive impact of his time on campus. Today, he supports the University as a member of the Office of Multicultural Advancement Advisory Council and through the Our Time Has Come Scholarship program. “When I think about the opportunity to give to Syracuse University, it’s through the lens of, what if I didn’t have those four years, what would that mean to me?” he says. “I know that a lot of opportunities are provided by giving back to the University. Contributing to the Our Time Has Come Scholarship gives that opportunity to so many students, especially students of color.”

Salmon also likes to mentor students and has welcomed students from the Syracuse University in Los Angeles program to Paramount for an inside look at the studio. For him, it’s all part of sharing his success by helping others while continuing to innovate in his career. “Every day I’m learning something new,” he says. “I still think I’m breaking new ground and that, for me, is the part that’s most exciting.”

~ An SU Story by Jay Cox originally published on November 28, 2022.