Syracuse Welcome for All Students Scheduled for Aug. 24-27
Sport Management News
Welcome to Falk College!
Syracuse Welcome, the University’s required orientation program, is scheduled for Aug. 24-27. At Falk College, we’ll be welcoming a student body that includes more than 2,100 undergraduate and graduate students.
The newest Falk students in the Class of 2027 are a talented group from 31 U.S. states and 10 global countries. Joining the Falk family are 319 first-year students, 16 transfer students, and 283 graduate students (123 in residential programs and 160 in online programs).
For everything you need to know about Syracuse Welcome, please visit the Welcome Schedules webpage, where both University and Falk College-specific events can be found. Welcome to Falk College and Syracuse University!
Together for Better: Diane Lyden Murphy’s 45 Years of Service
Diane reflects on her time at Syracuse University, and the people and experiences that prepared her for leadership.
Diane Lyden Murphy
Many know Diane Lyden Murphy as the Dean of Falk College, a position she has held since 2005. But her journey and impact at Syracuse extend well beyond her deanship. In many ways, her leadership in Falk College was shaped by the people and experiences in Diane’s life before Falk College even existed.
As we approach the end of August 2023 and the conclusion of her deanship, we sat down with Diane to reflect on her personal journey to academia; her calling to social policy, social justice, and feminist scholarship; and her remarkable 45 years of service at Syracuse University. Here is her story:
Moving In a Crowd
“Do you want to be a jumping hyena? Or do you want to play ball?” One of the sisters who taught at Our Lady of the Valley, a Catholic high school in Orange, New Jersey, was encouraging a young Diane Lyden to join the basketball team. It was the early 1960s, a time when women’s competitive sports were still new and most young women were cheerleaders. “The nuns were my first feminist teachers,” she said. “I didn’t know it then.”
Thanks to the nuns’ encouragement, Diane joined the women’s team, which won several state championships in northern New Jersey. “I wasn’t top of the team. But my very best friend Bernie was. She was a top shooter in Jersey. Boys would get scholarships every year. But there were no scholarships for Bernie, so she did not go to college.”
Growing up in North Jersey, there were Irish, Italian, and Polish neighborhoods. At home, she was part of a multi-generational household of first-generation Irish Catholics. Diane was the eldest of 10 children—four girls and six boys. The house was huge, and it needed to be—it was home to her siblings, grandparents, and aunt and uncle “I’ve always lived in a gang, that’s how I moved around and knew life. There were always little kids around. There was always lots of activity. We went to school, and church, and athletics. You had to do well in your own role.”
In school and at home, Diane found a mix of “old world” culture mixed with the social justice values of her Jesuit education and home upbringing. “The whole ethos and modeling and life I had was always built around issues of social justice and giving back and philanthropy, mutual aid, and leadership in that area. The concept that what you’re given must be returned,” she said.
The family went to mass every day, and they all worked by the time they were 16. “I either volunteered, or by 16 I had a job.” In high school, Diane was a hospital volunteer, often called a “candy striper.” Even there, Diane was marching to her own drum. “I kept getting into trouble because I kept on serving the people. You’re supposed to just give them their food and leave—but I kept on feeding the old people,” she said, grinning. “The nurses finally said to me, ‘You’re only supposed to leave the trays, you’re not doing the right job, you’re fired,’” she laughed. “I had a little rebel streak. If anybody said don’t, I did.”
But as traditional and new ideas of the world in the 1960s found themselves at odds, Diane found a way to preserve the best of both and still push for progress. Perhaps her biggest act of individual thinking was her decision to go to college. Diane had a knack for academia; she took three years of math, and even won a state award for her four years of Latin language education.
Although she was at a college prep school, her family did not understand why she wanted to go to college. No one in her family had earned a bachelor’s degree, and the women didn’t receive any college education. Money for higher education was reserved for the men in the family. Her father, an Irish biological orphan raised by an adoptive Polish family, had an associate degree and a stable white-collar job in traffic control. Just as Diane was finishing high school, her father was being transferred to Upstate New York. Since her family was relocating to Syracuse, Diane enrolled at Syracuse University.
A Born Social Worker
Diane became part of the progressive action movement in the community and on campus. “It was a social activist time. It completely meshed with my own mission and values. So, I became an activist scholar.” She majored in sociology at the Maxwell School and was part of the honors program. At the time, social work was not an undergraduate major.
“My parents didn’t help me financially because they couldn’t. I always worked. I worked at the bookstore, lifeguarding, water safety. I worked all through college. I did my schoolwork at home at night.” As an undergraduate student, Diane lived with her family in a big farmhouse. She shared a room with her two sisters. Second in birth order was Diane’s sister, who was following a more traditional path. And while her grandmother gave her sister a dowry, Diane only wanted books. “Grandma would say, ‘Any money I give you will not go into a book!’ It was so far from her experience as a farm child in the Catskills.”
As a senior, she received her honors degree in Hendricks Chapel. “My parents came for the first time to campus, and my father said, ‘What are you doing?’ Meaning, ‘What is this all about?’ My family always loved me and supported me, but, having never experienced it themselves, did not understand higher education.” Although her family did not understand Diane’s chosen path, she credits them with setting her on it. “My inclination to social justice comes out of my early preparation as a child. My parents showed the way,” she said. “All my brothers and sisters do this work. We’re all involved in human services: Doctors, healthcare workers, lawyers, social workers, teachers, and on and on it goes.”
While at Syracuse, Diane met Fred Murphy, a graduate student in economics at the Maxwell School, five years her senior. “He was also an activist scholar. He was employed by the City of Syracuse doing tenant organizing.” One week after her graduation in 1967, Diane and Fred were married. In January 1969, their twin daughters were born.
No Stopping Her
Diane was working at Elmcrest Children Center with a team of six women, each of whom had their Master of Social Work. “You’re a born social worker,” her supervisor told Diane. After a year at Elmcrest, she made her way back to Syracuse to earn her own M.S.W.
Diane arrived at the admissions office with her twins and was greeted with a comment she’d never forget: “‘What are you doing with those babies sitting in my office for admissions?’ he said to me. ‘I’m applying to graduate school.’ ‘And what makes you think that’s reasonable, young lady?’ I said, ‘Because women do it all.’ I was so upset, it got me charged up. I said to myself, ‘I’m really going to do this!’”
She started courses in social work in the fall of 1969. “By this time there was no stopping me. I really loved my studies in social work.” At the time, her twins were not yet 1 year old. There were no childcare services on campus for students with children, and since Fred was working full time, they went to class with Diane. “I took them to school. I brought them to class,” she said. “Still to this day my friends from graduate school talk to me about holding them on their lap. I often rode on a bike with them—one on the front and one on the back. It was a little challenging, but all my friends I met in class helped me do it.” In the M.S.W. program Diane became president of the social work Graduate Student Organization.
Diane (left) at the all-university Gerontology Center, established in 1972 by the School of Social Work. Today, it exists at the Aging Studies Institute.
Diane paid for her education through scholarships and teaching assistant stipends. These turned into formative experiences for her. “I was given the opportunity to make family-friendly structural changes for all members of the university community, working side-by-side with mentors, university leaders, and countless collaborators.”
In her first year as a graduate student intern, Diane worked with Central New York Legal Services in local family court cases. In her second year, she worked with Dr. Charles Willie, then-Dean of Student Affairs and previous chair of the sociology department whose research focused on mental health in African American families. “That was an unbelievable adventure working with him as his graduate assistant. What a privilege. He ended up being tenured at Harvard University’s School of Education. Under his mentorship, we developed and founded the Syracuse University Early Childhood Education Center.”
By the early 1970s, there was a large population of married students and families, many of whom were having children. But there were only minimal health benefits at Syracuse University. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was more than 20 years away. “Dr. Willie said to me, ‘Married students are a poverty population.’ And they were.” And although Syracuse University had the Bernice M. Wright Laboratory School, the school was a cooperative model, and it didn’t take infants. Together, Dr. Willie and Diane as his graduate assistant established the Early Childhood Education Center funded between the Department of Psychology, the School of Education, and the Office of Student Affairs. They also created a program with SUNY Upstate Medical University to help students access affordable childbirth delivery.
After completing her M.A. social science in 1976 and her M.S.W. in 1978, Diane decided to continue with a Ph.D. “Obviously I was kind of pushing against things all along, and now it became pretty obvious what the mission was. There’s no question of the intentional effort that we would make this university a model for family friendly policy.”
When Diane was a graduate student, the School of Social Work was located at “Crouse House” (left), three buildings on South Crouse Avenue, until 1974 when it moved to Brockway Hall (right).
Trained by the Very Best
Throughout her doctoral studies, Diane worked with Dean of the School of Education Burton Blatt, Doug Biklen, Bob Bogdan, Steve Taylor, and other scholars and partners at the Center on Human Policy in the School of Education. “These were the School of Education’s flagship signature moments, and we were the literal pipeline of funding from Washington. Most of the federal funding for the nation came to Syracuse University for disability studies.” In part, the Center worked on deinstitutionalization and the promotion of community care models. “This was a big part of my journey in my 30s and 40s and this movement in disability studies transformed America,” she said.
Diane’s colleagues at the Center were trailblazers for inclusive education. The Jowonio School was an early pilot of inclusive education modeling that was created by the School of Education. They integrated these models into the Early Childhood Education Center and the Bernice M. Wright Laboratory School before they became the model for the surrounding Syracuse community, and eventually the world. “Now inclusive education is mainstream. Syracuse University School of Education built that,” she said. “I am pleased to say every one of my children have been educated within an inclusive education environment. It makes a world of difference, and everyone benefits.”
All of Diane’s doctoral work was done with the Center on Human Policy. In her graduate assistant office on campus, she kept a crib for the twins where they would sleep while she wrote her dissertation.
She earned her Ph.D. in 1983 and by then, Syracuse University was truly her home. “I had a lot of good fortune,” she said. “I had been trained by the very best and got to do the work I love, which is organizing and planning social change, having the university engage in the community and the community engage in Syracuse University.” She loved academia, and she felt part of the community. And perhaps most importantly, she could see an opportunity to make change in the place she had grown to call home. “I realized I could do activist organizing within the university community and make this a better place for all,” she said. “So, I stayed, and I never left.”
Together You Create the Shift
As a member of the University Senate since 1979, Diane was deeply involved in writing new policies for the university. She and her colleagues formed policies for women’s concerns, gender pay equity, and sexual harassment. They established benefits for parental leave, adoption, domestic partnerships, and retirement. “We looked across the nation and even in Europe to see what best healthcare policies to have at a university. We adapted them, we brought them in, we pushed for them. You have to be strategic and skilled in community change and movement and organization theory—and we were. So, we’ve attended to all those things and we’re a better place because of it.
“But we can’t rest on this,” she continued. “Although there has been accomplishment, we realize there is a harsh political context to consistently work in. But the university has been responsive through its legislative and statute process, through the University Senate, our chancellors, and our provosts, and community leaders have been responsive to working towards a progressive site. That’s a gain for the entire community.”
Active in the early women’s movement in the wider community, Diane was one of four charter members of The Women’s Center, which operated consciousness raising (or “CR”) groups in Syracuse and surrounding towns. It’s still active and located on Allen Street and Harvard Place. From 1993-1994, Diane served alongside her colleague Dr. Marie Provine, a lawyer and Chair of the Department of Political Science, as consultants to Chancellor Kenneth Shaw on women’s issues.
In 1989, Diane took on a new role establishing women’s studies at Syracuse University. She recalls university leadership asking, “Why do we need women’s studies?” “Because everything else is men’s studies,” she said. She was Director of Women’s Studies for more than 16 years. Together with her colleagues, they established women’s studies as a department in the College of Arts and Sciences, and created a major, a minor, and a certificate of advanced study. “Women’s studies is an articulation of giving women the opportunity to study every subject through the lens of women and their history and contributions. It shifts the perspective by focusing on women in all academic fields. And it has created the movement of women’s perspective entering every field of knowledge without exception. This perspective is not yet universal, and there is more progress to be made,” she said.
“You do that collectively,” she continued. “Collectively means you have women that are interested in doing this and leading this as mentors in every possible place in the university and community, and together you create the shift in knowledge.”
Following Dr. Claire Rudolph and Dr. Nancy Mudrick, Diane in 1978 became the third female faculty member to join the School of Social Work. She taught macro policy and law in mental health and developmental disability policy, emphasizing the importance of building change into structures, processes, and systems. “I know as an organizer, until you build it into the structure, it goes with the wind.” She loved teaching her students how to work with people to make progress–something she’s been doing her whole life. But perhaps her biggest challenge was yet to come.
We’re Going to Build It
In 2001, Syracuse University merged the College for Human Development, the School of Social Work, and College of Nursing together to form the new College of Human Services and Health Professions (renamed the College of Human Ecology in 2007), led by Dean William Pollard, former Dean of the School of Social Work. The merge raised questions from faculty about the future of their programs. What does it mean for the formerly independent disciplines? How would the programs continue as a collective College? “It was a challenging time,” said Diane.
In the fragile early years of transition, the university began a search for Pollard’s successor. Although a dozen candidates were vying for the job, Diane wasn’t one of them. But the university leadership identified her as a strong candidate, thanks to her track record of success in leadership and community organizing. She was heavily recruited. Still, many of the university’s leaders openly expressed their doubts about the ability of the college to succeed. She recalls a conversation with one member of university leadership who said, “If I were you, I would take the job and let it fall to its own because it’s never going to work. Let it fall apart and that’ll be the end of it.”
Even Diane had her doubts. But taking the job under the assumption of failure was unacceptable to her. She would accept the job under only one vision: that it would succeed. “I remember saying to myself, ‘If I’m going to do this, we’re going to do it! If these schools must be arranged like this, then we’re going to build it so that we can live and thrive in this structure. Otherwise, all the programs will go away.’ And that’s what I said to the committee: We’re going to build this thing.” In 2005, she was selected unanimously by full faculty vote.
After being named Dean, Diane was photographed for “Woman at the Top: Dean Diane Lyden Murphy Hits the Ground Running,” a story that appeared in the Fall/Winter 2005 issue of the college’s magazine, Insights.
For Diane, failure wasn’t an option. The programs themselves—professional programs in health, nutrition, social work, human development, and others—were too vitally important to society in promoting health and equity. “I said to the faculty, ‘We’re going to take this College and make it what we want it to be. What we know it is. But we will do it. We won’t let it fail because our subject matters are too important. We can do this together—and we will do this together.’”
Diane was the perfect choice to join people together to create a new community. “I was raised in a crowd from the time I was a young person in a large family. I move in a crowd.
“I never make decision alone,” she continued. “I assume that I have other experts around me—we bounce off ideas, we have discussions, and we come to collective work that I think represents the best of everyone. And that’s guided me even to the deanship.”
As the College structure was being formed, so was its identity. With Diane at the helm, the college was built on the principles of social justice and civic engagement. It became a college where putting theory into practice is about more than just gaining practical experience, but about serving others and fostering humility and understanding in diverse global cultural contexts.
Among the merged colleges was a curriculum for sport management, written by faculty in consumer studies, one of the academic programs that had been newly introduced as part of the merge in 2001. In 2004, Falk College launched sport management built on the framework of social justice and corporate social responsibility. In many ways, a socially minded business program was ahead of its time. But the students embraced it, and since 2006 they have raised more than half a million dollars for local charities and continue to lead discussions about diversity and equity in sports.
Diane at the podium for the Falk College Complex dedication ceremony in 2015. Seated behind her from left to right are Rhonda Falk, David Falk, Chancellor Kent Syverud, Falk College Advisory Board Chair Corey Schneider, and Sport Management Advisory Council Chair Brandon Steiner.
With support from Syracuse University alumni David Falk ’72 and Rhonda Falk ’74, the College was renamed the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics in 2011. The Falk College Complex, former home of the College of Law, was dedicated 2015. Falk programs which had been dispersed in eight different locations across campus were finally all together under one roof. “It’s 18 years since I became Dean, and we have built it. We are a huge success on every dimension,” she said. “We’ve done it as a collective. We’ve done it as a community.”
Today, Falk College boasts impactful interdisciplinary faculty research in human services, health, and social equity. The curriculum integrates highly effective theory-to-practice learning models for student training. Falk College created new undergraduate and graduate academic programs in food studies, esports, and sport analytics at Syracuse University, new programs public health from the legacy of the former College of Nursing, and new programs in exercise science which began in the School of Education. Students also benefit from new global study abroad programming across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
But most importantly, every year the College graduates a cohort of students who are prepared to make their communities stronger, healthier, and more just places. “When students come and study in Falk College, they’ve already made decisions about what they want to do in their life. They want to be largely involved in improving the lives of others through their professional career. They bring such joy, commitment, eagerness, and innovation. That’s the everyday lift you get from being around Falk students.”
Diane at the 2019 Syracuse University Commencement.
Accomplishment in Doing Good
Diane recalls words from a colleague and friend who said to her, “I have never seen anybody fight so hard and forget so easy. You can work with anybody.” She has grown to be admired for her ability speak truth to power in a way that maintains respect and preserves unity.
“I have an ungainly and probably not grounded sense of self confidence, and still do to this day,” admitted Diane, a self-described “straight-shooter.” But she is still inclined toward a bit of humor. Empathy and humility have been guiding principles in her life and leadership. “I don’t feel above anybody else, and I always value diverse perspectives,” she said.
For the campus community, Diane’s legacy will be her effectiveness as an advocate for change and her ability to move groups of people together for better. “It’s a sweet and lovely feeling of accomplishment in doing good.”
Diane invited her grandchildren to the stage as she received Syracuse University’s highest honor—the Chancellor’s Medal—at the One University Awards Ceremony April 21, 2023, in Hendricks Chapel.
But for Diane, her legacy is the one she shares with her late husband, Fred: Their five daughters, their grandchildren, and their commitment to their communities. “I am certainly a feminist. I get it right back at me now from five feminist daughters of whom I am immensely proud.” All her daughters work in education, health, and helping professions. All are heavily involved in civic activity, and not by accident “Fred and I raised our family in the City of Syracuse by determination. We’re urbanists.” Still today, Diane is a proud member of the Westcott community.
Over the years, Diane’s big family home just kept getting bigger, encompassing her family, her Syracuse neighbors, and the university community. “I feel privileged to have had the chance to practice my own values, my own mission, my own journey as I saw it with my family. To be able to execute that and to live that life comfortably and bring that to work, I mean, what an opportunity. I get to work every day at what I love to do. It is quite a privilege and I know that.”
Thanks to Diane and the progress she helped forge in favor of social justice, more people can enjoy that same privilege of shaping their own path in life and living out their own personal mission in all circles of influence–at home, at work, and in the community–instead of having to choose. After all, if Diane has demonstrated one consistent truth, it’s that change can only be achieved if it is achieved together.
Story by Valerie Pietra. Special thanks to Matt Michael for editorial collaboration and contributions and Syracuse University Archives Special Collections Research Center for research and photography.
Kay Stearns Bruening Appointed Associate Dean of Falk College Academic Affairs
Kay Stearns Bruening, Ph.D., RDN, FAND, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in the Falk College, has been named Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for Falk College effective August 1, 2023. In her new role, Bruening oversees program review, curriculum development, and accreditation for Falk College academic programs.
Previously, Bruening was an undergraduate director in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies and director of the Nutrition Assessment, Consultation and Education (ACE) Center. Bruening has also served as a program reviewer for the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) for 21 years and as a Program Representative on the ACEND Board. Most recently, Bruening was instrumental in Falk College’s early transition to ACEND’s Future Education Model and the successful accreditation under these new standards. This was a multi-year effort that started in 2019, when Syracuse University was accepted as a demonstration cohort to participate as a pilot program of ACEND’s vision to implement competency-based learning to prepare nutrition and dietetics professionals for future practice.
“Falk College is highly regarded for our curriculum, pedagogy, and student success,” says Bruening. “Throughout the college, our curriculum blends theory and research with practical experience, preparing our students for leadership and innovation in critically important professional fields. I am thrilled to serve in this new capacity as Associate Dean and advance Falk College as a leader in education and professional practice.”
Employment outcomes for all majors and the ability of students to seek additional educational goals are excellent throughout Falk College. Accredited programs and license-bearing degrees have an outstanding level of success. Falk College meets, and often exceeds, standards for four accrediting bodies: Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, Council on Education for Public Health, and Council on Social Work Education. Falk’s professional programs are consistently among the nation’s strongest in licensing exam pass rates.
“Kay brings a wealth of expertise in educational instruction and design,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., Dean of Falk College. “Her work in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies has kept this program at the forefront of nutrition and dietetics education, as evidenced by our accreditation and favorable licensing exam pass rates. Falk College is privileged to have her leadership in a new capacity as Associate Dean.”
Bruening’s teaching and research interests center around medical nutrition therapy, and she is published in dietetics education. She has collaborated with international dietetic education programs in Chile, South Korea, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, and collaborates with local medical researchers on detection of adult malnutrition and developing food-based programs for adult weight management and related comorbidities. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, belongs to three dietetic practice groups, and completed advanced training in child and adolescent weight management. She holds a courtesy faculty appointment with the Department of Medicine at Upstate Medical University, where she is a co-instructor on an elective nutrition course for medical students.
She earned a Ph.D. in clinical nutrition from New York University, M.A. in nutrition from Syracuse University, and B.S. in biology from St. Lawrence University.
Kay succeeds Eileen Lantier, R.N., Ph.D., who is concluding her 17-year tenure as Senior Associate Dean of Faculty, Curriculum, and Alumni on August 24, 2023. Under Eileen’s leadership, Falk College has successfully launched a wide range of new residential and online academic offerings, sustained accreditation with its four accrediting bodies, and achieved remarkable student outcomes from its signature theory-to-practice model.
Eileen has served more than 39 years at Syracuse University as a faculty member and administrator. Prior to her role as Senior Associate Dean in Falk College, she taught nursing at Syracuse University and championed the use of educational technology in healthcare. Prior to her work in academia, she led a professional career in nursing, working in several area hospitals and clinical settings. She earned a Ph.D., M.S., and B.S., all from Syracuse University. Eileen will retire in January 2024.
“I have served with Eileen since the very beginning of my deanship in 2005. Eileen has demonstrated extraordinary leadership to the great benefit of Falk College and has been instrumental both in developing new academic disciplines at Syracuse University–such as public health, food studies, and sport management–and maintaining excellence and accreditation in our longstanding professional licensing programs,” says Murphy. “Falk College thanks Eileen for her service and lasting positive impact at Syracuse University, her passion for excellence in education, and her deep personal commitment to our students and their success.”
At the end of August 2023, Murphy concludes her tenure as Dean of Falk College, a position she has held since 2005. She is succeeded by Jeremy S. Jordan, a seasoned academic with extensive experience in sport and recreation management. Jordan’s appointment as Dean of Falk College begins September 1, 2023.
Joey Gawrysiak named Executive Director of Esports
Gawrysiak to Oversee Esports Initiatives at Syracuse University
Joey Gawrysiak has been named executive director of Syracuse University’s new esports communications and management degree program. Gawrysiak developed one of the first esports degrees in the country at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, where he is now a professor and director of esports. At Syracuse, he will provide visionary leadership for the University’s esports initiatives, with oversight of all esports academic programming and an esports living learning community. His appointment is effective Aug. 21.
“Joey has the knowledge, the vision and the entrepreneurial approach needed to successfully launch the University’s robust esports degree program,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I am thrilled to have one of the pioneers in academic esports programming leading our efforts. I look forward to welcoming him to the Orange community.”
Says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter, “As we invest in and grow the University’s sport-related academic disciplines and leverage this key area of distinction, Joey’s guidance and leadership will be crucial to our success. I look forward to working with him and the Falk and Newhouse deans to launch the new esports degree and expand our esports infrastructure.”
The esports communications and management degree, offered jointly by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, will launch this fall. Among the first of its kind at a major university, the program, taps into the rapidly growing, multibillion-dollar esports industry and builds upon work already happening on campus.
Jeff Rubin, special advisor to the chancellor on esports and digital transformation, led the effort to bring an esports major to Syracuse. “This is an exciting time for Syracuse University,” he says. “Joey will grow recreational and competitive esports on campus and will also help implement and utilize the University’s new sports facilities.”
Gawrysiak will report to incoming Falk Dean Jeremy S. Jordan and Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato.
“It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Joey Gawrysiak as executive director of esports,” says Falk Dean Diane Lyden Murphy, who announced her retirement earlier this year. “He is well-equipped to guide Falk College and our partners at the Newhouse School as we connect our respective disciplines around esports. In Falk, esports will benefit from our thriving sport management and sport analytics programs, and interdisciplinary connections with highly relevant Falk College scholarship in public health, social justice and equity. Under Joey’s leadership, I am confident we will maximize opportunities in Falk and Newhouse to position Syracuse University as a national trailblazer in esports.”
“Newhouse has been a leader in this space as one of the first schools in the country to offer courses in esports and communications,” Lodato says. “We’re very excited to welcome Joey to the Syracuse University family and look forward to building on our foundation to create an academic program with Falk College that prepares students to succeed in this burgeoning field.”
Gawrysiak joined Shenandoah in 2012 and is a faculty member in sport management and esports. As director of esports, he has oversight of all aspects of the program, developing curriculum and experiential learning while securing more than $100,000 in partnerships.
Gawrysiak earned a Ph.D. in sport management and policy, an M.Ed. in physical education and sport studies, and a B.S.Ed. in sport studies, all from the University of Georgia. His research focuses on esports; video games and sport; sports and socialization; international sport culture; and sport and technology. He has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed articles on topics related to esports. He sits on the board of directors of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2021 NACE Director of the Year and 2022 NACE Hero Award.
“Syracuse University has shown remarkable commitment to embracing emerging fields and providing its students with cutting-edge educational opportunities,” Gawrysiak says. “I am thrilled to join this esteemed institution and lead its esports program. My goal is to create a dynamic and inclusive environment that promotes academic excellence, fosters competitive success and cultivates a strong sense of community among our esports students.”
The search committee was co-chaired by Michael Veley, professor of practice and chair of sport management in Falk College, and Olivia Stomski, professor of practice and director of the Newhouse School’s Sports Media Center.
Jeremy S. Jordan Named Dean of Falk College
Jeremy S. Jordan Named Dean of David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
Jeremy S. Jordan, a seasoned academic with extensive experience in sport and recreation management, has been named the next dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. The announcement was made today by Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. His appointment, effective September 1, was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
“Jeremy Jordan brings a combination of academic leadership experience and hands-on industry knowledge that will be a boon to Falk College and its professional programs—from food studies to marriage and family therapy to social work,” Provost Ritter says. “I look forward to working with him, especially on important initiatives like the launch of the esports degree and the expansion of the sport management program.”
Jordan is currently the vice provost for faculty affairs at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he is also a professor and Ed Rosen Senior Research Fellow in the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management’s Department of Sport and Recreation Management. He is the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, and has also been the director of the Sport Industry Research Center and the Millard E. Gladfelter Research Fellow.
Jordan’s research focuses on the impact of sport participation and events on individuals and communities, as well as the social, environmental and financial impact of sport events and organizations. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and has participated in more than 65 funded research projects.
Before joining Temple in 2008, Jordan held faculty positions at the University of Miami, Mississippi State University and the University of Memphis, and served as the athletic director at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. He earned a Ph.D. in sport management from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in physical education from La Sierra.
“I am honored to have been selected as the next dean of Falk College and look forward to becoming a member of the Syracuse community,” Jordan says. “The college is known for its academic excellence, impactful research and commitment to community engagement. I admire the culture and rigor of the college and Syracuse University, and I look forward to contributing to the success of both with the support of the students, staff, faculty and alumni.”
The dean search committee, convened by Provost Ritter in February, was co-chaired by Falk College faculty members Mary Graham, professor of sport management and faculty athletic representative, and Katherine McDonald, associate dean of research and professor of public health.
“I am grateful to the committee members for their hard work in recruiting a talented leader like Jeremy Jordan to join our campus community,” Provost Ritter says.
Jordan succeeds Diane Lyden Murphy, who is concluding her tenure as dean of the Falk College, a position she has held since 2005. She has served 45 years at Syracuse University. “Diane has truly left her mark on Falk College, shepherding it from its early days and overseeing multiple successful initiatives,” Provost Ritter says. “I thank her for her service and her incredible contributions to the college and the University.”
World-Class Event
Falk College, UNLV to Launch Sports, Entertainment & Innovations Conference in Las Vegas Next Summer
Michael Veley, the Department of Sport Management’s founding director and chair, speaks at the news conference in Las Vegas announcing the launch of the groundbreaking Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference.
On July 14, UNLV Sports Innovation and Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, in collaboration with the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency Circle, proudly announced the launch of SEI-Con—a first-of-it-kind Sports, Entertainment & Innovation Conference hosting thought leaders and subject matter experts from across the globe to educate, collaborate, and create dynamic ventures together.
The inaugural conference will be held in Las Vegas with an opening reception July 15, 2024, and the three-day conference July 16-18. The event will include exhibitor pods, innovation labs, daily keynotes, seminars/sessions, roundtables, and daily wrap parties with music.
“There has been momentum building in the area of professional sports throughout Southern Nevada in recent years, and the economic growth that comes along with it is undeniable,” says University of Nevada, Las Vegas President Keith E. Whitfield. “Through business and workforce development, and of course innovation, UNLV is a key partner in this growth, and SEI-Con is the latest example of our collaborative work to reinforce Las Vegas’ reputation as the world leader in tourism, sports, and entertainment.”
Analysts predict the global sports market to reach $2 trillion, which is 2% of the $100 trillion world economy, bolstered by an influx of money from new sources, emerging technologies, and growing demand. Already the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas has become an emerging sports destination and is perfectly positioned to host an annual conference focused on the intersection of sports, entertainment, and innovation.
“The opportunity for our students to work on this world-class event captures the essence of our experiential-based academic programs,” says Michael Veley, founding Director and Chair and Rhonda S. Falk Endowed Professor in the Department of Sport Management in Falk College. “We, along with our nationally acclaimed advisory council of industry executives, fully embrace the collaboration with UNLV’s premier programs, the creative genius of Circle, and business partners and sports entities in one of the most dynamic sports and entertainment markets in the world.”
Attendees will have opportunities to meet industry executives and explore the latest innovations in sports and entertainment, esports and gaming, sports sociology and diversity, broadcast brands and media, research and development, and more.
From left to right, Shawn Garrity (Circle), Rodney Paul (Syracuse), Michael Veley (Syracuse), Sport Management alum Chris Sotiropulos ’09 (vice president of stadium operations for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders), Jay Vickers (UNLV Sports Innovation) and Vickers’ daughter, Juliana, gather to celebrate the launch of SEI-Con starting in July 2024.
“Through collaborations with academic partners and the sports and entertainment industry, we are training the next generation of sports scientists and sports business professionals through interdisciplinary education and research,” says UNLV Sports Innovation COO Jay Vickers. “SEI-Con will produce opportunities for education and collaboration that will result in unprecedented deal-making that will undeniably have a positive impact for our universities, students, and the sports and entertainment industry.”
The event will also recognize leadership in sports, entertainment, and academia, and connect audiences dedicated to the future of these industries.
“We are eager to display the work being done by our faculty directly in sports, including innovative programs in sport management, sport analytics, and our newest program in esports, plus other elements of the college such as sports-related research in exercise science, nutrition, and other areas,” says Rodney Paul, Director of the Sport Analytics Program and a professor in the Department of Sport Management at Falk College. “We are most excited, however, to show off our greatest asset, our students, on the world stage in the great city of Las Vegas.”
The July 14 kickoff news conference was covered by several media outlets, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Yahoo! Finance. Watch a video from the SEI-Con announcement featuring Veley and Vickers:
The impressive list of SEI-Con speakers for next summer’s conference includes David Falk, Falk College benefactor and one of the sports industry’s leading figures as an NBA player agent; Brandon Steiner, Falk College Department of Sport Management Advisory Council president and a sports marketing expert; Syracuse University Director of Athletics John Wildhack; Sport Management Associate Professor and Undergraduate Director Gina Pauline; and Veley and Paul.
For more information about SEI-Con, including a FAQ and how to register, visit the SEI-Con website.
About SEI-Con
A next-gen conference that empowers academia, corporations, government, organizations, and non-profit entities to align, accelerating the development of new products, services and technologies that will elevate the entire market and improve the future of sports and entertainment for all.
About the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
Falk College brings together Syracuse University’s professional programs in exercise science, human development and family science, marriage and family therapy, nutrition and food studies, public health, social work, and sport management in an environment of cross-disciplinary teaching, research, practice, and service. Falk College has been at the forefront of sport industry education for 20 years, launching one of the nation’s first undergraduate degrees both in sport management and sport analytics, and soon offering a new esports communications and management degree program with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
About UNLV Sports Innovation
UNLV Sports Innovation aspires to be a nationally recognized hub that integrates sport science and sport business to provide cutting-edge solutions to unique challenges and drive the future of sport. Situated in UNLV’s Office of Economic Development with collaborators across the university, UNLV Sports Innovation is training the next generation of sport scientists and sport business professionals through interdisciplinary education and research.
A New Sports Frontier
New Course Introduces Students to Emerging Field of Sport Social Work
Professor of Social Work Ken Marfilius (left) and master’s of social work student Rachel Hamilton collaborated to create the new Introduction to Sport Social Work course.
The idea of merging social work principles and practices with the sports industry is an emerging field, and Syracuse University is at the forefront with a new undergraduate course scheduled to start in fall 2024 in the School of Social Work at the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
Introduction to Sport Social Work is an elective course created by Associate Teaching Professor of Social Work Ken Marfilius in collaboration with Rachel Hamilton, a master’s of social work student who’s currently interning with the Syracuse Athletics Department. Marfilius will teach the course and Hamilton will be his research assistant, and here’s an excerpt from the course description:
Introduction to Sport Social Work: Applying a strength-based perspective to promote the health and wellbeing of student-athletes through a social justice framework. Through course readings, students will learn about sport social work theory, interprofessional collaboration, and understanding well-being issues of athletes. Course assignments will help students gain knowledge in applying strength-based perspectives within engagement, assessment, and interventions with athletes.
In recent years, more professional and collegiate sports teams have added mental health professionals to their staffs. But a professional with a social work degree provides teams with what Hamilton describes as a “macro and micro mix.”
“You’ve got an individual who can see something from the micro level of the individual who’s right in front of them, but also can zoom out and look at the societal trends, the trends within athletics, and the policies in place to evaluate what can be done to improve those policies and make it easier for athletes to feel supported in their mental health and well-being,” Hamilton says.
“With social workers, it’s that vast scale and scope of skill sets that makes the difference,” Hamilton adds. “It’s not just a clinical degree. It can be, if that’s what you want it to be, but as an advanced clinical student, I’m also having to take classes like social welfare policy that are more organizationally based and macro-based. With that knowledge, even if I do just want to work one-on-one with an individual, I still have the ability and the skill set to look at it from the macro perspective.”
Jon Mitchell joined the Syracuse Athletics Department in the newly created position of senior associate athletics director, sports medicine, in October 2022. Mitchell oversees sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and mental health, and he says he’s learning from Marfilius and Hamilton the many ways in which social work principles benefit student-athletes.
“It’s never been a part of our program before, and Rachel and Ken are educating me about utilizing it because we want to have as many tools in our toolbox as possible,” Mitchell says. “In college athletics, we are continually challenged to identify new ways to best serve our student-athletes, and this program has the potential to provide us with another resource to help serve the bigger purpose.”
‘Mental Health Linchpin’
Marfilius and Hamilton are both former athletes; Marfilius was a member of the rowing team at Syracuse University, and Hamilton was a member of a varsity cross-country team in Maine that won multiple high school state championships. Hamilton’s husband is former Syracuse football player Macky MacPherson, who went on to play for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and coach Division I college football.
“We have many dinner conversations about the effects of college sports on student-athletes,” Hamilton says, smiling.
Hamilton, a student member of the Alliance for Social Workers in Sport and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, is the first social work student to intern in the Athletics Department. Marfilius, an Air Force veteran whose primary research focus has been on military populations and veterans, had started building a course on social work and sports and was assigned as Hamilton’s field placement supervisor for her internship with athletics.
Together, they refined the course that Marfilius had started to build by incorporating that “macro” strength-based view that goes beyond general mental health support.
“It could be a student-athlete who comes from a challenging background with adverse childhood experiences and what we find, just like with the military, is that at 18 years old those experiences aren’t left behind,” Marfilius says. “They bring those with them–in addition to the pressure and the competition and the academics–and we look at both individual needs and systemic and structural needs of student-athletes and organizations.”
Marfilius says social workers can serve as a team’s “mental health linchpin,” helping directly with mental health-related issues or making referrals to other mental health professionals when appropriate. Mitchell says he views social workers as another potential source of education for student-athletes who don’t know what resources are available or have tried to cope privately with their problems because they didn’t want to seek help.
“We want to build trust by educating them and letting them know we have their best interests at heart,” Mitchell says. “If they can trust us when everything is going great, it increases the trust when things are not going as well.”
A Growing Demand
In addition to student-athletes, Marfilius says the new course is ideal for any student across campus who’s interested in sports administration, coaching, or working in some way with athletes from high school through professional. Falk College is a natural fit for the course because it houses the School of Social Work along with sports-related programs such as sport management, sport analytics, health, and exercise science, and starting in 2024, esports.
“I was interested in working with student-athletes, but there were not a lot of universities, if any, that have a social work program that’s so heavily integrated into a school that offered sport management and sport analytics and all those things,” Hamilton says. “I believe that’s why I was able to break into the athletics department for my internship hours.”
Hamilton says her internship started with her interest in working with student-athletes on their mental health challenges but has evolved to look at how student-athletes can be supported from a systemic level. With a guest speaker list that includes athletics administrators and coaches from inside and outside the university, Marfilius says the Sport Social Work course will provide students a similar opportunity to explore both sides.
“Just that exposure alone, and to have that understanding of what sport social work really is at a macro level, allows them to then look at their career trajectory in a different way,” Marfilius says. “But also, as a career choice, we have more folks who are entering this niche of a field.”
Indeed, the marriage of social work and sport may be the next frontier for the sports industry, which is always seeking a competitive edge. Hamilton says her long-range goal is creating a sport social work program at Syracuse that will meet what will eventually be a growing demand for social workers in the industry.
“Sports acts like a microcosm; there are leadership positions and administrative positions where you can utilize your social work skills to perform well,” Hamilton says. “There are support roles, mental health roles, and your traditional counseling roles, but also this skill set is invaluable to help navigate personality dynamics and group dynamics, and understanding the ways in which you can integrate and use those skills.”
A Home Run Project
Sport Management Students Create Marketing Decks for New York Yankees Player Oswaldo Cabrera
Sport Management students presented their marketing decks to New York Yankees player Oswaldo Cabrera in early June. From left to right, Elizabeth Ellis, Alison Gilmore, Brandon Steiner, Tracey Edson, Cabrera, Samantha Messina, Cecilia “CJ” Westwater, Kate Lawton, Dylan Canell and Dave Meluni.
During the Spring 2023 Semester, students in the Department of Sport Management’s SPM 324 Sport Sponsorship and Promotion class partnered with New York Yankees player Oswaldo Cabrera to help build his brand and create his marketing deck.
The class culminated with a trip in June to New York City, where seven students met with Cabrera to share their final projects.
“We had the opportunity to share our decks and our thought process and explain the importance of Oswaldo working to grow his brand as he continues to grow as a player,” says sport management major Tracey Edson ’24. “The word that comes to mind to describe this experience is ‘grateful.’ Projects like this are what separate the Syracuse Sport Management Department from other sport management programs.”
The connection with Cabrera started with conversations between Assistant Teaching Professor Dave Meluni, who teaches the Sport Sponsorship and Promotion class, and Sport Management Advisory Council president Brandon Steiner ’81, a sports marketing expert. Steiner was impressed by Meluni’s groundbreaking work with his Name, Image, and Likeness class, and Steiner wanted to explore sports marketing opportunities for students.
Steiner, the founder of the Steiner Agency, Athlete Direct, and CollectibleXchange, has a long-running relationship with the Yankees from his days as founder of Steiner Sports, a sports memorabilia business. Steiner thought the 24-year-old, bilingual Cabrera had a lot of marketing potential, and Cabrera’s agent told Steiner he could use marketing help because his expertise was in contracts, not marketing.
Meanwhile, as part of the class, Meluni assigned a “sports money endorsement” project where the students would analyze former athletes and determine their current marketing potential.
“For example, Muhammed Ali, what would he be worth today?” Meluni says. “Then we thought it would be fantastic to take this project and use it for an existing athlete. When the opportunity with Brandon and Oswaldo came up, we gave the students the option of using legacy athletes or Oswaldo, and more than 20 chose Oswaldo.”
The students met Cabrera via Zoom during the Yankees’ spring training camp in February to give them “an idea of what he’s about off the field,” Meluni says. They then used the sales prospecting software Sponsor United to research brands that would best fit Cabrera’s lifestyle. Throughout the semester, students also researched social media trends of athletes that compared to Cabrera and began building his social media strategy.
In addition, Steiner visited campus in April to talk with the students and guide them as they finished their marketing decks.
“Each of the conversations (with Cabrera and Steiner) helped us put our sponsorship decks together,” Edson says. “We worked for weeks building the presentations with information regarding Oswaldo, his background, social media and engagement rates, athletes that are comparable to him based on where he is at in his career, and five potential brands that could be beneficial for him to partner with. With each brand we developed a rationale behind it and suggestions for activations he could pursue.”
For her project, Edson teamed with Samantha Messina ‘23, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “Working with Samantha was beneficial for both of us because we each brought different learned experiences that helped us in creating a project that was eye-catching for both Oswaldo and Mr. Steiner,” Edson says.
The final projects were shared with Steiner, and the top students were selected and awarded a trip to Yankee Stadium to watch a game and meet Cabrera. The students were Edson, Messina, Dylan Canell, Elizabeth Ellis, Alison Gilmore, Kate Lawton, and Cecelia “CJ” Westwater.
Unfortunately, the Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox that night was postponed due to the hazardous air quality conditions created by the Canadian wildfires. Still, the students met with Cabrera and Steiner for more than an hour at a hotel in New Rochelle where the students were spending the night.
Sport Management student Tracey Edson presents her team’s marketing deck to New York Yankees player Oswaldo Cabrera.
Based on their research, the students shared with Cabrera the types of companies in New York City and his native country, Venezuela, that are spending money on marketing products that align with Cabrera’s interests. They also discussed social media, and the students suggested he talk more about his family on Instagram.
The next day, Cabrera posted a photo of him and his brother, Leobaldo, who’s also a professional baseball player. That post received nearly 21,000 likes and a 14 percent engagement rate, which Meluni says “is staggering.”
“He had already taken what the students presented to heart,” Meluni says.
Meluni says the foundation of his teaching philosophy is experiential learning, and he has been talking to Steiner about partnering with another professional athlete for the class this fall. Marketing agents working with athletes on their brands is a growing field, and Meluni says these partnerships with athletes will enable students to walk into a job interview and show agency-level work.
In the case of Cabrera, an engaged alum in Steiner and a forward-thinking professor in Meluni found an opportunity for students to build a portfolio that included the type of athlete who would be an ideal client for a marketing agency.
“I am truly appreciative of the tireless work and support that the Sport Management Department and alumni around the world show to current students,” Edson says. “Moments like this with Oswaldo would not be possible without them. Thank you to all the faculty and staff in the SPM department and to the many alumni who take the time to help students develop professionally and personally.”
Keeping It Real
Sport Analytics Students on Ground Floor of Wide-Ranging Research Partnership Between Falk College and Kitman Labs
From left, Caden Lippie, Zachary Palfey, and Jonah Soos were three of the six Sport Analytics students from Syracuse University who spent the Spring 2023 semester working for the performance intelligence company Kitman Labs.
Thanks to a collaboration between Falk College and Kitman Labs, six Sport Analytics students from Syracuse University experienced real-world opportunities this past spring.
Kitman Labs is the world’s leading sports science and performance analytics company. The six Sport Analytics majors from Falk’s Department of Sport Management–Robert “RJ” Frahm, Benjamin Jennings, Caden Lippie, Garrett Naylor, Zachary Palfey, and Jonah Soos–were assigned weekly tasks to answer questions about the impact of the National Basketball Association (NBA) schedule on player injuries.
“The best way to learn the analytical skills we’ll need for our future careers is to work directly with real-world data,” says Palfey, who graduated in May and is now working as a digital analytics assistant for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. “Kitman provided us with injury data, and we were tasked with gathering NBA schedule data. It was a great experience to match the two datasets and analyze different tendencies over time.”
Kitman Labs has an established history of working with top teams and athletes across a variety of sports. The company’s technology has been used by teams in many of the world’s most elite sports leagues, including the NCAA, Premier League (soccer), and NFL.
“It’s hard to emphasize the value of an experience like this; it takes everything we do in classes and applies it to the real world and sports industry,” says Soos, who’s in his second year of a 3+1 program majoring in sport analytics and minoring in sport management and economics. “It was a chance to learn and do what I love, and our results mattered and can make a difference. It was a defining experience in my freshman year and a partnership I hope to continue in the future.”
The opportunities to work with Kitman will continue for Soos and other Sport Analytics students as Kitman and Falk recently announced a research partnership that will produce detailed analysis and findings on a wide range of topics on a quarterly basis starting this fall. Timely topics investigated in the studies will include the impact of load management and back-to-back games on the health and performance of NBA players, performances in women’s sports, and other areas.
“My freshman year consisted of mostly general classes, so having an opportunity to work on an analytics project was great,” says Lippie, a rising sophomore. “I also found the support from the other students I worked with to be extremely valuable. Going into the project with little experience, I was not expecting to be contributing much, however, with the support of the group and Kitman, I was able to contribute and learn a lot in the process.”
Rodney Paul, director of the Sport Analytics program and a professor in the Department of Sport Management, is always on the lookout for potential business partners and he worked with adjunct professor and Sport Analytics alum Nick Riccardi on developing the partnership with Kitman.
“Kitman Labs is doing important, innovative, and informative work in sports, and it’s an honor to have our students working on projects with them,” Paul says. “From day one, they have shown a genuine interest in helping our students improve and preparing them for work in the industry. We are excited about the collaboration between the talented professionals at Kitman and our students.”
Soos, who worked with Paul in the fall of 2022 on an independent research project on Major League Baseball umpires, says he jumped on the opportunity to work with Kitman because “they’re an exciting company doing exciting things.” For the project, Soos created a “star-player” variable to measure the top players on each NBA team, and used that variable to assess injuries, team success, and how and when stars were injured or rested.
“Opportunities to work with real data while creating real conclusions and discoveries are few and far between for college students, let alone underclassmen,” Soos says. “Along with that, (Kitman’s team) took the time to meet with us weekly, get to know us, and were quick to answer our questions and concerns.
“Never did they make us feel like college students working for them, but more like respected colleagues,” Soos adds. “It was a great privilege to work with them, and I hope to do so in the future.”
Soos, Palfey and Lippie all say they want to thank Kitman, professors Paul and Riccardi, and their fellow Sport Analytics colleagues for their partnership and support this past spring. For Kitman, the feeling was mutual.
“We are proud to work with Professor Paul and the students at Falk College on a series of critical research topics that will help better understand and amplify the work we are doing in the space with a wide number of teams, leagues, and sports,” says Stephen Smith, CEO and Founder of Kitman Labs. “Our goal is to continue to dig deeper on the how and why tied to data and performance success, and having a cooperative research partner at Syracuse will be invaluable in making these vital studies even more relevant, timely, and actionable.”
The analysis of the NBA-related case study findings is currently underway, and the initial results will be shared soon. There’s more to come starting this fall, and the Sport Analytics students are expected to play a significant role in that research.
“Having the ability to learn while completing a project was more helpful than the typical lecture format seen in most classes,” Lippie says. “Being able to learn something and then immediately apply it to a real-world task made me feel more confident in what I was learning.”
About Kitman Labs
Kitman Labs is the performance intelligence company setting a new industry standard for how elite sports organizations use data. Its proprietary advanced operating systems–iP: Intelligence Platform–is used by top teams and organizations across a variety of sports to optimize athlete performance, reduce injury risk, and enhance overall health, wellness, and longevity. Kitman Labs is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Dublin and Manchester.
Students Have Wicked Good Time in ‘The Hub’
A Boston sport industry and culture immersion experience.
Over the course of four days in May, eight female Sport Management majors from Syracuse University’s Falk College immersed themselves in Boston’s sport industry and culture. Front row from left: Sport Management internship coordinator Beth Perez, Marni Nirenberg, Nina Bilotti and Erin Moore. Back row from left: Kate Bradley, Sport Management internship coordinator Kailyn Jennings, Sydney Kossoy, Ashley Stewart, Anna McDonald, and Emma Issacson.
The city of Boston and the surrounding area is home to five major professional sports teams, including the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots, the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins, and the New England Revolution. In addition, the Hub, as Boston is known, hosts numerous sporting events throughout the year, including NCAA Tournaments and international competitions at world-class venues like Gillette Stadium and TD Garden.
Over the course of four days in May, eight female Sport Management students from Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics met with seven sports organizations and 36 sport industry professionals. The meetings included executives from numerous sectors of the industry, including the Boston Athletic Association, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, Fenway Sports Management, Spartan, ISlide, and Kraft Sports and Entertainment. Jake Doft and his daughter, Class of 2022 Sport Management graduate Dara Doft, hosted the group for dinner at Yvonne’s in downtown Boston. The group also attended a Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners game. The students were accompanied by Sport Management internship placement coordinators Kailyn Jennings and Beth Perez.
Students on the trip included Nina Bilotti, Kate Bradley, Emma Issacson, Sydney Kossoy, Anna McDonald, Erin Moore, Marni Nirenberg, and Ashley Stewart.
We asked Bilotti ’24 to share her experiences and thoughts about the Boston Immersion Trip, and this is what she wrote:
“We were completely immersed into the Boston sports world for four unforgettable days!
“This amazing opportunity would not have been possible without the generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Jake and Suzanne Doft and their family, who supported this trip. Also, we’d like to thank Falk College and the Department of Sport Management for putting the trip together.
“The Boston Immersion Trip was a whirlwind of excitement. Meeting with teams from each of the five major professional sports leagues and top sport organizations was an incredible experience. We were honored to meet and connect with top executives and Syracuse alumni. I’ve always been curious about Boston/New England sports teams and culture having been a long-time Chicago sports fan.
“Each day offered new experiences! We began one memorable day at TD Garden, where we met with SPM alumna Chrissy Leach’10 and Kate Sullivan, from the Celtics, and Siobhan Sherbovich, from the Bruins. We learned how both teams must work together and which aspects each team controls in the Garden and even got a tour.
“Executives at the Boston Athletic Association and Fenway Sports Management offered advice and tips to help us navigate our budding careers. I also enjoyed our visit to Islide, where we met with executives who specialized in different areas of the company. We also had the opportunity to speak with Chief Executive Officer Justin Kittredge. An added bonus was playing knockout on their in-office basketball court wearing our new Syracuse-branded slides!
“At Spartan, we learned about all the different races they offer, as the executives shared their extensive and impressive backgrounds, as well as taught us how they secure partnerships for different target audiences.
“At Kraft Sports and Entertainment, we were lucky enough to witness Gillette Stadium being set up for a Taylor Swift concert that weekend. I took note of different sponsors around the stadium, and the comfortability of their club lounges and suites and compared it other stadiums I’ve been to. We were honored to speak with a confident and talented group of women, including Robyn Glaser, Abbey Thistle, Tara Sullivan, Paris Healy, Jen Gahan, and Katherine Hauck. We were originally greeted by Phil Buttafuoco, who highlighted the importance of networking and building relationships with the people you meet, especially on trips like this one.
“At each of our stops, we spoke with knowledgeable, passionate, and kind professionals who were eager to answer our questions. Emphasis was placed on building your network, which coincides with what we’re being taught in the classroom.
“I am fortunate that this was my second trip of 2023, as I spent my 2023 spring break in Los Angeles with the Department of Sport Management’s Los Angeles Immersion class. After the Boston trip, I compared East Coast and West Coast work culture and now have a clearer picture of what I am looking for in a place of employment. I am thankful to all the professionals who welcomed our group and took the time to speak with us, some even during playoffs. It was an absolutely incredible experience.”
Nina Bilotti ’24 is a Sport Management major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. She is a member of Falk College’s Women in Sports and Events (WISE) Club and the Sport Management Club. Nina interns for the Syracuse University Marketing and Communications Department, and is a member of the SU women’s club lacrosse team.
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