Sport Management Student Organizations
Baseball Sabermetrics
Baseball Statistics and Sabermetrics Club
Sabermetrics is the study of advanced baseball statistics. And who better to study that than Syracuse University Sport Analytics students? The student-led club formed during the Spring 2013 semester with Sport Analytics professor Dr. Rodney Paul as its faculty advisor. The club conducts in-depth discussions about baseball statistics and sabermetrics. Members take part in a fantasy baseball league and guest speakers are brought in on a variety of topics throughout the year.
In Spring 2022, for the eighth straight year, Club members participated in the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics’ Spring Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Due to COVID-19, the students did not travel in March 2022 to Phoenix, Arizona, but instead presented virtually from SU’s campus. The club has competed in this event yearly since 2013. Undergraduate teams were separated into virtual competition rooms, where they presented to judges via Zoom.
“We are very proud of the way our students compete at these events,” Paul said. “It’s a terrific way for them to showcase their research in front of industry professionals as well as gain experience outside the classroom.” With the help of gifts from Falk College donors Jeff and Andrea Lomasky as well as Andrew Berlin, Syracuse University sport analytics students are able to compete at numerous prestigious events and competitions throughout the year.
Over the course of the 2021-22 academic year, club members analyzed the Major League Baseball offseason and compared it to their mock offseason analyzation conducted last semester. They also worked on various group projects on a variety of topics, including optimal lineup, which stats correlate to winning, re-ranking ESPN’s top 100 players of all time and analyzing the beginning of the 2022 MLB season.
The club hears from numerous guest speakers throughout the year via in-person visits and virtual presentation, including Major League Baseball executives, baseball publication writers and baseball analytic professionals such as Jim Callis, writer at MLB Pipeline; Mitch Colahan, assistant director of amateur scouting for the New York Yankees; Seth Daniels, director of diamond sports for Rapsodo; Bobby Evans, former general manager for the San Francisco Giants; Zac Fieroh, analyst for the Yankees; Rohan Gupta, baseball operations associate for the Yankees; Jesus Lantigua, international crosschecker for the Pittsburg Pirates; and SU alumnus Justin Perline, quantitative analyst for the Pirates, among others.
Since 2015, SU SABR club members have competed in the prestigious SABR Diamond Dollars Case Competition at NYU, and winning best presentation in 2017. Students are given a topic and then given five days to collect data, create a model, and prepare a 30-minute presentation on the topic to be given in New York City in front of Major League Baseball executives.
The Club has also had its research (“The Effects of Atmospheric Conditions on Pitchers”) published in ESPN The Magazine.
“Having a Sabermetrics club at Syracuse is important as it allows for students to study in-depth advanced baseball statistics to create a better understanding of the game and of player value,” Paul said. “Students will learn the origins and uses of sabermetric statistics and then discuss and debate their usage. The goal of the club is to inform and encourage the use of advanced baseball statistics for a variety of uses in the industry.”
Officers for the 2022-23 academic year are President Alex Oppel, Vice President Matt Penn, Director of Programming Will Cave, Director of Research Nathan Backman, Director of Outreach Rob White, Director of Operations Dan Beim, and Fiscal Agent Isabel Alfonso.
Check out the video by NCC (Newhouse Communications Center) News featuring the SPM Sabermetrics club and its passion for baseball statistics.
Basketball Analytics
Basketball Analytics Club
In Spring 2022, members took part in case competitions, attended a Brooklyn Nets game, hosted guest speakers and worked on basketball research projects. Nick Fleder (Data Science Manager, New York Knicks) and Kevin Belbey (Agent, CAA) are among the sport industry executives who assisted the club with these ventures.
Also in Spring 2022, several members attended the UMass Amherst NBA Mock Trade Deadline competition. They acted as general managers in a simulation of the NBA trade deadline. Attendees were broken into groups and assigned an NBA franchise. The groups then began trading and transforming their rosters for the duration of the day. The event gave students the opportunity to practice first-hand what takes place during NBA trade negotiations in regard to trade rules, salary cap management, and the CBA, among others. Past members also presented their research at the Midwest Sports Analytics Meeting at Central College in Pella, Iowa.
“As an aspiring analyst with an interest in the NBA Salary Cap, attending the NBA Mock Trade Deadline competition was very memorable,” said Preston Klaus ’22. “Due to the faculty and alumni support of the Syracuse Sport Analytics program, unique events like this are possible for myself and others and we are forever grateful.”
Fall 2021 semester highlights include hosting guest speakers, including Syracuse University alumni, as well as Calvin Floyd, a senior data scientist for the Sacramento Kings. Club leaders also designed and ran a mock case competition, hosted a watch party for primetime NCAA games, created an RStudio tutorial, and taught its members how to use TeamworkOnline.
Jackson Hett will serve as Club president in Fall 2022. For more information, email Hett at jdhett@syr.edu
Football Analytics
Football Analytics Club
The Football Analytics Club was established during the 2017-18 academic year and became an officially recognized Syracuse University student organization in Fall 2019. The club started with four members, grew to 40 the next year, and now features more than 100 members. The club meets weekly discussing all things related to football, conducting research, competing in trivia contests, and welcoming guest speakers, among other activities.
During the 2021-22 academic year, club members used modeling techniques from class to compare the NFL’s Most Valuable Players across several seasons to determine the overall MVP over the last decade. Students also analyzed data from Pro Football Focus and assisted with projects. The club held a mock offseason after the Super Bowl. Students were given full control over the NFL team of their choosing as the club president acted as Commissioner of the league. Students could make agreed-upon trades, sign or release players, and even restructure contracts. The exercise gave students a glimpse of how difficult it is to stay under the salary cap while simulating an offseason. The simulation ended with a three-round mock draft just before the official NFL Draft. Also, club members formed teams for the NFL’s Big Data Bowl, working in groups to answer the prompt, while gaining valuable experience competing in the intense football analytics competition.
A highlight of the Spring 2022 semester was hosting the Second Annual Syracuse University Football Analytics Blitz in partnership with Pro Football Focus. More than 10 teams from colleges and universities across the country participated in the event that featured judges from Pro Football Focus. The teams received their prompt the week before the competition and were given one week to solve the prompt and put together a presentation on their findings.
In Fall 2019 and Fall 2018, club members attended a Buffalo Bills game, where members met with Sport Analytics alumnus Evan Weiss ’19, a football analytics analyst for the Bills. Weiss was also the founder and first president of SU’s Football Analytics Club.
Club members have worked on many research projects over the past few years, exploring topics such as “Do NFL Players Perform Worse After Receiving a Large Free Agent Contract;” “Do NFL Referees Display Bias Towards Certain Calls or Teams;” “How Winning/Losing Streaks Impact Future Winning Chances and Betting Lines;” and “How Player Arrests Affect Team Winning Percentage in the NFL.” The Club has also conducted research for the XFL.
The Football Analytics Club routinely welcomes sport industry guest speakers such as Neil Hornsby, founder and CEO of Pro Football Focus; Bryan Kilmeade and Sam Schwartzstein, of the XFL’s football operations department; Tucker Zeleny, director of sports analytics at the University of Nebraska; JT Busco, Syracuse University football assistant coach; and Ryan Smith, analyst and account manager at Pro Football Focus. These speakers, among others, give students insight into the use of analytics in both professional and college football.
The Football Analytics Club meets weekly during the academic year. All Syracuse University students are welcome to attend. For more information, call 315-443-9881.
Hockey Analytics
Hockey Analytics Club
The Hockey Analytics Club is a student-run organization that meets weekly during the academic year to discuss trends and events in the world of hockey. The Club conducts analytical research and has worked with the Syracuse University Women’s Ice Hockey team, the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and SU’s Tennity Adult League. Through these connections, club members have secured hockey statistician internships.
In Spring 2022, the club started a research project seeking to find trends in team payroll composition that lead to playoff success in the NHL. In Fall 2021, club members discussed and analyzed the 2021-22 NHL season. In addition, the club annually hosts guest speakers, the most notable being NHL agent Allan Walsh. The club uses analytics in its research, discussions, and projects and features students from numerous majors on campus.
Club officers for 2022-23 are president Josh Freson, vice president Aidan Pavlick, director of research David Gold, director of operations Ian MacMiller, and director of social media Quinn Robnett.
The club meets weekly during the academic year and is always looking for new members. The club uses analytics in research and discussions, but don’t worry if you don’t have an analytical background. The club is open to all SU students and recognizes that students from all academic backgrounds can positively contribute to its growth. Join us to gain analytical research skills, learn from industry leaders, and talk hockey with fellow fanatics!
Contact Josh Freson at jfreson@syr.edu for more information find us on Twitter and on Instagram
Sales Club
Sales Club
The Sport Management Sales Club was established in 2015 to act as a medium for earning members hands-on experience in the sport sales industry. In a job market with increasing demands for preliminary experience, students can add practical sales experience to their resumes. The club welcomes guest speakers in person and virtually each semester, holds workshops and events for members, while also pairing with Syracuse University Athletics to help sell tickets.
In Fall 2022, the Club worked with the Midstate Athletic Community Center (MACC) ice rink in Cicero (NY) on sponsorships, while also welcoming new members to the Club. In the Spring 2022 semester, the club held a resume workshop with Matthew Kilduff from Paycom and a sales workshop with Abby Higgens of the New York Mets. Also, an in-person Sales Combine was held for students in partnership with the New York Mets and the Syracuse Mets, who each provided the students with sales tips, and gave an outlook on the Mets program as a whole.
Previous guest speakers include Mark Hayes (Syracuse Crunch), Lamar Phillips (Boston Bruins), Justin Brown (Boston Celtics), Scott Hebert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jordan Rabinowitz (New York Red Bulls), Brandon Evans (University of Houston), Courtney Perzan (St. Johns University), Laura Dama (Learfield Amplify), SPM alum Connor Monzo (New York Yankees) and Zach Younker (Milwaukee Bucks).
The focus of the Spring 2021 semester was on holding a virtual sales combine in collaboration with BSE Global. During the Fall 2020 semester, the Sales Club partnered with the Boston Red Sox for its first-ever “Red Sox Premium Sales Project.” The Club annually pairs with Syracuse University Athletics each Fall to help sell tickets for SU football, and men’s and women’s basketball games.
The Sales Club meets weekly during the academic year. Club officers are president Jake Palczak jpalcza@syr.edu,vice president Edu Antonio Pena Rollet and executive vice president of membership Landon Richardson. All Syracuse University students are welcome to attend.
Soccer Analytics
Soccer Analytics Club
The Syracuse University Soccer Analytics Club, which was founded in 2018, conducts analysis and research on the various soccer leagues around the world. The club’s major success has been achieved in the form of papers of being selected for various conferences, including the 2021 MIT Sloan Sport Analytics Conference, 2020 Midwest Sport Analytics Conference, and 2020 Carnegie Mellon Sport Analytics Conference. The club also won the award for Best Undergraduate Paper at the 2021 Academy of Economics and Finance Conference and received an Honorable Mention at the 2020 Carnegie Mellon Sport Analytics Conference.
Club members strive to improve the scope of analytics in the world of soccer, hoping the same amount of statistics available for basketball or baseball will be available for soccer. Students are busy with research projects, meeting with executives and analytics professionals from the soccer industry, attending conferences to present their research, and participating in competitions. Find examples on Twitter.Twitter @CuseAnalytics.
Over the past two academic years, the club mainly focused on its research element, creating a model to predict outcomes of soccer games in the top five European leagues and measured the success of the model against betting market odds. The club also continued its project of creating Real Plus Minus statistics for English Premier League players. Meetings feature guest speakers and industry executives. Students also used various statistical methods, including logistic regression, to understand which factors aid the LeMoyne College men’s soccer team in scoring more goals and allowing less goals. The group assisted the team by breaking games into different splits, including home versus away, and in conference versus out of conference, to further discover tendencies in performance.
The club provides a platform for students with a passion for soccer to discuss the sport and work together, conducting research using a variety of statistical methods and analytical tools. The club meets weekly during the academic year, and meetings are open to all Syracuse University students, regardless of major.
Officers for the 2022-2023 academic year are president Josh Freson jfreson@syr.edu, vice president Nick Rovelli, director of operations Toby Chalk, director of research Caleb Heller, director of recruitment and engagement David Gold, and director of social media Jack Martin.
You can also find the Soccer Club on Instagram or on Twitter.
Sport Analytics Women
Sport Analytics Women (SAW)
Formed in Fall 2020, Falk College’s Sport Analytics Women (SAW) Club strives to create a group of like-minded women to build relationships, assemble a support system and study sport analytics during their time at Syracuse University and into their post-graduate careers. The club’s mission is to collaborate and serve as a positive advocate for women in sport analytics by connecting with each other as well as with professionals in the industry. The goal of creating relevant opportunities for club members is achieved through tutorials on programs such as R, SQL, Python and Tableau, group research projects and hosting guest speakers.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, the club welcomed several guest speakers to campus as well as virtually, including Nola Agha, University of San Francisco quantitative analytics professor; Emily Curtis, Seattle Mariners coordinator of baseball projects; Carly Shaefer, HookIt implementation support specialist; Jordan Wetherbee, Miami Dolphins Director of Business Analytics; Kelsey Roberts, New York Knicks Basketball Data Analyst; and Gabby Wells, Senior Manager of Business Strategy and Analytics for DC United. They also toured the Syracuse Crunch’s facilities at the Onondaga County War Memorial and the Syracuse Mets stadium.
In Spring 2022, SAW members began a project with HookIt, which focuses on social media analytics, examining college athletes from different sports and their social media performances, to determine if they would be a good partner for brands in conjunction with new Name, Image and Likeness legislation. In Fall 2020, club members learned more about interactive pitch charts in tableau. They brainstormed ideas for research projects and projected how female college basketball players will fare in the WNBA.
Club officers for 2022-23 are president Kylie Dedrick, vice president Alison Gilmore, director of club outreach Marissa Schneider, secretary Piper Evans, director of programming Anna Pierce and fiscal agent Caitlin Kohlmeier.
The club meets weekly during the academic year in Falk College. Students from all majors are welcome. Follow the club’s Instagram or on Twitter. For more information, email Dedrick at kedrick@syr.edu.
SPM Club
Sport Management Club
The Sport Management Club is a student-run organization in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics’ Department of Sport Management. Since its founding in 2005, the Club has raised more than $650,000 for local charities.
Under the guidance of Sport Management Director and Endowed Professor Michael Veley and dedicated student leaders, the Sport Management Club has provided countless students, regardless of major, invaluable experiential learning opportunities to expand their professional, academic, and social skillsets.
The Club’s signature event is its annual Charity Sports Auction to raise money for a Syracuse-area charity. The 18th annual auction was held in a hybrid format, both in person at SU’s Dome and online, in December 2022. To support Vera House, supporters placed bids on hundreds of items, including sports memorabilia, gift certificates, household items, vacation packages, and electronics. Previous beneficiaries of the club’s annual charity auction have included Make-A-Wish Central New York, Boys & Girls Clubs, Golisano Children’s Hospital at Upstate, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY, the Central New York SPCA, the Upstate Cancer Center, Special Olympics New York, Food Bank of CNY, the Salvation Army, Rescue Mission Alliance, American Diabetes Association, the Boeheim Foundation and McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center. For more information about the annual Charity Auction, visit Twitter @SPMAuction as well as sucharitysportsauction.com.
During the academic year, the Club routinely hosts guest speakers, takes group trips, and volunteers in the community, including Meals on Wheels, Make-A-Wish Central New York, 3fifteen, Ronald McDonald House, OttoTHON, and New Castle Youth Basketball Association. Club members also hold professional development events throughout the year, helping students navigate applications, internships, cover letters, and resumes.
The Club annually welcomes guest speakers in person and online from a variety of organizations such as Syracuse University Athletics, Learfield-IMG, NBA, United States Olympic Committee, Houston Astros, Phoenix Suns, Queensboro FC, University of Pittsburgh, and Fenway Sports Management, among others.
The Sport Management Club meets weekly during the academic year at 7pm Tuesdays in Falk 200. Students from all majors are welcome. For more information, contact President Doug Camp at dtcamp@syr.edu. Club officers include Executive Vice President Brody Pontarelli, Vice President of Programming Livia McQuade, Vice President of Administration Dan Carroll, Vice President of Membership Adelaide Gilley and Vice President of Community Service Alex Grossman.
Sport Media and Marketing
Sport Media and Marketing Club
The Department of Sport Management formed a Sport Media and Marketing Club in Fall 2020 to provide students an opportunity to learn more about these particular segments of the sport industry. The club’s mission is to provide real-world experiences for students by taking part in projects as well as connecting with peers, faculty advisors, and industry professionals.
The Club hosts guest speakers, helps to market Falk College’s student organizations and events via social media, and participates in marketing case study competitions. Club members provide training on MailChimp, Canva and other commonly used programs in the industry. They also offer podcasting and newsletter projects for students interested on the media side of sports.
The Club’s “5th Down Podcast” is a project that began in Spring 2022 with four episodes, including interviews with Sport Management faculty members Dennis Deninger and Dave Meluni as well as former SU student Walter Simasek. The goal of the podcast is to discuss important issues and current events in the sport media landscape that will shape the future of the sport industry. Here is Spotify link to each of the four episodes published so far:
Brianna Nechifor will serve as president for the 2022-23 academic year. Email her at bnechifo@syr.edu for more information.
The Sport Media and Marketing Club meets weekly during the academic year in Falk College. Students from all majors are welcome. Follow the Club’s Instagram page@SU.SMMCLUB.
Sportsbook Analytics
Sportsbook Analytics Club
The Falk College Sportsbook Analytics Club was founded in 2019 in response to one of the fastest growing industries in the nation. The club and its members continue to explore, learn, and discuss the ever-changing landscape of sport prediction markets, such as legalized sports betting and daily fantasy sports.
The club has annually expanded both in membership and in programming. In addition to discussion about the industry’s news and latest trends, the club has introduced workshops, competitions, and a collaboration with a start-up platform called Playd, a platform in which users trade stock in players using “Playd Cash” to try to build a portfolio. Dividends and prices of these players are determined by performance, trading volumes, and even real-world contracts. Members of the Sportsbook Analytics Club tested and provided feedback to the platform, utilizing their knowledge of prediction markets and player projections along the way.
During the Spring 2022 semester, club members took part in a unique “Football Squares” competition involving Super Bowl LV. Each square had its own “odds” of happening, to which club members selected squares trying to match probabilities to an end-of-quarter football score. Members were able to test their understanding of a market’s implied probability as it relates to predicting NFL scores.
The club completed its first official research project in Spring 2022 by submitting a poster to the Falk Research Poster Competition titled, “Does Win Percentage Correlate to Point Production in the NFL?” Club members scraped data to see if two teams over .500 win percentage would score the “over” on total points and if two teams under .500 win percentage would score the “under” on total points. Members created a model to predict over/under based on win percentage, but it was found that win percentage should not be used as an indicator of total point production in the NFL.
The club also hosted Adam Israel (SPM ’19), Sportsbook Operations Coordinator at BetMGM, who gave valuable insight to members as to how BetMGM resolves client issues on their mobile app. The club also hosted Jak Jones, Director of Online and Sportsbook Analytics at Caesars Entertainment, who shared how to improve coding skills and how to better predict win probabilities in sport.
Students from all majors and backgrounds are welcome to weekly meetings and can email club president Hunter Kuchenbaur at hckuchen@syr.edu for more information.
Sport Professionals of Color
Sport Professionals of Color
The Department of Sport Management’s Sport Professionals of Color Club is an organization that strives to connect students who identify as people of color with sport professionals from across the industry.
The organization was formed during the 2014-15 academic year with the purpose of helping to guide young professionals in their pursuit of success and career establishment in the industry. The club strives to improve members’ professional skills, host speakers, foster networking growth, and take part in experiential learning opportunities.
Over the course of the 2021-22 academic year, the club held workshops for their members on resumes, cover letters and job searching. They also welcomed guest speakers such as Nico Ali Walsh, a professional wrestler and the grandson of the late Muhammad Ali; and Lou Alexander, a former Syracuse and professional football player who is now a motivational speaker. Ali Walsh spoke about perseverance, advocacy in modern sports, and the business of boxing Alexander spoke about a career in sales and what young professionals of color can do to be successful. Also, in collaboration with the National Association of Black Journalists at Syracuse (NABJ), the Sport Professionals of Color Club welcomed A. Sherrod Blakely and Chris Williamson for Black History Month to speak about the black experience working in sport media. Both men are SU alumni.
In the Fall 2021 semester, the Club hosted “A Conversation on Mental Health and Sports” that featured a panel discussion on the impact of mental health on athletes of color. Panelists included Dr. Stephany Coakley (senior associate athletic director for mental health, wellness and performance at Temple) and Simidele Adeagbo (the first African woman Olympian in Skeleton). Falk College benefactor David Falk virtually joined the Club in October to discuss his career in the sport industry, working with NBA players, and specifically how he guided young Black athletes to make positive decisions to elevate their careers. The Club also hosted SPM alumnus Elijah Biggins’16, who spoke about his experience at Syracuse, the importance of networking, and how he used his background in sports to pivot into other industries. Club members also created a 10-team fantasy basketball league to participate in and debate current NBA news.
The club is always looking for new members to take part in its activities and meetings. Past events include an NFL Draft watch party, co-hosting a panel discussion on women in sports titled “Competing to Win” with Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., as well as hosting a Madison Square Garden internship panel. The club has welcomed Kevin Cooper of the Houston Texans, Davina Sutton of ESPN, CNN Atlanta/London, and Turner Sports, author/consultant Will Baggett, social media entrepreneur Eamonn Donlyn, former NFL player Jed Collins and ESPN Information Specialist Francisco Ramos. Committees are working to help the club grow its membership and campus presence.
Meetings are open to all Syracuse University students. Email Elena Randolph at edrandol@syr.edu or call the Department of Sport Management at 315-443-9881 for more information.
SVEM Club
Sport Venue and Event Management (SVEM) Club
Mission statement: To provide students specific knowledge and experience focused on managing and operating sport and entertainment facilities and events.
Objectives:
- Create an experiential learning opportunity for SU graduate students interested in sport venue and event management.
- Create activities that foster philanthropic and social responsibility associated with sport.
- Create career networking and educational field trip opportunities for members of the organization.
- Promote interest in the sport venue and facility management industry
Organizational Structure:
Executive Board: comprised of four (4) members.
- Advisor (Faculty Member): Provide oversight and managerial direction; serve as the liaison between the Department of Sport Management and The SVEM Club; work directly with officers on communication, marketing, and financial matters; serve as co-chair of fundraising activities sponsored by the organization.
- President: Represent the club as primary contact with the Office of Graduate Student Organizations. The President will be responsible for running all meetings, programming and developing club activities such as coordinating guest speakers, fundraiser meetings and other social activities.
- Vice President: Responsible for assisting the president in developing meetings and club activities, maintaining attendance of meetings, collecting membership dues, and other miscellaneous tasks.
- Treasurer: Responsible for keeping financial records of funds and allocation of disbursements subject to board approval, and as outlined by the Office of Graduate Student Organizations.
Membership: Any graduate student in the M.S. Sport Venue and Event Management Program in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics at Syracuse University is eligible to be an active member and may hold office. All active members must submit annual dues of five ($5) dollars.
Meetings: General club meetings will be held on a bi-weekly schedule, as determined by the President and Advisory Faculty Member and voted on by the membership. All general meetings are required among all members. Executive Board meetings will be held a minimum of once per month.
For more information: Contact Dr. Patrick Walsh at 315-443-3844 or ptwalsh@syr.edu
WISE
Women in Sports and Events (WISE)
During the Fall 2022 semester, WISE met with industry leaders from the Sport Philanthropy Network, Miami Dolphins, and Women in Sport Tech, as well as professionals from ESPN/Disney who are a part of the WISE NYC regional chapter. WISE continued its “Coffee and Conversations” events, in which members network with leading female professionals. Guests included Melissa Palarea, Associate Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the NBA; and Deidra Maddock, Vice President of Sport Brand Solutions at the Walt Disney Company.
During the Spring 2022 semester, WISE kept busy by welcoming guest speakers, hosting networking dinners and planning events. Guest speakers included AEG Senior Vice President Michelle Kajiwara, who works in Premium Seating Sales at Crypto.com Arena, and Syracuse University Athletics Chief Communications Officer Sue Edson. The group also hosted Suzanne Abair and Morgan Shaw Parker from the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. Students met with representatives from SU’s chapter of WiST (Women in Sport Tech) and attended a webinar about WiST’s fellowship program. Several WISE members traveled to New York City in May to meet with executives from the NFL, NHL, ESPN, New York Liberty, and MLB as well as attended the SU Sports Network Launch Party.
A main focus for the Spring 2021 semester was pairing with the University of Pittsburgh’s WISE Chapter to host a webinar titled “The Women Behind Pro and Collegiate Basketball.” The webinar featured SPM alumna Drina Domic ’19 (NBA), Natalie Dumin (HBSE/Philadelphia 76ers), Beth Kane (NCAA) and Audrey Stapleton (Charlotte Hornets). WISE also co-hosted a “Women in Sports Journalism” panel with The Women’s Network Syracuse, featuring Syracuse alumna Sarina Morales (LA Rams) and Maddy Glab (Buffalo Bills).
WISE members often volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Syracuse to cook and serve meals to families staying at the facility. The group also co-hosts workshops focusing on campus resources and resumes; partners with Witty Wicks, a homemade candle company, and Chipotle, to fundraise for future networking trips and events; and welcomes numerous guest speakers to campus or virtually.
Keep up with SU’s WISE Club on Social Media: Twitter: @WISE_SU; Instagram: WISE_Cuse; and Facebook: Women in Sports and Events at Syracuse University.
The club officers for 2023 are Marni Nirenberg, president; Sarah Pivawer, vice president; Erin Moore, communications chair; and Ashley Stewart, fundraising and community outreach chair.
The WISE Club includes women from all majors on campus interested in pursuing careers in sports and events. For more information, email WISE co-advisors Kailyn Jennings at kmjennin@syr.edu or Beth Perez at erper100@syr.edu, or club president Marni Nirenberg at mjnirenb@syr.edu
