Projects

The Sports Business Institute strives to provide industry practitioners with dedicated MBA student support. The projects undertaken by graduate students and overseen by the SBI provide students "real world" sports business experience, while simultaneously allowing industry stakeholders the opportunity to work with top business students.

EASTON Sports

The SBI has recently completed a consulting project for Easton Sports that included recommendations on e-commerce strategy and the utilization of social media to drive revenues. Three Marshall MBA students worked closely with Easton Sports executives over four months to develop actionable recommendations that would help grow this important area of business.

The specific focus of the project was on how Easton can optimize their direct-to-consumer business in a way that drives business and brand. The student team utilized knowledge they acquired in their internet marketing, statistics, consumer behavior, and strategy classes as well as experience gained from their summer internships.

SBI Executive Director, David Carter and Assistant Director, Courtney Brunious oversaw the consulting team's work and assisted with producing the final deliverable.

Sports Museum of Los Angeles

The SBI is working closely with the Sports Museum of Los Angeles to develop a comprehensive strategic marketing plan designed to attract groups of visitors and special events to the museum. In order to develop the plan, a student team will be called upon to apply the business acumen they have acquired in the areas of market research, strategy, non-profit management, and operations, among others.

SBI Executive Director David Carter will assist the student team in authoring this strategic marketing plan.

For more information about this project, please visit:
SMLA Project Description

USC Athletics

The support for this project stems from longstanding members of USC Marshall's Board of Leaders who have recognized that the SBI is an important, emerging learning center at USC Marshall. This research will further enhance the school's reputation and distinct leadership in this contemporary field of sports business.

The project has two phases. The first will address executive skills, methods, strategies, and technologies required to best generate revenue and build brand recognition/affinity for emerging or low-revenue sports playing at USC's Galen Center.

With a specific focus on men's and women's volleyball, this analysis will examine how, by studying existing 'franchise' sports, USC can take full advantage of its location amidst the geographic home of volleyball, its athletic tradition, and athletics infrastructure, to further increase the teams' market position and branding.

The focus will be on uncovering, and then developing, marketing and branding initiatives that will help build fan loyalty, increase sponsorship, and ultimately position both men's and women's volleyball as 'must see' sports.

The project's second phase will focus on the executive skills, methods, strategies, and technologies required in sports venue development, operations, and management. With regard to USC, this will include leveraging the University's location, tradition, and competitiveness of its teams to help maximize revenue generation at the Galen Center.

Tournament of Roses

The SBI has been selected by the City of Pasadena's Tournament of Roses to conduct its "2008 Economic Impact & Demographics Study." This study, which will be undertaken with the guidance of Ernst & Young, will encompass all activities relating to the Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses parade, as well as the events supporting these activities.

SBI Executive Director David Carter will oversee a student team in planning and conducting this analysis, as well as assisting in determining key outcomes and findings.

For more information about this project, please visit:
TOR Press Release
TOR Project Description

Anschutz Entertainment Group

The SBI has partnered with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to determine the costs and benefits associated with electronic marketing campaigns.

This project has been designed to assist AEG in its ability to assign a monetary value to each email recipient that unsubscribes from one of their email communications with the express goal being to determine the "Lifetime Value" of each email address captured.

For more information about this project, please visit:
AEG Project Description

Special Olympics Southern California

The SBI has partnered with the Special Olympics of Southern California (SOSC) to determine the optimal location for a potential relocation of its headquarters and annual Summer Games.

SBI Executive Director David Carter has directed a team of MBA students in producing a "Request for Proposal" from interested Southern California cities, as well as an "Economic Impact Study," which will quantify SOSC's financial worth to a participating community.

For more information about this project, please visit:
SOSC Press Release
SOSC Project Description