Outstanding. Professional. Above and beyond. Exceeded our expectations.
Representatives of Indiana Sports Corp, Indy Eleven, Beyond Monumental, and other renowned Indianapolis sports organizations raved about IUPUI's sport event tourism graduate students. They shared these sentiments at the conclusion of student project presentations this past summer.
The tourism, event, and sport management department (TESM) at IUPUI has a variety of well-established relationships with key players in the Indy sport and event scene, a well-levereged advantage for students at any level in the program.
Faculty members David Pierce, Ph.D., and Geoff Sherman, Ph.D., worked with premier program partners to secure project commitments for six event tourism consulting students. For four students, it was the culmination of a solid year of hard work and determined effort. For the other two, it was a unique, real-world opportunity to launch their professional careers with experience gained directly from a local sports organization.
Beyond Monumental
Annesia Wright was commissioned by Beyond Monumental, organizers of one of the nation's 15 largest and top-ranked marathons. Wright tested volunteer management software packages for event-day procedures and to-do lists under the guidance of Director of Operations & Community Outreach Casey Collins.
To complete the project, Wright tested software packages and talked with developers. She delivered a thorough analysis, chock-full of insights and powerful data-backed recommendations, to Collins.
Indiana Sports Corp
Indiana Sports Corp (ISC) helps Indianapolis stage world-class events such as Super Bowl XLVI and
Big Ten championships. TESM students are afforded unparalleled opportunities to gain experience by working with ISC in a variety of capacities. For Heston Hybarger, this translated to studying volunteer data management software as well as best practices in volunteer recruitment and marketing.
Hybarger spent 12 weeks talking with sports entities across the nation and examining volunteer management techniques to analyze the way ISC operates. Through ISC's Volunteer Manager Megan Barr, he presented his data, insights, and findings, and made recommendations to a panel that included ISC executives.
Indianapolis Colts
Nick Armour worked with data and proprietary
information from the Indianapolis Colts' business intelligence unit. He analyzed data provided by the Colts and developed his own metrics to apply to the data. He earned praise for creativity and resourcefulness. A gifted public speaker, Armour delivered a memorable presentation, wowing Colts staff and TESM faculty.
Indianapolis Indians
Working with the Indianapolis Indians, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate team of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Nick Fuchs conducted a social media content analysis involving three International League teams and their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts. He also paid special attention to videos, analyzing them by type, timing, length, views, and engagement. His research was virtually live.
Fuchs enlisted David Pierce's assistance to visualize results after compiling and analyzing the data. Their work identified insights and enabled Fuchs to make noteworthy recommendations, earning kudos from Indians' administration.
Vijay Melwani - Indy Eleven
One of the city's newest professional team franchises, Indy Eleven played its inagural game in Indianapolis at IUPUI's Michael A. Carroll Stadium in 2014, and continued to play at IUPUI until moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2018. Indy Eleven asked Vijay Melwani to research the team's social media, particularly Instagram, to see if their communication strategies could be altered to optimize results and stand out among top competitors.
Melwani compiled, analyzed, and with the help of faculty member David Pierce visualized the public metrics of the Instagram posts of five U.S. soccer clubs, including the Indy Eleven, from the 2018 season. Through content analysis, Melwani was able to gain insight into the types of media shared, timing and length of posts, and engagement and views that would work best for Indy Eleven. He presented findings and recommendations directly to Indy Eleven's top executives.
NCAA and Genius Sports
Nick Baker analyzed data that had never been pulled
or tracked by the NCAA. Using an application programming interface, Baker pulled millions of data points from the first season of NCAA Live Stats for basketball. His challenge was to gain insight into how data analysis could guide and influence decision makers in any area.
Baker turned to IUPUI informatics professors, client developers, other students, and TESM faculty member Geoff Sherman for guidance. He developed a winning presentation that exceeded stakeholder expectations as a result.
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