Mary Graham

As Major League Baseball prepares for a historic moment this weekend with Jen Pawol becoming the first woman to umpire a major league game, Falk College of Sport Professor Mary Graham calls it “overdue,” and emphasizes the broader implications for gender equity in professional athletics.

“This is a historic and admirable achievement to be the first woman to officiate a major league baseball game,” Graham says. “It will be particularly momentous when she serves as plate umpire on Sunday. Credit is also due to the women before Jen who aspired to be major league umpires, most notably Pam Postema in the late 1980s, who reached a glass ceiling at the AAA level.”

Graham notes that while Pawol is the first to reach the MLB level, women have long been officiating in lower tiers of professional baseball. She also highlights systemic challenges that have historically limited women’s advancement in male-dominated sports leagues.

“Minor league systems may serve as places for women’s careers to plateau because of sexism in evaluation and promotion processes,” Graham says. “No doubt Jen Pawol endured a good deal of slights and obstacles on her way to the major league.”

Still, Graham sees signs of progress. She points to the MLB Umpire Prospect Development Camp, launched in 2022 and open to all genders, as a hopeful step toward more inclusive opportunities.

“Sometimes gender equity progress is not linear; Jen Pawol may be opening the floodgates of opportunity for women in baseball with her historic assignment this weekend,” Graham says.

For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with Mary Graham, please contact Keith Kobland at kkobland@syr.edu.

Scott Tainsky (far right), shown here with Detroit Country Day School players and coaches at a University of Michigan summer team camp, is the new Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Academic Operations for the David B. Falk College of Sport.

The earliest memories  has involve playing sports and watching the golden age of Big East Conference basketball with stars like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and ���ϲ����� star Pearl Washington.

Now, as a father of two children who play youth sports, Tainsky says the “anchor events” in their household revolve around his children’s games and practices, and the sports they watch together on TV. Tainsky built his research career around the idea that sports bring people together, and that’s the focus and sensibility he’s bringing to the as its new senior associate dean of faculty affairs and academic operations.

“It’s the same feeling I hope to experience very shortly at the (JMA Wireless) Dome,” Tainsky says. “Being able to come together and root, root, root for the home team with the family was a salient experience for me as I grew up and became an athlete. Then, as a soon-retired athlete, it evolved from me competing to being one of the people either coaching or analyzing what’s going on for others to do their best to compete at the highest level.”

Scott Tainsky

Tainsky, who started at Falk College on July 1, was previously a professor of management and Director of Sport and Entertainment Management at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he was awarded Mike Ilitch School of Business awards for innovative teaching and excellence in research. He’s currently editor in chief of the , the official research journal of the (NASSM) and he has co-authored over 50 journal articles, becoming a NASSM Research Fellow in 2015.

At the core of Tainsky’s research are the decisions made by high-level sports managers and how they impact both organizational performance and the collective well-being of fans.

“Scott’s research interests–economics of sports leagues and teams, player performance analytics, and corporate social responsibility in national and international sports leagues–align perfectly with our vision for creating the nation’s premier College of Sport,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan. With programs in esports, exercise science, nutrition, sport analytics and sport management, the Falk College of Sport launched July 1 as the on a high-research activity campus (R1) to focus on sport through a holistic academic lens.

We connected with Tainsky to learn more about his research and how it will impact the College of Sport.

How did you develop an interest in studying the impact of sport?

My curiosity about the world and trying to incorporate that into my daily life. Being able to better the community that I’m a part of is ingrained by the fact that I grew up in a house where my father (Dr. Michael Tainsky) was a researcher—in his case he was trying to cure cancer and improve people’s lives that way.

Mine was much more social. As a social scientist, I have noticed the way sport can be such a valuable part of people’s lives. My first memory was watching Big East basketball, and I liked math. I try to bring those two worlds together to create the best social experiences for the greatest number of people possible.

One of the College of Sport’s areas of excellence is community sport and wellness, or as Dean Jordan also calls it, “sport for good.” How does your research fit with the uplifting power of sport?

The intellectual side of that is no one has to do sport; it’s an elective part of our lives. Since so many are choosing to spend so much of our attention on this leisure activity, it’s an incredible opportunity to see what people truly value. At the same time, we can provide leadership in utilizing that to help create the most good in the community.

Scott Tainsky with his daughter, Shana, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after Shana led her club soccer team to the championship of the top flight of the 2021 Women and Girls in Soccer tournament.

We’re here to help round out that part of their choice, to provide the right amount of sport, marketed and delivered in a way that’s consumable and made more efficient, where the product is better and where the athletes are more informed.

Is there a specific theme throughout your research?

If there’s a theme to my research, it’s this idea of positive externalities, and that’s a very technical term of what is being produced can produce additional good captured by others. So, for example, in that I did with (Sport Analytics Professor) , we look at how the hotel industry is impacted by college football games. It’s not like Marriot or Hilton does anything different to be able to raise their rates or increase their occupancy rates on home football games. It happens because there’s so much excitement around sport; so much interest in being a part of that experience. So, in that case, we’re looking to quantify the externalities produced by football games.

There are other ways this presents in terms of viewership. When I follow ���ϲ����� basketball and ���ϲ����� basketball is having a good year, you would think that because we only have so much leisure time and I’m watching more of the Orange, it might take away the amount I choose to watch other basketball teams. But in fact, the opposite is true. As I become more deeply connected to ���ϲ����� basketball, I’m actually more interested in some of the rival teams we’re competing against. So, we’re looking for those externalities, quantifying those externalities, and then helping round out the experience with the understanding that those things that may be counterintuitive are in play. How do we capitalize on this knowledge to produce the most good?

What are your impressions of the Falk College of Sport and what it can become?

Falk College and ���ϲ����� have recognized that there are four legs of the stool, and you can’t get any balance unless all four of them are functioning and working together. You can’t create athletes and have competition at the highest level without understanding the exercise science portion and the nutrition portion of sport. You can’t produce teams and individuals functioning at their highest level without sport management and sport analytics. You can’t appreciate the whole of it unless all of those pieces are talking with one another…and there is not one other place that’s doing what’s happening right now at Falk College. It’s 100 percent the reason I wanted to be a part of this project.

What drew me to Falk College was this vision of what can be if we bring together these disciplines that are often times separated and siloed. It’s such a welcome idea that I expect us to be doing incredible things quickly because of all the support I’m seeing and all of the buy-in for what we’re doing from so many different, important pieces of this puzzle.

Five of the Falk College sport analytics students who worked for the United Football League this season attended the UFL’s championship game in St. Louis. From left to right, UFL Operations Manager and ���ϲ����� alum Bryan Kilmeade, Zach Seidel, Toby Halpern, Austin Ambler, Danny Baris, Nolan Bruton, UFL Senior Vice President of Technology Scott Harniman and UFL Vice President of Football Technology Brad Campbell.

When seven students from the Department of Sport Analytics in the   started working for the (UFL) this past winter, league officials explained the kind of data they had available and asked the students to pitch their ideas on how to use it.

One dataset tracked quarterback completion probability, and two students, Austin Ambler and Danny Baris, pitched a metric to quantify quarterback decision-making. They call it a “QB Decision Score,” and it determines if a quarterback made the right passing decision based on the predicted EPA (expected points added) of each receiver on the play.

The UFL officials overseeing the sport analytics students—Operations Manager , Senior Vice President of Technology and Vice President of Football Technology —wondered if such a model was possible, but gave Ambler and Baris the go-ahead to try.

“A week later they came back and gave us a first run-through, and we were like, wow, this is impressive,” Kilmeade says. “In our minds this was going to take the whole season. It took a week.”

Throughout the 2025 UFL season, which ran from March 28 through the championship game on June 14, the seven sport analytics majors—Ambler, Baris, Toby Halpern and Zach Seidel (who are all on schedule to graduate this December), Nolan Bruton ’26, Eleanor O’Connor ’27 and Johann Perera ’25—worked on several significant projects for the league.

In fact, many of their data analysis models were elevated to the teams and their coaches during the season, and they may eventually find their way to the NFL, which has a strong relationship with the UFL. The leagues often discuss rules innovation, technology and player development.

“This partnership (with the Falk College of Sport) has exceeded our expectations on the league side, and we’re looking forward to continuing it with as many students who want to do it,” Kilmeade says. “The students have impressed everybody we’ve gotten them in front of.”

Invaluable Experience

Kilmeade ’18 was a major in Falk College when the started in 2017. He earned a minor in sport analytics, where Department of Sport Analytics Chair was one of his professors and current Director of Corporate Partnerships and External Engagement was his advisor.

He stayed connected with Paul and Riverso throughout his early professional career with the XFL and USFL, which merged to form the UFL. When he was with the XFL, he reached out to Falk College and its about data regarding kickoffs. The students in the club charted games and their analysis led to the new kickoff rule that was first used in the XFL and adopted by the NFL before the 2024 season.

From left to right, Falk College of Sport students Danny Baris, Toby Halpern, Zach Seidel, Nolan Bruton and Austin Ambler with St. Louis Battlehawks player Pita Taumoepenu, the UFL’s defensive player of the year this season.

At the UFL, the league has the same issue: Lots of data, but a small staff that can’t possibly get to it all. So, Kilmeade reached out to Paul and Riverso again and it was a natural fit as UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon is a member of the , and former ���ϲ����� football star Daryl Johnston is the UFL’s executive vice president of football operations.

between the UFL and the Sport Analytics program marked the first time an American college or university has worked with the nation’s premier spring football league.

Paul says the experience the students gained from working with the UFL was “impossible to replicate in the classroom” as the league and students held regular meetings to discuss their projects, shared findings through visualization (charts, graphs, dashboards) and strategized on next steps.

“The main thing I got from working with the UFL was more experience working with data,” says Baris, who majors in sport analytics and statistics. “I also was able to experiment with a few types of models that I had not worked with previously, and I gained experience presenting work to people with a less analytical background.”

Game Changers

As Kilmeade says, the students hit the ground running, throwing and kicking. Other examples of their work with the UFL include a point after touchdown conversion (PAT) decision chart, onside kick alternative and game timing.

Falk College of Sport analytics students in St. Louis with the UFL championship trophy, which was won by the DC Defenders, who defeated the Michigan Panthers 58-34.

Ambler, Baris, Bruton, Halpern and Seidel were available to travel to St. Louis for the UFL’s championship weekend in mid-June. There, they capped their internship experience by staffing the Fan Fest Sportable booth, where fans used the tracking device to measure their throwing skills, and the Tech Suite, where they displayed their work from the season. Kilmeade says film producer and UFL co-owner Dany Garcia was one of the many dignitaries who were impressed by the students’ presentation.

“I was able to do projects with real-world data that were actually used/implemented by the league, and grow my technical skills and abilities by having to learn new techniques in order to accomplish some of the projects,” Ambler says. “These new skills that I learned will be able to be applied to other projects in my future roles throughout my professional career.”

To read the full story, visit the .

This past January, Executive Director of Esports Joey Gawrysiak (left) and Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur announced a multi-year partnership designed to enhance student engagement opportunities with such events as the Campus Takeover in September.

���ϲ����� and global esports and gaming organization have opened general registration at for its first Campus Takeover Sept. 20-21. The two-day conference will bring students and administrators to ���ϲ����� to highlight career opportunities within the esports industry and various ways in which students can use esports for project-based learning within the careers of their choice.

Campus Takeover will offer diverse programming headlined by the first-ever national Esports Business Case Study Competition for undergraduate students interested in esports, traditional sports and gaming. The event will also feature daily keynote presentations, industry panels for collegiate esports professionals, career panels for students interested in working for the esports industry and daily networking events. Campus Takeover will feed into the University’s from Sept. 22-26 hosted by .

“When we announced our multiyear partnership with ���ϲ����� in December, we committed to enhancing student engagement opportunities,” says Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur. “Campus Takeover will provide that opportunity for anyone interested in esports and gaming to learn more about our industry and build an impactful career.”

Executive Director of Esports Joey Gawrysiak addresses the audience at the grand opening of the Gaming and Esports Center in the Schine Student Center.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to bring Gen.G’s award-winning Campus Takeover event to ���ϲ�����,” says Executive Director of Esports . “This partnership represents more than just a high-profile esports event—it’s an opportunity for students, faculty and staff across disciplines and institutions to come together.

“Campus Takeover will showcase what makes esports such a powerful connector in education,” Gawrysiak adds. “We can’t wait to have everyone on our campus as we offer dynamic programming that focuses on professional development, competition and collaboration.”

Gen.G and ���ϲ����� have also partnered on the, which offers students the opportunity to take part in an intensive, three-week program to study in South Korea. This programming complements the innovative at the University offered jointly by the  and the , which on July 1, 2025, will launch as the first college on a high-research activity campus to focus on sport-related disciplines.

The esports program includes three tracks: esports business and management, esports communications, and esports media and design. It prepares students for an exciting career in esports and related industries through classes in event management and marketing, broadcasting/production, communications, content creation, entrepreneurship, strategic communications and esports experience and design.

During their visit to the United Talent Agency and KLUTCH Sports Group in Atlanta, 11 sport management students pose for a group photo below a famous saying from early 20th-century Atlanta educator and orator Booker T. Washington.

The city of Atlanta is home to professional sports franchises in major leagues: Atlanta United FC (Major League Soccer), the Braves (Major League Baseball), Dream (WNBA), Falcons (NFL), and Hawks (NBA). Atlanta also features professional teams in lacrosse, rugby, and volleyball, along with a rich tradition of Division I collegiate sports with Georgia Tech and Georgia State.

In addition, Atlanta has hosted the biggest events in sports, including the Summer Olympics in 1996, four Super Bowls, and the NCAA Final Four women’s and men’s basketball championship, and it will be one of 11 U.S. host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Over the course of three jam-packed days in March, 11 female students from ���ϲ�����’s  visited Atlanta to meet with numerous sports organizations and female executives from several sectors of the sport industry. The group also attended a Braves game at Truist Park.

Jake and Suzanne Doft have sponsored the trip for the past four years in honor of their daughter, Class of 2022 Sport Management graduate .

The students on the trip included Jordan Boron ’25, Kate Bradley ’26, Emily Gilbert ’27, Maggie Grejda ’27, Aryssa Hopps ’25, Janet Ji ’26, Lexi Katz ’27, Anna McDonald ’26, Claire Patin ’26, Brooke Siket ’25, and Tess Wright ’27. The students—all members of the  (WISE) Club from the —were accompanied by Falk College Director of Development , Sport Analytics Program Manager and former Internship Placement Coordinator Beth Perez, who’s now working for the University as an assistant director of development, leadership annual giving and discovery.

Falk College students visited with numerous sports organizations in Atlanta during a Spring 2025 immersion trip.

We asked Siket and Bradley to share their favorite experiences from the Atlanta immersion trip:

Brooke Siket (sport management major, marketing minor)

Brooke Siket

“As someone passionate about working in live sports and event management, this trip was everything I hoped for and more.

“Over three packed days, we met with representatives from the Atlanta Dream, Hawks, Falcons, United, Braves, Overtime Elite, United Talent Agency (UTA) and KLUTCH Sports Group, FanDuel and the Atlanta Sports Council. Each organization gave us a behind-the-scenes look into their operations, shared advice about breaking into the industry, and emphasized the importance of relationship-building. Hearing from so many strong women in leadership roles made the experience even more empowering.

“One moment that stood out to me was our visits to UTA and KLUTCH Sports. While few of us initially had a strong interest in the agency side of sports, the insight they offered into athlete representation, contract negotiation, and brand building was an incredible and eye-opening experience.

“The WISE community created an environment where I felt encouraged to ask questions, connect with professionals, and see firsthand what a career in this industry could look like. This trip reminded me why I chose ���ϲ����� and Falk; it’s the real world opportunities and constant support that have helped me grow and feel prepared for a career in sports. This trip solidified my goals and expanded my network, and I’m so thankful to WISE, ���ϲ�����, the Doft family, and everyone we met in Atlanta for making it possible.”

During her time at ���ϲ�����, Brooke Siket was an athletics facilities and game management intern, a Falk College peer advisor and ambassador, a Sport Management Club member who worked on the annual Charity Sports Auction and a WISE Club member. She’s currently working as a stadium operations intern for the Savannah Bananas baseball team.

Kate Bradley (sport management major, emerging sport enterprises minor)

Kate Bradley

“I joined WISE during my first week on campus, and it immediately became a meaningful community for me. Surrounded by driven, like-minded women who share a passion for working in sports, I’ve found lasting friendships, valuable networking opportunities, and unforgettable professional experiences through this organization.

“One of the most impactful aspects of being in WISE has been participating in immersion trips across the country. These trips provide unique opportunities to engage directly with industry professionals and ���ϲ����� alumni. Our recent trip to Atlanta was particularly special, as it allowed us to explore a sports market outside the Northeast.

“While in Atlanta, exposure to a wide range of organizations gave us a well-rounded understanding of Atlanta’s sports industry from team operations to agency representation and beyond. Additionally, visiting Atlanta was an amazing opportunity because the FIFA 2026 World cup is coming to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and we heard from multiple organizations about their unique perspective on the event and what role they will play in planning and executing it.

“These immersion trips are more than just site visits; they’re hands-on learning experiences that give us a real sense of what working in different sectors of the sports industry is like. In an increasingly virtual world, having the chance to build face-to-face connections is invaluable. I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of WISE and for the opportunities it has provided to grow both personally and professionally. Thank you to everyone who met with us on this trip, and to everyone who made this adventure possible.”

Kate Bradley’s extracurricular activities in Falk College include WISE Club communications chair, Sport Management Club community outreach chair, Sport Management Club Charity Sports Auction public relations chair for the 2023 and 2024 auctions, research assistant for Assistant Professor Lindsey Darvin’s NIL project, publishing assistant for David B. Falk Endowed Professor Rick Burton, and vice president of partnerships for the ���ϲ����� Sport Group. She’s currently interning for the Wasserman sports marketing and talent management agency in the Brand and Properties department.

Visit the to learn more about experiential learning, academic programs, and career opportunities in the Department of Sport Management and the sport analytics program at ���ϲ�����.

The inaugural SEICon event in 2024 featured this large contingent from the Falk College and ���ϲ�����. Representatives will once again play prominent roles during SEICon II July 8-10 in Las Vegas.

The second annual Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon)—named by Zoomph as one of the —will be held from July 8-10 at MGM’s iconic Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

SEICon is a partnership between and the , in collaboration with the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency , and it serves as a platform for professionals to discuss strategies and innovations shaping the future of the sports and entertainment industries.

SEICon II will bring together industry leaders from the public and private sectors and academia and feature fully catered lunchtime keynotes, insightful panel discussions and curated networking opportunities focused on emerging trends, digital transformation, and the future of fan engagement, media rights, sponsorships and entertainment technology.

All-inclusive registration for SEICon II is now open. Visit the to register and to find more information about SEICon II and satellite 2025-26 SEICon events in Houston, London and Atlanta. ���ϲ����� alumni will receive $200 off the cost of registration by using the code SU ALUMNI.

“This is your chance to connect with industry leaders, share insights and explore the latest innovations in sports and entertainment,” says alumnus and Circle CEO Shawn Garrity ’86. “We’re thrilled to build upon last year’s momentum, bringing together thought leaders for another unforgettable experience. Expect compelling content, intimate connections and top-notch hospitality that only Vegas can offer.”

Building on the success of its inaugural year, SEICon is moving to the legendary Bellagio Hotel, which is known for its fountains and world-class amenities. This year’s event will focus on key emerging areas within the industry, including women in sports and entertainment, motorsports and golf.

“We are incredibly proud and excited to host SEICon II at the prestigious Bellagio,” says Jay Vickers, COO of UNLV Sports Innovation Institute. “Returning to Las Vegas and partnering with such an esteemed venue, alongside the invaluable support of our partners, underscores SEICon’s growing influence and our commitment to providing an unparalleled experience for our invited guests.”

Vickers, Garrity, and Falk College of Sport Dean Jeremy Jordan appeared on the in late May to discuss the partnership between Falk College, UNLV Sports Innovation Institute, and Circle, and the present and future of SEICon.

SEICon will include nearly 30 panel conversations and two keynote speaker events. One keynote is with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who in June will become president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The second keynote features two ���ϲ����� alumni, veteran news and media executive Chris Licht ’93 and New York Post CEO Sean Giancola ’90, along with a representative from Gannett/USA Today, the presenting sponsor of SEICon II.

Several faculty members will lead panels, including David B. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management (The World Cup and the Rise of MLS: A New Era for Soccer); Assistant Teaching Professor of Sport Management (Women in Racing); Sport Analytics Undergraduate Director and Professor (Get with the Program: Entreprenuership); and Professor of Sports Law (Post House–The Future of College Athletics).

Growing Partnership

The connections between the Falk College and UNLV Sports Innovation Institute continue to grow beyond the annual SEICon event.

SEICon’s Business of Sport conference for the Australian National Rugby League featured Falk College faculty members Rodney Paul (middle row, left), Rick Burton (middle row, right) and Alexia Lopes (first row, second from right).

This past March, the National Rugby League (NRL) from Australia with men’s and women’s games at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In advance of those games, SEICon hosted a  conference for the NRL at the UNLV Sports Innovation Institute that included the signing of a partnership between SEICon and the . Burton, Lopes and Paul attended the conference, and Paul served as the moderator for a discussion on The Tech Playbook: Innovations for Shaping the Future of Sports.

“We are excited about the growing collaborations with UNLV Sports Innovation Institute and Circle for SEICon and the opportunities for our faculty to share their work and research from the programs in the new College of Sport: sport management, sport analytics, esports, exercise science, and nutrition,” says Paul. “We are most excited, however, to show off our greatest asset, our students, and provide them with an unparalleled experience in one of the most dynamic sports and entertainment markets in the world.”

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 inaugural SEICon in 2024 included 775 attendees and 183 speakers ranging from presidents and founders to venture capitalists and government officials. Visit the to learn more about the inaugural 2024 event and what’s planned for 2025 and beyond.

David B. Falk College of Sport

On July 1, 2025, ���ϲ����� will make history by launching the David B. Falk College of Sport—the first college on a high-research activity (R1) campus dedicated exclusively to sport-related disciplines. Named after visionary benefactor and legendary sports agent David B. Falk, this new college stands at the intersection of academic excellence and industry innovation. The college will unite our distinguished programs in sport management, sport analytics, exercise science, nutrition and esports (offered jointly with the prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications) under one dynamic academic umbrella.

 
The 2025 ���ϲ����� Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Summit was the first of its kind, but not the last.

The inaugural NIL Summit, which was first NIL event organized by students for student-athletes at ���ϲ�����, was hosted March 28 by the in partnership with the student-run ���ϲ����� Sport Group and . The event brought ���ϲ����� student-athletes together with corporate brands for networking, education, and NIL development.

The NCAA’s rules on NIL changed in 2021, allowing student-athletes to monetize their fame and popularity through endorsements, sponsorships, and other commercial activities. Since then, athletes who combine strong social media presence, business savvy, and prowess on the field have found partnerships with businesses from mom-and-pop stores to international brands.

“In this environment of collegiate sports, it’s critical that we provide student-athletes with as many meaningful NIL opportunities as possible,” ���ϲ����� Director of Athletics John Wildhack told the student-athletes and others gathered in Falk College’s Grant Auditorium for the NIL Summit. “Building the relationship between Falk College and athletics is one of the ways that’s going to benefit our student-athletes.”

GEN Agency and GEN NIL founder and CEO Rachel Maeng Brown presents to student-athletes at the 2025 ���ϲ����� NIL Summit.

Starting July 1, Falk College will become the Falk College of Sport, the first college on a high-research activity (R1) campus dedicated exclusively to sport-related disciplines. Named after visionary benefactor and legendary sports agent David B. Falk, the new college will unite Falk’s distinguished programs in sport management, sport analytics, exercise science, nutrition, and esports (offered jointly with the Newhouse School of Public Communications) under one dynamic academic umbrella.

Led by students in Falk’s , the NIL Summit featured GEN Agency and GEN NIL founder and CEO , the 2024 CEO of the Year in Influencer Management and NIL Education who  presented brand deal case studies and led a content creation workshop with products from . Brown returned home to Central New York for the Summit as she is a 2014 graduate of C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville.

In addition to Brown’s content creation workshop, representatives from the sector of Morgan Stanley hosted a session to educate student-athletes about financial literacy.

As a result of the workshops and networking with corporate representatives, student-athletes gained valuable insight into NIL deal structures, financial literacy, personal branding strategies, and partnership opportunities. For example, every student-athlete who visited the content creation station left the event having activated a unique NIL deal with W by Jake Paul.

“The ���ϲ����� NIL Summit demonstrated the impact and innovation of Falk College and its students,” says Falk College Dean . “This event was another example of the collaboration we have with ���ϲ����� Athletics to provide Falk students with learning experiences beyond the classroom, and it connected ���ϲ����� student-athletes with NIL industry leaders at a time when NIL is redefining collegiate sports.”

Responsive to the MLBPA’s desire to expand opportunities for career growth to its thousands of players, the new cross-campus collaboration taps into the expertise of several of the University’s schools and colleges, including the new , the , the and the .

“My fellow deans and I are excited to partner with the Major League Baseball Players Association to provide the ���ϲ����� experience to those interested in pursuing our vast academic offerings,” says Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan, whose initial discussions with the MLBPA inspired the creation of this new initiative. “This partnership reflects our collectively held value that higher education should be achievable for everyone, regardless of the demands of their profession or personal circumstances. For athletes and professionals with unpredictable schedules, our online programs offer the perfect balance of flexibility, robust academic support and real-world applicability—all without compromising their careers.”

“The Major League Baseball Players Association is thrilled to partner with ���ϲ����� to provide our members with exceptional educational opportunities,” says Chris Singleton, MLBPA special assistant for player resource programs and a former major league outfielder. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to supporting players both on and off the field, ensuring they have access to world-class academic resources that empower their personal and professional growth.”

The MLBPA represents the 1,200 players on major league 40-man rosters, as well as approximately 5,500 minor league players. This new partnership creates opportunities for these players to pursue several noteworthy objectives, including the following:

• Skill Development and Post-Career Readiness: The partnership will align market-relevant curricula and programming with players’ post-career aspirations and needs, ensuring they acquire meaningful skills and knowledge.
• Research and Innovation: The MLBPA and ���ϲ����� will collaborate on research projects that inform progressive and advanced programming for professional athletes. These efforts may lead to the development of new technologies, products or processes, benefiting the MLBPA and other professional athletic organizations.
• Practical Experience: The partnership will provide ���ϲ����� students with opportunities for internships, co-op programs and hands-on projects with the MLBPA. This practical experience will enhance learning, make students more competitive and serve as a potential pipeline for talent to the MLBPA and other professional athlete associations.
• Networking Opportunities: Players will gain access to professional mentors associated with ���ϲ����� in sports, broadcasting and business, to aid them in post-playing career development and job opportunities.

Dedicated admission specialists and academic advisors will tailor academic pathways in support of the unique needs of each participant. These educational opportunities will be accessible through a number of formats, including online, on campus and at ���ϲ�����’s sites in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. The University will also offer an online academic English program to prepare non-native English speakers for success in their non-credit programs, courses and workshops.

Visit the ���ϲ����� website to learn more about this innovative partnership.