College of Business sport management students win 2023 COSMA Case Cup

Sport management students from Ohio University's College of Business headed to Tampa, Florida, in February to compete in the annual COSMA Case Study Cup Competition.

The competition, part of the 2023 COSMA Conference, is highly competitive and consists of both undergraduate and graduate teams. Each case study team prepared and presented a solution to a panel of judges representing professional sports organizations in the Tampa area.

The OHIO undergraduate student team of Roberto Lemus (BSM '25), Ian Lindstrom (BSM '24), Logan Thompson (BSM '25), and Lily Wittman (BSM '24) won the 2023 Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Case Study Cup on Friday, Feb. 3. The case cup team presented various strategies for the implementation of esports.

"We were tasked with developing various strategies for implementing esports at the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, and Tampa Bay Rowdies," Wittman said. "We worked on this project diligently over the last couple of weeks, and it is an awesome feeling to see our hard work pay off. We proudly represent  the Ohio University College of Business and our prestigious undergraduate Ohio University Sport Management program".

Competing against graduate student teams from Northern State University (South Dakota) and Temple University (Pennsylvania), the OHIO students recommended concourse facility updates, corporate partnerships/sponsorships, and upgrades to team apps in their proposal. Associate Professor of Instruction in Sports Administration Annie Valeant (MBA/MSA '08) served as the on-site faculty advisor and was also selected to present "From Classroom to the Stadium," which featured the community-owned, student-operated Southern Ohio Copperheads, as part of the conference program.

"Congratulations to each graduate and undergraduate student who participated in the 2023 COSMA Case Cup Competition," Valeant said. "It was my honor to serve as the advisor to Ohio University's winning Case Cup team. Lilly, Roberto, Logan, and Ian represented themselves and Ohio University's College of Business and Department of Sports Administration to its best ability. It sure was a great day to be a Bobcat!"

The Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) is the accrediting body for academic sport management programs, purposed to promote and recognize excellence through all levels of education, including doctoral levels.  

This student experiential learning opportunity was funded by the AECOM Center for Sports Administration and the 2022 Undergraduate Experiential Learning Stewardship Grant by Ohio University's Center for Advising, Career, and Experiential Learning under the leadership of Assistant Director Christina Mehlon (MBA/MSA' 10).

COSMA is a specialized accrediting body whose purpose is to promote and recognize excellence in sport management education worldwide in colleges and universities at the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels through specialized accreditation. The Department of Sports Administration is proud to have all four-degree programs COSMA-accredited.

"The AECOM Center for Sports Administration is grateful for the privilege to create and fund various experiential learning opportunities for our undergraduate sport management students. Case cup competitions allow our students to apply what they learn in the classroom to the sports and entertainment industry," said Mehlon, who also serves as  assistant director of industry and alumni engagement. "Roberto, Ian, Logan, and Lily demonstrate what we value in the College of Business: grit, determination, curiosity, and innovation. We are proud that this team not only produced solid recommendations to a live client but also that they earned the win!"