Limestone Sport Management Students Take First Place Award In Case Study Competition

A group of Limestone College students recently won a first place award at the College Sport Research Institute Conference hosted by the University of South Carolina.

As part of the Case Study Competition at the conference in Columbia on April 4, Limestone students Daniel Bland, Mallory Gardner, and Lelia Stokes walked away with the first place hardware in the undergraduate division. The group’s advisor was Dr. Jaime Orejan, Associate Professor and Chair of Sport Management at Limestone.

Each team competing for the award consisted of students who are currently enrolled in undergraduate sport management/administration or closely related programs with an emphasis in sport.

The case study focused on the 2017 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York arrests of several individuals on corruption, bribery, money laundering, and wire fraud charges related to college basketball recruitment. Each team was tasked with offering, during a 15-minute presentation, recommendations to address issues facing college basketball in the areas of eligibility, progress toward degree requirements, amateurism, retention of agents, and recruiting guidelines.

“I cannot begin to express how excited I am for these students,” Orejan said. “Our Sport Management Program has accomplished so much in a short time and we have some really quality students participating. Limestone’s team faced competition from such schools as the University of South Carolina, East Carolina University, Drexel University, University of Colorado, Elon University, Georgia State, and others, and came out on top. That certainly demonstrates what quality research they provided.”

Also at the College Sport Research Institute Conference held at USC, Orejan presented his report, “Recruiting and Marketing the Student-Athlete at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

Each year, the conference brings together academic researchers, students, and industry professionals to discuss pertinent research findings and issues facing the college sport industry. 

During his presentation, Orejan explored the importance of the recruitment and retention of student-athletes to colleges and universities. He explained that these institutions rely heavily on the enrolment of the student-athlete due to the need for tuition.

Orejan joined the Limestone College faculty in 2018 and serves as Chair and Associate Professor of Sport Management. Previously, he has been a professor of Sport Management at Elon University, Desales University, Loras College, The University of Southern Mississippi, and Winston Salem State University. He has also taught in the Online MBA in Sport Business at Saint Leo University and Adelphi University. He earned a Ph.D. in Teaching and Sport Management at the University of Southern Mississippi. For the past few years, he has focused on the management and marketing of soccer in the United States.

Accompanying Photo: Dr. Jaime Orejan, Lelia Stokes, Daniel Bland, and Mallory Gardner holding the first place award.