« Back to Recent News

Midway University Sport Marketing Group Earns Award at Chicago Conference

Midway, KY (03/29/2023) — Last week at the Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA) International Society of Marketing Conference held in Chicago, four Midway University students and their professor took home the Best Sports & Experiential Marketing Presentation Award. The students included Louisa Garcia, Jacob Kocis, Luke Logan, and Cassidy Schrecongost and were led by Dr. Jeb Gorham, Associate Professor of Sport Management.

The students presented peer-reviewed work entitled "Sports Infographics and Knowledge Translation: Mobilizing Economic Impact Data to Build Student Skills, Share Research Impacts and Enable Sport Development."

"I am so proud of the accomplishments of these students," said Dr. Gorham. "The faculty and practitioner audience at our presentation was very impressed by the initiative and professionalism of our students."

Midway's Sport Management Program has been working for two years gathering economic impact data from a partnered research project with the Kentucky Interscholastic Cycling League (KICL). This research is part of Gorham's endowed Botkin Professorship with the University and is on-going. In 2021 and 2022 the study collected a total of 432 surveys from families of middle and high school KICL mountain bike racers across nine state-wide events. In 2023, the study will conduct surveys at five race events from August - October.

The KICL, their teams, and host communities have been able to utilize study data to leverage sponsorships, build advocacy programs and engage new trail systems as event hosts. The real-world application of this research focuses on simplifying large data sets and translating data through meaningful infographics that are impactful and highlight opportunities.

"Presenting successfully to high-level professionals has given me an increased confidence in my education and revamped my desire to learn," said student participant Jacob Kocis.