Four graduate students from the College of Business at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln traveled to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the National Sports Forum (NSF) Case Cup competition. Students compete against other graduate programs in a sports-marketing related case in this 24-hour challenge.
 
Master of business administration (MBA) students Autumn Hunt of Lincoln, Nebraska; and Dain Christensen of Lincoln, Nebraska; teamed up with master of arts in business with a specialization in intercollegiate athletic administration (MAIAA) students Sean Bourke of Elk Grove Village, Illinois; and Lorie Garnett of Manteca, California; for the competition. Accompanied by Dr. Meike Eilert, assistant professor of marketing, the group traveled to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Feb. 10 and began their 24-hour case experience on Feb. 11. Students competed against teams from Ohio University, Long Beach State University, University of South Carolina, University of Oregon, University of South Florida, Temple University and The George Washington University.
 
After receiving the case Saturday morning, the Nebraska team brainstormed in a work room at the host convention center for 24 hours to prepare a solution for the case without any external advisement. The 2017 NSF Case Cup partnered with Major League Soccer and innovative ticketing platform SeatGeek to develop a highly strategic and research-based case for the student participants.
 
The case, titled: “Sporting Kansas City Gets an Assist From SeatGeek: Can Sporting Kansas City Score?”, focused on Major League Soccor team Sporting Kansas City’s partnership with SeatGeek to be the official partner for the club’s  primary and secondary ticketing markets. Given a budget and extensive market research as resources, NSF Cup teams presented solutions that maximized the relationship between Sporting Kansas City and SeatGeek, while also utilizing the partnership to determine potential new sources of revenue for the club.
 
At the end of the 24 hours, the four students presented their ideas in a 20-minute presentation including a full budget and schedule with strategic and tactical ideas to maximize the relationship to a panel of four industry professionals.
 
“The NSF Case Cup provided invaluable experience that I will draw on for the rest of my professional career. Being immersed in a case for 24 hours with your peers teaches you about problem solving, cooperative competition and time management,” Hunt said. “The opportunity to attend NSF as a student is an excellent opportunity provided by the college that sets our graduate programs apart from competitors. The forum is an exceptional event with incomparable networking and professional development opportunities.”
 
The NSF Case Cup is a tradition in Nebraska Business Graduate Programs and in 2014, the Nebraska team earned the trophy in Dallas.
 
To learn more about the MBA and MAIAA programs at Nebraska, visit business.unl.edu/gradprograms  Published: April 25, 2017