In Jamaica, where track and field stars like Usain Bolt (eight-time gold medalist) and Elaine Thompson-Herah (five-time gold medalist) captured national glory at the Summer Olympics, children grow up wanting to emulate their heroes.

But for every Bolt or Thompson-Herah, thousands of aspiring track and field athletes will never qualify for the Olympics. For them, they compete because they love their sport, not because they envision winning a gold medal.

Recognizing the important role support systems play in the development of teenagers into adults, a team of three students in the built a holistic vision for supporting elite youth athletes in Jamaica during the Grand Final of the fifth annual in Lausanne, Switzerland.

鈥淥ur focus was on preparing these students for a future outside of athletics. We wanted to give them the support they needed to succeed where they were at, but also to experience success once they鈥檙e done competing,鈥� says Cooper Feldstein 鈥�28, a sport management major.

The Falk students were invited to compete in the undergraduate event at the Grand Final after claiming first place in the semifinals back in December. , assistant teaching professor of sport management, served as the group’s advisor throughout the process.

Helping Athletes Feel Heard and Supported

At the Olympic Museum, Feldstein, Noah Bair 鈥�28 and Angel Rooks Orton 鈥�28 applied the lessons learned through their Falk College classes and presented their solution to a contemporary challenge in sports management.

The group selected Jamaica because of the country鈥檚 recognizable brand and success on the global stage, but also because of the national pride its citizens derive from the sport, and because of how many children take up sprinting.

To learn more about Jamaica’s youth track and field landscape, focusing on athletes ages 15 to 18, the students interviewed former Jamaican sprinter Kemardo Tyrell, now an assistant professor of research at Temple University鈥檚 School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Tyrell spoke to the unique pressures facing Jamaica’s youth athletes.

The group focused on increasing athlete retention (especially among girls), improving academic success and programming, enhancing sport participation and addressing growing mental health challenges.

Knowing most won鈥檛 make a successful career in athletics, the Falk team 鈥渨anted to help ensure that these elite athletes feel heard and are protected while they are committed to their sport,鈥� Bair says.

鈥淲e wanted to look at what the path of a youth athlete looks like, not only in terms of athletic success and accomplishments, but in their academics and their life outside of track,鈥� says Bair, a sport analytics major. 鈥淲hat we found was there are wide gaps in how well students can build a sustainable and enjoyable career in athletics.鈥�

Prioritizing Mental Health and Well-Being

Their research into the trends among Jamaica鈥檚 youth track and field competitors showed that if an athlete didn鈥檛 develop a positive mindset from an early age, they wouldn鈥檛 be able to handle the pressure of competing at the highest level.

鈥淲e needed to understand how we could provide them with the stability that they would need to perform to the level that they can actually get to, with how much pressure these kids are facing every day,鈥� Feldstein says.

As one of their cornerstones, the team proposed developing an app as an all-encompassing support system, serving as a communication tool between coaches and their athletes.

Wanting athletes to stay present and in the moment while balancing academics with athletics, the trio came up with weekly mental wellness check-ins where the youths could discuss what鈥檚 on their mind.

鈥淭hese elite athletes are facing a ton of pressure to succeed,鈥� says Rooks Orton, a sport management major. 鈥淭here are needs we鈥檙e trying to meet in Jamaica, and the app can help athletes stay in their program longer, enjoy their sport more and build habits to be successful in sports and in life.鈥�

Leveling the Playing Field

According to research conducted by the group, once a female athlete turns 13, the chances of her quitting her sport are two times greater than those of her male counterparts.

鈥淭hese females often get discouraged from competing because there isn鈥檛 a great support system in place, and because, for many girls, they don鈥檛 have examples of successful female athletes to look up to,鈥� Rooks Orton says. 鈥淲ith the app, girls can ask questions, learn from successful women athletes and get the support they need to stay in sports at a high level.鈥�

While the Orange trio didn鈥檛 win the Grand Final, the lessons learned from this global experience will stay with them as they prepare for a career in sports.

鈥淭his has been a formative experience,鈥� Feldstein says. 鈥淭he opportunity to work on this high-level professional project will prepare us for the future.鈥�

鈥淚t was an honor representing Falk College and 性视界 on the world stage,鈥� Bair says. 鈥淲e put our best foot forward thanks to the incredible work we鈥檙e doing at Falk.鈥�

Rooks Orton agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to be in a position where we鈥檙e constantly learning about the industry,鈥� she says.

This experience was made possible by the generosity of Jeff and Andrea Lomasky, whose son, Marc Lomasky ’12, is an alumnus of the sport management program.

Behind the scenes of every skating routine, ski jump and slalom race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, sophisticated analytics are at work, turning super athletes into record-breakers鈥攁nd helping fans understand what makes these games extraordinary.

, assistant professor of sport analytics in the , studies how data transforms both athletic performance and sports storytelling. He shares in this SU News Q&A how analytics are changing the Olympic experience for fans and athletes.

In soccer, build-up play is when a team uses short passes to move the ball from the defensive third into the attacking half.

In many ways, the groundbreaking relationship between the sport analytics program in the Falk College of Sport and the in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, has been a build-up play that鈥檚 resulting in unique 鈥渟coring opportunities鈥� for sport analytics students and Oldham Athletic.

性视界 four years ago,聽Sport Analytics Professor met at a sports analytics conference in Spain. Reade is a professor of economics at the University of Reading in Reading, Berkshire, England, and a diehard Oldham fan.

Last year, when Sanders was working with Falk College student Ava Uribe and Associate Sport Analytics Professor on soccer-related research, he reached out to Reade for help with collecting data and ideas on how best to mine that data for actionable insights. With Uribe, a member of the women鈥檚 soccer team, as lead author, the research was selected among thousands of entrants as one of seven finalists in the research paper competition at the prestigious MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston.

In advance of the conference, Reade visited Falk College and was amazed to learn of the work being done by sport analytics students with 性视界 Athletics and professional teams and leagues around the world.

Darren Royle, the CEO of Oldham Athletic who has a background in sport analytics, created an Academic Advisory Board that includes out-of-the-box thinkers and passionate football fans like Reade (Oldham is the only professional club in England with such a board). Reade passed the idea of working with the University to Royle, who says there was a 鈥渒een appetite on both sides鈥� to create an innovative partnership by sharing knowledge and providing opportunities for sport analytics students to work with Oldham.

鈥淲hat we found was a real pool of talent and a high level of skill by the students with what they鈥檝e done so far,鈥� Royle says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been very diligent around this, and their work already has fed into our (player) recruitment process.鈥�

The build-up play of the partnership progressed in early December at the second hosted by Oldham in conjunction with the University and the University of Reading. Professor , chair of the Department of Sport Analytics, sport analytics graduate 鈥�23, and Falk Director of Corporate Partnerships and External Engagement have been involved with the relationship from the start and played key roles in the conference.

鈥淭his was a rare opportunity to work with a club that combines deep tradition with a genuine commitment to innovation and education,鈥� Paul says. 鈥淥ldham鈥檚 history gives the partnership immediate credibility, but what truly stood out was how deeply Darren and James care about education at every level, from young children to adults engaged in lifelong learning.”

鈥淭heir initiatives in Manchester have the potential to be transformative for the local community, and it was important to me that 性视界 and Falk College sport analytics be part of something that connects football, education, and social impact in such a meaningful way,鈥� Paul says.

High-Level Insights

Starting in June, 15 sport analytics students embarked on a series of data analysis projects aimed at helping Oldham identify a player鈥檚 style of play, strengths and weaknesses, mindset and character (for example, how the player responds after a difficult match, proneness to injuries and salary expectations).

鈥淪ome of the work the students have been doing is novel; certainly, it hasn鈥檛 been done before in our league,鈥� Royle says. 鈥淚t has fitted as an extra resource for us since we had just got promoted back to the EFL and we didn鈥檛 have the structures and staffing in place that a team in the EFL might normally have.鈥�

To oversee the students鈥� work, Riverso enlisted the help of Freson, a former senior data analyst for Oldham who is now an assistant data scientist for the Blackburn Rovers Football Club in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and a data analyst for the Estonian Football Association. As a student in Falk College, Freson was the lead data analyst for the 2022 性视界 University men鈥檚 soccer team that won the NCAA Division I national championship.

鈥淛ames (Reade) and I created open-ended projects based on the needs of the club, and delegated groups of students to work on each project,鈥� Freson says. 鈥淭hat allowed them to deliver high-level insights while developing their own skills and learning how to cater the end product to the end user.鈥�

鈥淗opefully one day I鈥檒l be working in a front office or with the analytics鈥� staff for a top club like Tottenham and this internship has greatly helped me prepare for that,鈥� says sport analytics major Gavin Anderson ’28. 鈥淚t has offered me invaluable insight into the day-to-day operations of a club and what teams value in players and potential targets.鈥�

Paul says perhaps the biggest benefit for the students is that they鈥檙e operating at a truly professional level in terms of expectations and impact as they鈥檙e working with real data, real constraints and real decision-making timelines.

鈥淲hile we have strong partnerships elsewhere, the scope and continuity of the work with Oldham is unique; students are not just completing stand-alone projects, but contributing to an ongoing analytics and strategy process,鈥� Paul says. 鈥淭hat level of immersion accelerates learning, builds confidence, and prepares students to operate in global sport environments in ways that are difficult to replicate in a classroom alone.鈥�

鈥榃e See The Synergies鈥�

The Football Analytics Conference in December provided an opportunity for the 性视界 contingent and Oldham officials to discuss short- and long-term opportunities.

鈥淚 see this developing as a long-term partnership that allows 性视界 University students to gain invaluable professional experience while also allowing Oldham to conduct analysis way beyond their means otherwise,鈥� Freson says.

鈥淵ou guys are unique because of your founder (Paul) and your model for students,鈥� Royle says. 鈥淲e really like the thinking around it. So we’ve kind of mapped ourselves to your culture, philosophy, and strategy and we see all the synergies.鈥�

Using a new metric called 鈥渨orld golf ability,鈥� a David B. Falk College of Sport research team has determined that Team Europe鈥檚 methods of selecting and preparing its Ryder Cup team gives it a significant advantage over Team USA.

Played every two years, the features 24 of the best players from Europe and the United States in match play competition. The Ryder Cup will be played this year from Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Team USA holds a 27-15 lead in the tournament鈥檚 history, but Team Europe has won 10 of the last 14 matches.

To assess each team鈥檚 ability, the Falk College research team developed the 鈥渨orld golf ability鈥� metric derived from the (OWGR) to reflect that the Ryder Cup is primarily a team event where players at the extremes of the rankings have a limited impact on overall performance. Using this approach, the researchers determined that鈥攁ll else being equal鈥� Europe has about a three-point advantage overall, and home-course advantage is worth about two points. So, Europe still holds an edge, even at Bethpage Black.

The research was presented in June at the 11^th International Conference on Mathematics in Sport in Luxembourg and more information can be found in the .

鈥淭hese results highlight the importance of team cohesion, preparation, and strategy鈥攆actors that appear to give Europe a sustained edge even after accounting for player ability and location,鈥� says Sport Analytics Associate Professor , who led the research team. 鈥淣o consistent pattern of individual over or underperformance relative to OWGR rankings was found, reinforcing that outcomes are shaped more by collective factors than by isolated player differences.鈥�

Both Team Europe and Team USA have six automatic qualifiers based on the and six captain鈥檚 picks. Europe鈥檚 regular season ended with the British Masters and captain Luke Donald will make his selections around Sept. 1. Team Europe will be headlined by world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who completed his career grand slam by winning the Masters in April.

Led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the American qualifiers were locked in Aug. 17 following the BMW Championship, and captain Keegan Bradley is expected to make his captain鈥檚 picks at the conclusion of the PGA Tour playoffs. Bradley is currently ranked 11^th in the Ryder Cup Points rankings, meaning he could select himself for the team and become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

In addition to Ehrlich, the research team included three students: Hunter Geise, Collin Kneiss and Charlotte Howland. The team set out to address three questions about the Ryder Cup: (1) whether teams exhibit a fixed-effect advantage where the whole outperforms the sum of individual parts; (2) whether players consistently over or underperform relative to OWGR rankings; and (3) whether home-field advantage plays a significant role.

Ehrlich says future research could explore the mechanisms behind Europe鈥檚 team-level advantage and further examine the sources of home-field benefit in international golf competition.

鈥淭eam Europe figured out how to create cohesive team dynamics starting with Tony Jacklin in 1983, and ever since Team USA has been searching for the right formula to reclaim their former glory,鈥� Ehrlich says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of hope that Keegan Bradley can turn things around, as instead of being a great player from a previous generation like many other past captains, he is one of the top current players on the PGA Tour. This year鈥檚 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black should be a close match, with great players and strong leadership on both teams.鈥�

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

Now, as a father of two children who play youth sports, Tainsky says the 鈥渁nchor events鈥� in their household revolve around his children鈥檚 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鈥檚 the focus and sensibility he鈥檚 bringing to the as its new senior associate dean of faculty affairs and academic operations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the same feeling I hope to experience very shortly at the (JMA Wireless) Dome,鈥� Tainsky says. 鈥淏eing 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鈥檚 going on for others to do their best to compete at the highest level.鈥�

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

鈥淪cott鈥檚 research interests鈥揺conomics of sports leagues and teams, player performance analytics, and corporate social responsibility in national and international sports leagues鈥揳lign perfectly with our vision for creating the nation鈥檚 premier College of Sport,鈥� 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鈥檓 a part of is ingrained by the fact that I grew up in a house where my father (Dr. Michael Tainsky) was a researcher鈥攊n his case he was trying to cure cancer and improve people鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 areas of excellence is community sport and wellness, or as Dean Jordan also calls it, 鈥渟port for good.鈥� How does your research fit with the uplifting power of sport?

The intellectual side of that is no one has to do sport; it鈥檚 an elective part of our lives. Since so many are choosing to spend so much of our attention on this leisure activity, it鈥檚 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.

We鈥檙e here to help round out that part of their choice, to provide the right amount of sport, marketed and delivered in a way that鈥檚 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鈥檚 a theme to my research, it鈥檚 this idea of positive externalities, and that鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 so much excitement around sport; so much interest in being a part of that experience. So, in that case, we鈥檙e looking to quantify the externalities produced by football games.

There are other ways this presents in terms of viewership. When I follow 性视界 basketball and 性视界 basketball is having a good year, you would think that because we only have so much leisure time and I鈥檓 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 性视界 basketball, I鈥檓 actually more interested in some of the rival teams we鈥檙e competing against. So, we鈥檙e 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 性视界 University have recognized that there are four legs of the stool, and you can鈥檛 get any balance unless all four of them are functioning and working together. You can鈥檛 create athletes and have competition at the highest level without understanding the exercise science portion and the nutrition portion of sport. You can鈥檛 produce teams and individuals functioning at their highest level without sport management and sport analytics. You can鈥檛 appreciate the whole of it unless all of those pieces are talking with one another…and there is not one other place that鈥檚 doing what鈥檚 happening right now at Falk College. It鈥檚 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鈥檚 such a welcome idea that I expect us to be doing incredible things quickly because of all the support I鈥檓 seeing and all of the buy-in for what we鈥檙e doing from so many different, important pieces of this puzzle.