Students from Samford University’s Brock School of Business traveled across Europe in May, presenting major sports business consulting projects to three professional clubs in three countries.
The 18 students from Samford’s sports industry program, organized into three project teams, delivered research findings to Cambridge United FC in England, St Johnstone FC in Scotland and the Munich Ravens in Germany. Each student group presented directly to the clubs’ executive leadership, capping months of intensive research, analysis and strategic development conducted from Samford’s campus in Homewood, Alabama.
“This is something I could not have imagined when we started the program,” said Darin White, founder of the sports industry program. “Eighteen students, three countries, four days. These are not classroom exercises. These are real consulting engagements with real professional sports organizations that are using our students’ work to make real business decisions.”
3 Projects, 3 Countries
Cambridge United FC: Team Culture Study (Cambridge, England)
The program’s third-year partnership with Cambridge United FC took a new direction through a comprehensive team culture study led by students collaborating with Kate McCombs, assistant professor of management. Drawing on McCombs’ expertise in leadership development and organizational behavior, students evaluated the club’s internal culture to help strengthen the foundation behind its recent success, including promotion this season. This project expands the program’s international consulting scope beyond marketing and strategy into leadership and organizational culture, tracking how culture delivers a competitive advantage in pro sports.
St Johnstone FC: Stadium Naming Rights Strategy (Perth, Scotland)
In a first-time engagement, Samford students partnered with St Johnstone FC to strategize securing a stadium naming rights partner for McDiarmid Park. Students analyzed comparable deals across European football, built a valuation framework and created a targeted pitch strategy for potential sponsors. Through this partnership, two sports industry program students will serve as embedded analytics staff for the club. Supported and mentored by advisory board member Matt Yonan of Tigris Sponsorship and Marketing, the project provided hands-on consulting experience that combined industry expertise with real-world application.
Munich Ravens: Sponsorship ROI Measurement (Munich, Germany)
The Munich Ravens engaged Samford students to evaluate the effectiveness of their football helmet sponsorship with Toyota, asking whether the partnership resonated with fans and influenced brand perception in a competitive automotive market. Guided by professor White and his work with the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, a nonprofit organization focused on global standards and accountability in marketing, the team designed and deployed a bilingual survey to capture fan sentiment and measure sponsorship impact. With support from Stephen Hill, associate professor of data analytics, students presented a sponsorship valuation framework that equips the Ravens with a data-driven approach to demonstrating ROI and strengthening future partnerships in the European League of Football.
A Global Footprint
In addition to these three clubs, Brock School of Business’ sports industry program has developed a partnership with the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) in England, which has campuses at Wembley Stadium and Etihad Stadium in Manchester. White has been invited to speak at UCFB, and the two programs have facilitated student exchanges. Samford students have attended UCFB events at Wembley while studying at Samford’s Daniel House in London, and UCFB students have connected with Samford during visits to the United States.
The program has previously partnered with professional clubs across the United Kingdom and plans to expand its international consulting work into Kosovo in the coming year.
“The sports industry is global, and we are about to experience that in a massive way right here in the United States,” White said. “With the Premier League, the Champions League, the European League of Football and the World Cup in our own backyard, our students need to be prepared to work anywhere in the world. These projects show they are ready. When a student can say they presented a sponsorship strategy to a German football club or helped a Scottish championship team develop a naming rights deal, that opens doors a typical classroom experience simply cannot.”
Built on Brock School of Business’ Foundation
All 18 students are pursuing business degrees through Samford’s Brock School of Business. Their majors range from accounting, marketing, finance, economics, management or entrepreneurship, pairing a rigorous business education with specialized industry experience.
These student experiences are made possible and supported by the Brock School of Business sports industry advisory board. Composed of more than 50 executives from the NFL, NBA, MLB, SEC and other leading sports organizations, the board provides financial backing that allows students to travel internationally and present to professional sports clubs while gaining meaningful industry experience. The board’s involvement also brings mentorship, expertise and credibility to each project. As demonstrated in the St Johnstone engagement, students work alongside top industry leaders and apply what they learn.
These consulting projects serve as the capstone of the program, challenging students to integrate skills across disciplines, from marketing strategy and brand management to data analytics, financial modeling and client presentation.
“What makes our program different is that these students are not just studying sports,” White said. “They are studying business and applying that education to real challenges facing real organizations. That is what makes them valuable to employers on day one.”
Through international consulting projects and sports-focused study abroad experiences, Brock School of Business students gain hands-on exposure to the global sports industry while developing the skills and confidence needed to succeed professionally, a distinction reflected in Samford’s No. 3 ranking for career preparation and No. 7 ranking for strongest learning opportunities by The Wall Street Journal.
