Darin W. White, PhD

Darin W. White, Ph.D., is the Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of Samford University's Sports Industry Program and Center for Sports Analytics, both of which he founded. The Center was the nation's first sports analytics center housed within an AACSB-accredited business school. As a recognized expert in sports analytics and business strategy, he leads the development of cutting-edge research and programs that bridge academic rigor with industry innovation

With a proven track record of forging partnerships with over 250 of the world's premier sports organizations—including the Los Angeles Dodgers, NBA, Atlanta Braves, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Bayern Munich F.C., Celtic F.C., and Denver Broncos—Darin has earned a reputation as a trusted advisor in the sports industry. He has also collaborated with leading corporate sponsors, including Coca-Cola, Nike, TransAmerica, Mutual of Omaha, Toyota, Chick-fil-A, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Phillips 66.

Darin is a highly sought-after commentator whose insights have been featured in top media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, L.A. Times, Washington Post, NPR, and Sports Illustrated. He is a frequent speaker at industry events worldwide, including at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, and served as a judge at the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards in London. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed academic articles and conference proceedings throughout his career.

A former college soccer coach, Darin was inducted into the Union University Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 after leading his team to the 2003 NCCAA National Championship and earning Coach of the Year honors from Adidas and the NSCAA. After leaving college coaching, his elite youth soccer teams reached the state championship game 13 times in 15 years, winning nine state titles.

In his spare time, Darin enjoys traveling to Europe with his family to attend Leeds United F.C. matches, reading about Ancient Near East culture and history, and teaching Biblical theology classes at his church. He and his wife, Laura, have seven children and four grandchildren.

C. Clifton Eason, PhD

Clif is an assistant professor of marketing and the director of the Professional Sales program at the Brock School of Business at Samford University. With broad interests within the world of sports, Clif has conducted dozens of research projects that range from youth leagues to some of the biggest names in sports. Using them as learning opportunities for his students, he has coordinated research for Adidas, Bayern Munich, and the Southern Conference – to name a few. Much of Clif’s sports-related research has focused on fan experience, and he has published and made presentations on topics including collegiate apparel licensing, sports sponsorship, sports retailing and fan engagement.

Sam Edgemon

Sam is a Senior Analytics Consultant at the SAS Institute and directs initiatives across diverse domains such as Biological Surveillance, real-time Alert Systems in Manufacturing Facilities, Business Intelligence Analytics, and Collegiate Enrollment Management. His contributions extend to Sports Analytics, where he has pioneered the "Star System" approach for Collegiate Athletic Department Analytics, focusing on Ticket Sales and Fund Raising. Notably, Sam has been a catalyst in defining initiatives with regard to Academic Pathways for Student Athletes.

In Sports Analytics, Sam stresses the application of mathematical, statistical, and computer science principles to enhance performance at both team and individual levels. He consistently emphasizes the transformative power of data, visualizations, and analytics while working with organizations from Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League.

Sam holds degrees in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Tennessee with academic certifications in Process Controls and Experimental Design from the same institution. He has also gained additional certifications in Sports Management from Northwestern University, Data Science from Johns Hopkins University, Big Data and Social Physics from M.I.T., Innovation and Design from the University of Virginia, and Sabermetrics from Boston University.

Stephen Hill, PhD

Stephen Hill is an Associate Professor of Data Analytics in the Brock School of Business at Samford University. He teaches courses in Advanced Data Analytics and Sports Analytics and serves as Coordinator for the Data Analytics program. His research interest focuses primarily on sports analytics but also includes applications of analytics tools and techniques across a wide range of areas. He is also interested in conducting research related to the improvement of analytics education. He has published in journals such as the Journal of Business Analytics, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, and others.

Stephen graduated from the University of Alabama with bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering and master's and doctoral degrees in operations management. Aside from Samford, he has held faculty positions at Weber State University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is passionate about international education and has taught courses in China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and Peru.

Stephen loves attending sporting events and has been known to venture to far away locales such as Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Azerbaijan for the 2020 UEFA Euros. He is a fan of football (both kinds) and can be found cheering for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Samford Bulldogs, and Chelsea. Stephen grew up in Homewood, Alabama, and enjoys travel (50 countries visited so far), spending time with his family, good food, and (of course) watching sports.

Nathan Kirkpatrick, PhD

Nathan Kirkpatrick is an assistant professor of sports business in the Brock School of Business at Samford University. Most recently, Kirkpatrick served for two years in the Nelson Rusche College of Business at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Texas. While at SFA, Kirkpatrick served as a clinical instructor of management and marketing, and also led their sports business program housed on SFA’s campus in The Woodlands, Texas (Houston area). Prior to working at SFA, Kirkpatrick led the sport administration program in Samford’s School of Health Professions for five years, and he also worked as an assistant professor of sports administration at Belhaven University’s School of Business. Kirkpatrick started his professional career working in college athletics as a director of basketball operations, head men's basketball coach, academics and eligibility worker, and athletic administrator within athletic departments at Colorado State University, Covenant College, and The University of Georgia. He played basketball at Covenant College. Kirkpatrick received a bachelor of arts in history and secondary education from Covenant College, and a master's and PhD concentrated in sport management and policy from the University of Georgia. He is married to Emily Hart Kirkpatrick, a 2011 Samford alumna. They have three children: Joshua, Caleb and Molly.

He has published peer-reviewed, scholarly research previously on the business and financial backgrounds of collegiate athletic directors, sport business and marketing collaborations in higher education, as well as NCAA academic eligibility measures such as the Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Academic Redshirt Policy. His current research projects examine licensing sponsorships in collegiate sports, consumer preference in collegiate athletic apparel sales, alcohol-related sponsorships and sales in “Power 5” Conference athletics, and Christian leadership training within business education. He was honored to be part of the first ever Fellows group for the Center for Sports Analytics at Samford University and looks forward to more collaboration with Samford in the future.

Matt Mazzei, PhD

Matt is an assistant professor of strategic management in the Brock School of Business at Samford University. He earned a doctorate in management from Auburn University, with a concentration in organizational studies, strategy, and change. He also received a master's in management information systems, an MBA, and an undergraduate degree in finance. Prior to academia, he held various management and leadership positions in finance, accounting, and information technology.

Matt received the 2017 Brock School of Business Outstanding Scholarship Award for his leading-edge research related to the use of big data in driving corporate strategy. He has been invited to speak at universities in Helsinki, Finland, regarding data analytics and also helped organize a symposium on longitudinal data analysis at a prestigious international management conference. His research interests focus on firm-level entrepreneurship and the influence of big data analytics on corporate decision making. Matt’s work has been presented at various national and international conferences and published in prestigious journals such as Group and Organization Management, Management Decision, and Business Horizons.

Matt is actively involved with and passionate about teaching life lessons through youth sports, serving as a volunteer coach in baseball, basketball, and flag football. He also serves on the advisory board for the Alabama Amateur Hockey Association, a non-profit entity that promotes and administers competitive youth hockey in the Birmingham market.

Will Cavanaugh

Will graduated from Samford University's Brock School of Business with a bachelor's in economics and a sports marketing concentration in 2015. He works for Nielsen Sports in New York focusing on MLB team clients and is a junior fellow of the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics. His day-to-day duties involve data analytics and market research for various MLB teams. Will is currently pursuing his master of predictive analytics at Northwestern University.

Olga Shapoval

Olga Shapoval joined Brock School of Business in fall 2021 as an instructor of economics. She teaches microeconomic theory, data analytics, and competitive strategy courses.

Born and raised in Russia, she came to the United States as a student in 2006. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics at Sonoma State University in California and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Nevada in Reno.

Her research focuses on policy evaluation in the health and education sectors. In particular, she is interested in the effect of mandatory programs on clinical outcomes within hospitals. In addition to her academic work, she and her husband have a data analytics consulting business.

She and her husband have two sons, Matthew and Mark, and a silly dog named Twix. She is also actively involved in Slavic Gospel Association.