Collaboration with a Professional Sports Organization: Creating new sponsorship inventory for the Detroit Tigers

Collaboration with a Professional Sports Organization: Creating new sponsorship inventory for the Detroit Tigers

Academic Year:
2013 - 2014 (June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014)
Funding Requested:
$500.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
Overview of the Project:
Instructional Development Fund is sought for a collaborative project between SM439 (Sponsorship-Linked Marketing) students and the Detroit Tigers. Students will work in a small group to tackle a real-world problem the professional baseball franchise is facing. Senior executive of the organization has committed to provide a sponsorship-related project and students will have opportunities to apply various sponsorship theories and concepts to solve the real-world problem. In order to make this collaborative project more engaging, the senior executive invited the whole class to the facility during the semester. The Comerica Park has statues in left field concourse but have some unique potential for fan attraction and sponsorship. The organization would like to create new sponsorship inventory and make the space more appealing to fans. Therefore, it is critical for students to actually visit and experience the surroundings of the unused space. Instructional Development Fund will be primarily used to arrange a vehicle and a driver to take students (35 including the instructor) to the facility. Department of Parking and Transportation Services provides vehicle lease program and the cost for leasing a bus and a driver is $71.50/hour (6 or 8 hours minimum charge depending on the vendor). Therefore, I ask for $500 to cover the transportation expense to make experiential learning possible for my students. This problem-based learning opportunity will challenge students to critically think how the concepts can be utilized outside of the classroom. Students are already excited for this real-world case study and I am eager to provide relevant resources for them.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

I needed funding for bus charter service to bring my students to the Comerica Park for a meeting. The entire class visited the Comerica Park and listened to the senior executive about the collaborative project.

Project Achievements:

Students were really excited about this hybrid project with the Detroit Tigers. They were challenged to apply various theories and concepts discussed in class to propose solutions to the problems the Tigers organization is currently facing. This collaborative project exemplifies an experiential learning and problem-based learning. Students were really engaged because their creative ideas might turn into a reality. Colleagues in my department also acknowledged the value of this project' experiential learning and more importantly, some of them realized that this type of "flipping of course" is possible in many other courses in our curriculum.

Continuation:
Yes, I plan to continue this type of collaborative projects with other profit and nonprofit sectors to stimulate student learning. I will continue to contact/seek out professionals in the industry to discuss about this collaborative project. I may seek for additional development funding to support student travel, if necessary.
Dissemination:
I have already discussed about this field trip and the collaborative project with the School's Associate Dean for Academic Programs and several other faculty members in the School.