Author: kgerbas

By Katie Gerbasich

Brook Russell, Ph.D., studies athletic performance beyond the average. As an associate professor in the Clemson University School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, he examines what happens at the far edges of a data set: human performance at the extremes.

Russell presented an invited talk in May at the American Statistical Association’s Virtual Sports Analytics Conference about two collaborative research projects examining speed and athleticism among NFL players.

The work grew from Russell’s collaboration with Paul Hogan, Clemson’s senior assistant football strength and conditioning coach. Russell conducted the quantitative analysis, while Hogan helped interpret the findings and place them in the context of football and human performance.

“It’s kind of a unique collaboration, to be honest,” Russell said. “There’s probably not a lot of football strength and conditioning coaches working on papers with people in the math department.”

The researchers use extreme value theory, a statistical framework traditionally applied in areas such as hydrology and finance to study rare events. Because elite NFL athletes are statistical outliers, this approach allows Russell and Hogan to examine performances at the far end of human ability and find characteristics that might be obscured when the data is viewed as a whole.

Their first project, published in 2018 in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports, examined relationships among NFL Combine event performances using both extreme-value and non-extremes-based approaches. The researchers explored how those different approaches could inform the evaluation of NFL prospects.

Their second project focused on differences between position groups, comparing cornerbacks and wide receivers across three NFL Combine events: the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and broad jump. The analysis suggested that wide receivers held a slight advantage in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump performances, while cornerbacks appeared to have a small edge in the broad jump.

In separate work, a graduate student examined how different Combine events relate to one another across typical and elite performers. The findings could help teams think differently about talent evaluation. If certain events provide overlapping information, teams may not need to rely on every available measurement when assessing a prospect.

Connecting statistical analysis to practical application is one of the central challenges of sports analytics.

“It’s easy to take in a lot of data and really interesting data sets and do interesting models,” Russell said. “But actually tying it back to some sort of decision-making process in practices or games can be a challenge.”

As sports analytics has grown, the field has drawn students and researchers from communication, marketing, economics and other disciplines. That interdisciplinary environment mirrors Russell’s work, which extends beyond athletic performance to the relationship between sports and business.

In a separate collaborative project with Angeline Scheinbaum, Ph.D., Dan Duncan Professor of Sports Marketing at Clemson, Russell supported a graduate student studying how fans’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility influence their willingness to use a company’s products or services. The researchers are preparing the project for publication.

Whether he is studying a 40-yard dash or the relationship between corporations and their communities, Russell uses data to better understand human performance and sports business.

From dancing players to sold-out stadiums and nonstop entertainment, the Savannah Bananas World Tour has become known for creating unforgettable fan experiences. Behind the spectacle is a dedicated team of staff members and hundreds of Gameday Teammates who make every game possible.

Following her graduation from Clemson University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in December 2025, Lucy Hart joined that team as a People Operations Intern, helping recruit and lead Gameday Teammates at stops across the World Tour.

Fans First Entertainment, the organization behind the Savannah Bananas, is known for prioritizing culture just as much as talent. The extensive interview process, which included multiple rounds of interviews and numerous pre-hiring projects, reflects that commitment.  

“They put a ton of effort into making sure the people they hire fit their culture and will serve fans well,” Hart said. 

Before joining the Bananas, Hart served as Destination Experiences Intern with VisitGreenvilleSC, where she recruited and managed volunteers for the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. That experience sparked her interest in pursuing the people operations role with the Bananas.

During the World Tour, Hart led the Bananas’ Gameday Teammates, local volunteers who assist with ticketing and merchandise, while helping create a welcoming experience for fans in each city.

“I love the nature of these two pretty unique roles,” Hart said. “There aren’t a lot of other jobs out there where you get to work with an entirely new set of people every day with the shared purpose of serving others throughout the day.”

People Operations Interns are among the first to arrive at each stadium. While other staff prepare the venue for fans, Hart’s team prepares it for the Gameday Teammates by setting up check-in, organizing credentials and name tags, distributing shirts and ensuring volunteers have everything they need before gates open.

“Our Gameday Teammates work with other Banana Ball staff, and while this may be their first day working with us, our crew has been grinding every weekend in a new city,” Hart said. “I like to make sure we are also supporting our Stand Leads and Ticket Road Warriors. If they are feeling supported and optimistic, then that energy will trickle down to the teammates.” 

That emphasis on supporting one another begins long before game day. According to Hart, the organization dedicates significant time to teaching its core values and ensuring every employee understands the mission.

“If everyone is making decisions throughout the day guided by the same principles, then ideally, we will all be working towards the same shared vision of putting the fans first and entertaining always,” Hart said. 

Hart encourages students hoping to work in sports to be intentional with every opportunity.

From working as a camp counselor to internships with VisitGreenvilleSC, the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute and the Savannah Bananas, Hart credits each role with preparing her for the next step in her career.

“Every experience that I have had has led me to the next step and then the next,” Hart said. “Trust the process and spend time truly thinking about what you love and what you are good at. The rest will come in time.” 

This fall, Hart will return to Clemson to pursue a Master of Public Administration while continuing to serve as Events Lead with the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, bringing the lessons she learned on the road back to campus.

In honor of World Sports Journalists Day on July 2, the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute highlights former writing intern and sports communication student at Clemson, Justin Robertson, who recently completed an editorial assistant internship with the Baltimore Ravens.

During his internship, Justin wrote stories for the Ravens’ website and app, edited staff content, oversaw publication workflows, and helped manage content presentation across the team’s digital platforms.

One project stood out above the rest: a feature on Ravens draft picks Elijah Sarratt and Josh Cuevas, two players who entered college as zero-star recruits before making it to the NFL.

“It was a difficult project but a very rewarding one that shed light on the obstacles that Sarratt and Cuevas had to overcome in their football journeys,” Robertson said.

Beyond developing his writing, editing, and interviewing skills, Robertson said his biggest takeaway was learning how to create content that stands out in today’s fast-moving digital landscape.

“With so many people competing for people’s attention, the Ravens’ digital media team does an excellent job of drawing in interest from both local and national audiences,” Robertson said.

To Robertson, sports journalism is about much more than reporting scores.

“Sports are often one of the few escapes from the negativity of a divided society,” Robertson said. “By reading stories, watching sports programming, or listening to sports podcasts, fans can gain a deeper understanding of their favorite players, coaches, teams, and leagues.”

Robertson encourages students interested in sports journalism to get involved in campus media, say “yes” to new opportunities, and build relationships through networking.

“There are only so many teams and regions to cover, and the traditional sports media industries are shrinking,” Robertson said. “However, there will always be a need for sports reporters, and if you try to take advantage of the opportunities you have as a student, you will have success.”

By Katie Gerbasich

Walking through downtown Clemson, it’s hard to miss the sea of orange and purple. Hundreds of t-shirt designs line storefronts using different colors, fabrics, and printing techniques. Still, fans expect one thing to remain consistent: they should be able to recognize their team instantly by color alone.

Drs. Erica Walker and Amanda Bridges in Clemson’s Department of Graphic Communications have spent the past several years studying exactly that.

“Color is a vital part of a brand’s identity, and printing consistent, durable, and accurate brand colors across different materials can be challenging for manufacturers,” Walker said.

After receiving international recognition for their Clemson-branded textile research, Walker and Bridges expanded their work to include all ACC team colors. The study evaluates 64 brand colors across multiple textile types and printing methods, including dye sublimation and direct-to-film (DTF) printing, to better understand how color accuracy, durability, and material interact in athletic apparel.

“Brand colors matter, and fans recognize when their team’s colors are not representative,” Walker said.

To test this, the research compared two printing processes, dye sublimation and direct-to-film printing, across cotton, polyester, and blended fabrics. By analyzing how each method performs on different materials, the study highlights the challenges of maintaining color accuracy at scale.

Walker, a faculty fellow of Clemson’s Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, has received support from the Institute throughout this work, including funding for equipment and conference participation.

The findings show that the printing method, textile type, and color family play significant roles in color accuracy. Direct-to-film printing consistently produced more accurate color results overall, while dye sublimation performed best on 100% polyester fabrics. Across both processes, some color families proved easier to reproduce than others. Neutral tones such as black and gray, along with yellow-gold hues, showed higher accuracy across processes and textile types, whereas more saturated colors posed greater challenges.

As athletic departments continue to expand the reach and value of their brands, maintaining color consistency becomes more than simply a design challenge. It becomes part of how student-athletes and fans identify with, represent, and connect to their teams.

“Ensuring that brand colors are seen accurately across mediums, processes, and materials,” Walker said, remains a central goal of the research.

By examining how printing methods and fabrics influence color accuracy, the study offers manufacturers valuable insights for delivering consistent, high-quality products. So the next time you buy a Clemson t-shirt, take a second look to see if it is actually Clemson Orange and Regalia purple.

By Katie Gerbasich

“It’s unethical to bring people into a lab and hit them real hard in the head,” Anthony Marino likes to joke.

Fortunately for researchers, crash test dummies can take the hit.

A recent Clemson Ph.D. graduate from the Department of Bioengineering, Marino focused his dissertation on examining the effectiveness of using the Hybrid III, a crash test dummy commonly used in football helmet testing, to replicate the hit a human would take on the field.

Marino conducted his research within the Clemson Headgear Impact Performance (CHIP) Laboratory. 

The CHIP Lab has made major strides in helmet safety. Co-directed by Dr. John DesJardins, professor of bioengineering and director of the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute (RHBSSI), and Dr. Greg Batt, a professor in the Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences and a faculty fellow at RHBSSI, the lab focuses on improving how protective headgear is tested and developed, particularly for high-impact sports like football. The goal is to bring greater accuracy to helmet testing systems to better protect athletes from concussions and traumatic brain injuries. 

How human-like is the Hybrid III neckform? 

Marino became interested in studying the neck component of the Hybrid III because it was designed to simulate a human response to a frontal car crash, not the multi-directional impacts seen in sports. 

“I saw the opportunity to look at the neck component because I thought that this crash test dummy neck that’s supposed to represent a human response to a frontal crash in a car was going to be a little different than a human response to a football impact.” 

To fill the gap left by the lack of active human data, Marino used a computational model in OpenSim to replicate the lab testing.

Though the Hybrid III is commonly used in the field for helmet impact testing, Marino’s research found that, to match the dummy’s performance in controlled low-speed movements, such as neck-bending tests, a comparable human would have to be about 300% stronger. 

During higher-speed impact testing, Marino found even larger differences. In one scenario, the computational model required a 1,000% increase in strength to replicate the Hybrid III’s response. Even with those increases, Marino said the computational human model could not fully replicate some of the Hybrid III’s injury metrics.

“You kind of had to create a superhuman to match our crash test dummy,” Marino said. 

The findings suggest the Hybrid III may overestimate some injury metrics because its neck responds differently than a human neck, but the dummy’s durability and repeatability are why it remains the industry standard in helmet testing.

The why behind the work

Marino’s work provides insight into the limitations of the Hybrid III, laying the groundwork for more realistic helmet safety testing in the future. 

Discovering tangible impacts is what motivates Marino. During his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at Auburn University, a professor introduced him to biomechanics and the idea that engineering principles could be applied to the human body.

“It’s just fascinating because the body really is a perfect machine when it’s working well, and we’re trying so hard to replicate it in other machines,” Marino said. “Then being able to see that you can directly help people, whether it’s injury prevention or rehabilitation and give people a better quality of life through engineering, completely flipped my career path.”

While the Hybrid III remains the industry standard, Marino’s findings raise important questions about how closely current testing systems reflect real human movement. 

“The dummy isn’t humanlike at all, but it’s giving us data that’s protecting the player so far,” Marino said. “The device is durable and repeatable, which is the real reason it’s adopted so widely in this industry.”

By Katie Gerbasich

As the fiscal year wraps up, we are looking back at the Clemson students the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute (RHBSSI) supported through travel grants this year. Spanning three departments, this funding allowed students to attend sports conferences, competitions and experiential learning events that furthered their education and professional development.

Department of Bioengineering 

In August, Bianca Henline, Sydney Savage and Abbie Underwood attended the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Henline presented her thesis research, which focused on the development and application of a method for simulating commotio cordis-inducing impacts to evaluate the effectiveness of football chest protective equipment. The presentation represented the culmination of approximately 2.5 years of dedicated research with the Clemson Impact Performance of Sports Protective Equipment Creative Inquiry team, which she led.

Her most significant takeaway from the conference was learning from companies in the forensic industry. 

“Before attending the conference, I had committed to a position in the forensic field, and engaging with the research and findings of others provided insight into potential applications within my own professional responsibilities,” Henline said. 

Later in October, senior Bioengineering student Chloe Izant attended the Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in San Diego, California. 

Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management

In February, Enzo Ferriera attended the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) Conference in St. Augustine, Florida, where he presented research on behalf of a group of fellow Ph.D. students. 

Their project, Navigating Research Practices as Graduate Sport Management Students: The Issue of Miscitations in the Sport Literature, explored their experiences conducting rigorous academic research and highlighted the issues of miscitation encountered throughout the research process.

The presentation examined possible reasons for the prevalence of miscitations in research practices and literature. It offered recommendations for graduate students and faculty to strengthen research practices in sport and recreation management. The project also served as a stepping stone toward publication, as the group prepares the final version of the manuscript to increase rigor across the field.

“The RHBSSI has always been supportive of our group’s scholarship and professional development through travel grants, events on campus, and partnerships with our faculty advisors,” Ferriera said. “These avenues have certainly paved the way for us to succeed in academia and our future goals in the sport management world, as well as making it possible for our research initiatives to reach the audiences that they need so that they can create an impact on the field right away.”

In May, Benjamin Hinckfoot and Innhoo Baek attended the North American Society for Sport Management Conference (NASSM) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hinckfoot presented research titled Assessing Holistic Outcomes of a Short-Term Service Abroad for Intercollegiate Athletes. 

Alongside Department of Automotive Engineering student, Hadley Smith, PRTM students Jenny Pinion, Emma Shurley, and George Rieger participated in a case-study competition at the Women in Motorsports Mobil 1 event in Indianapolis, Indiana, where they placed second and received a $1,500 award. 

After advancing in the Lap 1 pool, which comprised 21 universities from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the team presented to five industry leaders against five other universities at the Dallara Convention Center.

Their final-lap challenge involved developing an idea for a corporation already involved in, or planning to enter, the motorsports industry to engage the rapidly growing global community of female fans, a demographic characterized by high emotional investment and purchasing power.

Faculty fellows Felipe Tobar and Ashlyn Hardie served as co-advisors for the group. 

“Working with these four bright students has been a joy and a testament to the fact that when we give them the tools and the opportunity to pursue their dreams, they will shine,” Tobar said.

Department of Communication 

Students in faculty fellow Brandon Boatwright’s COMM Sport and Social Media Class traveled to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground, where they watched a practice and received an exclusive tour of the new Emory Healthcare Studio, a first-of-its-kind media operations facility. The class spent the semester developing social media strategies for Atlanta United FC. 

The trip allowed students to connect with their client while exploring potential careers in the sports industry. 

“Seeing the new studio was truly a testament to how social media is changing the sports industry,” Katie Gerbasich, a student who attended the trip, said. “The content team at Atlanta United was able to advocate for their importance and get major funding for state-of-the-art equipment.”

---

Overall, the Institute was thrilled to financially support seven individual students and two student groups to attend sports conferences and events in fiscal year 2026, which began July 1, 2025 and ends June 30, 2026.

Click here to learn more about the Institute’s Clemson Student Travel Grant program. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, here.

The Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute is excited to welcome two new Clemson faculty members to its cohort of Faculty Fellows.

Brook Russell, Ph.D. 

Associate Professor of Applied Statistics, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

Dr. Russell is an associate professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (SMSS), with a portion of his research and mentoring activities focusing in sports analytics and human performance. He has collaborated with Paul Hogan, Senior Assistant Football Strength and Conditioning Coach at Clemson University, to understand the extreme athleticism of football players. This collaboration has resulted in the manuscript Analyzing dependence matrices to investigate relationships between National Football League Combine event performances, published in the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports in 2018. In this work, they analyzed National Football League Combine event performances using both extreme-value and non-extremes-based approaches and explored how these approaches can inform the evaluation of NFL prospects. This research was then presented at the New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports in October 2021. Dr. Russell aims to further examine the performance characteristics of elite football prospects and contribute to the growing body of research on sport performance metrics and talent evaluation.

He is also currently partnering with the Institute’s Dan Duncan Professor of Sports Marketing, Dr. Angeline Scheinbaum, to understand how sponsorships of local sporting events impact corporate community involvement.

---

Divya Srinivasan, Ph.D., CPE

McQueen Quattlebaum Professor of Industrial Engineering and Bioengineering 

Dr. Srinivasan is the McQueen Quattlebaum Professor of Industrial Engineering and Bioengineering, and a Faculty Scholar in the Clemson University School of Health Research. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2010. She worked as an EU Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Musculoskeletal Research in Sweden. She joined the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2016 and served as an assistant and associate professor there prior to joining Clemson in 2021. She currently directs the Biomechanics, Ergonomics, Safety and Training laboratories at Clemson University. She is also the director of the Clemson SHERPA Center, which focuses on human performance and worker safety/health. She has over two decades of research experience in human performance assessments, human motion modeling (including digital human modeling), injury prevention, and collaborative and wearable robotics, including exoskeletons to improve performance, health, and safety. Her research program has been funded by multiple grants from the NSF, NIOSH, NIH, and industry sponsors totaling nearly $28 million in the last 10 years, resulting in over 85 peer-reviewed journal publications and almost 200 international conference presentations to date. 

By Katie Gerbasich

This summer, the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute is excited to welcome back two former interns to the team. Bringing a wide range of experience in communication and event planning, the pair will help lead preparations for the third-annual RECESS symposium while continuing to support the Institute’s mission.

Katie Gerbasich – Communications Lead

Katie Gerbasich graduated this spring from Clemson with a degree in Sports Communication. She has worked with the Institute for the previous three semesters as a writer and editor. Gerbasich hopes to pursue a master’s degree in sports analytics.

“I truly love working with this team,” Gerbasich said. “This new role will be an exciting oppurtunity to continue growing professionally.”

---

Lucy Hart – Events Lead

Lucy Hart recently graduated from Clemson in December with a degree in Sports Management. Since then, Hart has been working as a People Operations Intern for the Savannah Bananas on the Banana Ball World Tour, gaining hands-on experience in sports operations and event management.

“I can’t wait to come back to RHBSSI as the Events Lead once again,” Hart said. “I am excited to be back in Clemson to complete my master’s in public administration and jump back into my work with the Institute.”

By Katie Gerbasich

As the Spring semester wraps up, interns from the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute are looking back on their experiences that defined their time with the program. This semester marked the Institute’s largest intern cohort to date, including two Beyond the Game student-athlete interns. From hands-on work in content creation to collaborative storytelling, each intern contributed in unique ways while also beginning to shape their future plans.

To round out this semester’s cohort, RHBSSI also welcomed two Beyond the Game student-athlete interns, who balanced their contributions to the Institute alongside the demands of their sport and academics. Their presence added a valuable perspective to the team and further highlighted the Institute’s commitment to supporting student-athletes in exploring opportunities beyond competition. As the semester comes to a close, the impact of this diverse group of interns will continue to shape the Institute.

The Clemson University community is invited to attend a landmark celebration of inclusive sport at the Clemson Paralympic Soccer Fest, to be held at the historic Riggs Field on April 25th. This event marks only the second time in U.S. college history that two Cerebral Palsy soccer teams have competed against each other in a university stadium.

Organized by the Clemson University Paralympic Soccer Program and presented by the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, the event promises a full morning of engagement, inclusion, and community celebration.

The day will begin with a soccer clinic for children and youth with physical and intellectual disabilities from 8:00 AM to 9:20 AM, providing participants with an opportunity to learn, play, and connect in an empowering environment.

Following the clinic, fans and families can enjoy a wide range of interactive “soccer stations” leading up to kickoff, including:

• Four-square fun
• Soccer golf challenges
• Immersive virtual reality soccer experiences
• Jumbotron games
• A themed photo station
• Face painting

The featured match between Clemson University Paralympic Soccer and Cerebral Palsy All Stars will kick off at 11:00 AM, showcasing elite Cerebral Palsy soccer talent in a historic setting that continues Clemson’s tradition of leadership in sport and inclusion.

At halftime, attendees will be entertained by the Clemson Rally Cats, who will perform, engage with fans, and lead interactive experiences. Spectators will also enjoy giveaways and have the chance to participate in two public halftime games.

This event represents a unique opportunity for the Clemson community to support adaptive athletics, celebrate diversity in sport, and be part of a historic moment in U.S. collegiate soccer.

Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact the Clemson University Paralympic Soccer Program at @cuparasoccer on Instagram. The Clemson University Paralympic Soccer Program is part of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences.