Author: Kayla Rogers

By Griffin Barfield

At a university that prides itself on athletics and academics, there’s a group within that helps student-athletes find success on the field and in the classroom.

The Clemson Athletic Council acts as the liaison between the University’s faculty, administration and athletic departments, meeting bi-monthly to discuss important topics that student-athletes face.

Meetings are joined by Athletic Director, Graham Neff, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Matt Lombardi, and other senior members of the Athletic Department staff while allowing open discussions with members of the council throughout their meetings. 

Each college elects a representative and an alternative, and the Clemson president appoints a representative from the University. Both Undergraduate and Graduate Student Government as well as Faculty, Staff and Student Senate are represented. Two student-athletes from the executive board of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) represent all student-athletes on campus. 

Senior Health Sciences major and President of SAAC, Jake Serra, went from specifically focusing on his track and field career to making a bigger difference in his position as a student-athlete.

“I was thinking, how can I make an impact in another way?” Serra said. “So, that’s where the Student Athlete Advisory Committee comes in. We have one here at Clemson that, unbiased, is the best one in the nation.” 

Assistant Professor of sports communication and faculty fellow of the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, Rikishi Smith-Rey, Ph.D., served on her university’s SAAC when she was a student-athlete as an undergraduate, going full circle when she was voted on last spring to represent the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences as a faculty liaison. 

Having a wide variety of faculty from colleges across the University and staff from the athletic department help improve communication between the academic institution and the athletic department. 

“We get to bridge the two of them,” Smith-Rey said. “We get to bridge the academic institutional side to the athletic side, and SAAC is in there as well, and they’re telling us how they are getting the teams more intertwined. It’s great seeing all the different groups coming together.”

Another faculty fellow of the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute and a professor of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences within the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, Greg Batt, Ph.D., has served on the Clemson Athletic Council since the fall of 2019. He has seen important topics covered from the COVID-19 pandemic to NIL. 

Committee Structure

The Clemson Athletic Council reports directly to the President with an Executive Committee that is comprised of the Chair, Vice-Chair, the chairs of three subcommittees, and the Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR), Antonis Katsiyannis, who was appointed by the President. 

The Chair of Athletic Council, Mary Anne Raymond, a Professor of Marketing and Thomas F. Chapman Distinguished Professor of Leadership, creates the agendas for the meetings, communicates with both the President and Athletic Director regarding the focus of the subcommittees, and communicates any special initiatives that are directed by the President. 

Meetings are led by Raymond, with updates and reports by Neff, Lombardi, SAAC, and the FAR at every meeting. New coaches, the Director of NIL, and leaders like Natalie Honnen, Executive Senior Associate AD for Student – Athlete Services and Performance, are invited to speak at Athletic Council meetings to enhance members’ understanding of the many areas the athletic department encompasses and to provide insights into areas where athletic council members can collaborate and contribute, such as the Student Athlete Wellness initiative. 

The council was typically organized into three sub-committees: Academic Policies and Integrity, Student Athlete Welfare and Experience, and Administration and Communication. While all three committees serve important roles, there’s been more of an emphasis by all AC members on Student Athlete Welfare and Experience, which Batt chairs and says is the “main heartbeat” of the council. 

Professor of Marketing, Mary Anne Raymond, who is Chair for the Executive Committee as well, noted that the Council has shifted its focus to work on aiding the wellness of the student-athletes, who look to balance academics, athletics, and a positive social experience. 

“We’re focusing on the well-being of the student-athletes,” she said. “I think that will stay for a while because there’s been so much going on with student well-being and the population’s well-being in general. Should we need to shift, or should the President have a special project, we would focus on that project as well.”

The AC brings in the likes of Serra and the Vice President of Internal Affairs with SAAC, Rose Imbesi, a senior Marketing major, as well. Both were appointed in the spring of 2024 and have served since. They provide the perspective of the student-athletes, expressing their needs and ways to improve the way they handle the academic side of their experience. 

“They allow looking behind the curtain in athletics, but we are fully academics, so we understand that world,” Batt said, “so we can be liaisons for them.” 

Drs. Batt and Smith-Rey are also faculty fellows with the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, and communicate these important athletic topics back to their research and educational peers at the university and nationally.

Serra and Imbesi also work towards bringing each athletic program together, allowing more communication and community between each group of student-athletes. 

“My goal is really just to increase that feeling of community within athletics so you’re not just supporting your own team and seeing your own team every day,” Imbesi said, “to really bring that community together so that we are all one group of Clemson Athletics, not just separate teams.”

Issues and Outcomes

Collegiate athletics are in an interesting time with the rise of topics like NIL and the House case, meaning that the topics the Clemson Athletic Council is focusing on can vary at each meeting. 

Neff and Lombardi emphasize numbers like graduation rates, retention rates and GPAs during the meetings, which have allowed Serra and Imbesi to create a solution to how student-athletes can be protected for their academics, providing support like tutoring to further their education. 

Now, the protection plan has been implemented across multiple schools of the ACC, SEC and Big 10, becoming a product of the use of the Council’s meetings. 

“That was something where we went to these professors in the Athletic Council,” Serra said. “I said, ‘Hey, here’s my idea. What can we take from this?’ They brought it to President Clements; they brought it to their colleges, and we were able to explode across the nation with that, but it really started here at Clemson.”

Another way that the members connect with the student-athletes is by attending lunches with various student-athletes throughout the semesters. The Clemson Athletic Council works with SACC to organize dates and times for faculty to have lunch with student-athletes, listening to their thoughts, concerns and recommendations for things that they would like to see from an academic standpoint. 

“With my involvement on the Athletic Council, it gave me a real grassroots perspective of the challenges of being a student-athlete,” Batt said, “and so my involvement in the Athletic Council, I think that experience has been made richer by the fact that I get to see what it really looks like, day in and day out, for these guys trying to balance sports, academics and a college experience.”

The meetings also serve as an opportunity to correct any misinformation that may be framed throughout the University. Then, solutions about how to better communicate with faculty or student-athletes are created to bring truth into the respective spaces. 

“It’s been really useful,” Imbesi said. “I think to have that communication between teachers and athletics administration, just so they know and are kind of in the loop of what’s actually happening and what’s actually going on, because there’s so much happening.”

When new head coaches are hired for a given program, they are also given a chance to speak to the Council, allowing council members to ask questions and get to know them at a personal level. 

As for the future, ideas like NIL, paying athletes and well-being are topics that will not go away, but the Clemson Athletic Council will continue to overcome obstacles that are presented around the University or the country, depending on what they are. 

For Serra and Imbesi, there are ideas of a ticketing plan that would incentivize undergraduate and graduate students to come to non-revenue-generating Olympic sports, looking to continue to create the community between every athletic program at Clemson. 

Serra believes that the best is yet to come with SAAC and the Council as a whole. 

“We’re just such a passionate group that is really willing to pioneer this new change,” he said. “A lot of this stuff that we have in mind is not out yet. It’s not, we’ll see how it goes. It’s a lot of checks and balances we have, but I think continually supporting student athletes is always going to be our number one priority.”

By Nathan Inman

As the semester progresses for Clemson Baja SAE, the team is working towards building its newest vehicle for competition later this year. However, the new vehicle is not the only thing the organization is constructing this semester.

Clemson Baja SAE was founded in 1978 and is a student-run engineering organization that designs and builds custom off-road vehicles to compete in the national Baja SAE Collegiate Design Series. The organization had become dormant following the COVID-19 pandemic, but a group of eight dedicated students were determined to bring the organization back to life in 2023.

Since its revival, Baja has utilized a test track in the woods behind their race shop to ensure their student-built vehicles were primed and ready to compete. Recently, though, the track was cleared and logged, completely destroying the course and making it unusable for the race team. The occurrence left Baja without a way to test their vehicles, meaning they would be unable to be sure that there were no mechanical or safety defects before traveling for competitions. That’s when Blanchard CAT and the Department of Construction Science and Management stepped in.

“This semester, we are partnering with the Construction Science department,” Tyler Odgers, president of Baja SAE, said in an interview. “Right now, they have drone scanned the entire block and they’re designing a track on their computers.”

Odgers added that Blanchard CAT has donated equipment for the construction of the track, something that would have been unfeasible for the team to afford. Just as it does for many professional race teams, funding for Clemson Baja often comes at a premium. With the need for funding, the organization cannot focus solely on engineering and manufacturing their vehicles. Odgers says that the team has begun developing a large business team in order to afford those aforementioned costs.

“Obviously, we need funding, right?” Odgers said. “We have a team that is essentially putting together a packet presentation that we can just go out and give to businesses. There’s a very big communications, marketing type of thing trying to get our name out there.”

Odgers went on to say that he sees opportunities for practically any major, and that “there are very few majors that I think can’t do something with us.” As the team continues to prepare for competition and the construction of its new race vehicle and test track, emphasis will still remain on the business and communications side of the organization. Any students interested in joining Clemson Baja SAE can find them on TigerQuest or go to https://cecas.clemson.edu/bajasae/join/

In celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day on February 4, the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute highlights seven female student-athletes. Representing a variety of sports, these athletes share their experiences as women in sport, reflect on the role of sports science in their development, and offer advice to the next generation.

By Katie Gerbasich

At the conclusion of Clemson University’s Research and Creative Endeavors in the Sports Sciences (RECESS) Symposium, hosted by the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute the week of November 10, 2025, four Clemson faculty were honored with 2025 GRIT Awards. These awards recognize nominated individuals or groups who distinguish themselves in various areas of sports science. A trophy was presented to the following winners. 

Community and Outreach in the Sports Sciences

Tobar studies the intersection of sport, tourism and heritage. He also serves as the head coach of Clemson’s Paralympic Soccer Program and co-founded the Football Tourism Institute, which aims to understand football tourism at the local and global levels. 

Over the summer of 2025, Tobar travelled internationally conducting sports research. In early May, he took a group of students to Germany to study the Culture of Remembrance and Political Activism in German Football. While abroad, he conducted two research studies: one examining stickers in and around stadiums as a form of fan expression and political activism, and another exploring how German soccer clubs suppress or communicate Holocaust history.

Tobar’s inclusive and critical teaching practices earned him the 2025 Junior Tenure-Track Outstanding Teaching Award from Clemson University’s College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. His commitment to experiential learning includes organizing class field trips to venues such as the Bank of America Stadium and the NASCAR Hall of Fame, facilitating networking opportunities with more than 41 sports industry professionals, and supporting undergraduate students as they participate in local sporting events.

For his dedication to both the Clemson and global community, the Institute has awarded Felipe Tobar with the GRIT Award for Community and Outreach in the Sports Sciences for the 2025-26 academic year. 

“He is richly deserving of this award,” commended Greg Ramshaw, Ph.D., Tobar’s colleague in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management.

Research in the Sports Sciences

Corr’s scholarly research examines the institutional and organizational settings of collegiate athletics, with attention to the impact and outcomes of participation on various stakeholders. He serves as the executive director of the College Sport Research Institute and is the program manager for the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation.

“Dr. Chris Corr exemplifies the spirit of the GRIT Award in Research in Sports Sciences through his exceptional productivity, interdisciplinary collaboration and measurable impact on the study and practice of sport,” Sarah Stokowski, Corr’s colleague in the College of Education, said. 

Over the past three years, Corr has produced an extraordinary body of scholarship, authoring or co-authoring more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, multiple book chapters, and numerous presentations at national and international conferences. 

In a recent article, Corr explored public sentiment surrounding Clemson University’s decision to proceed with a football game the day after Hurricane Helene. The case highlighted the importance of organizational transparency when confronting crises.

Corr’s work has consistently been supported by competitive funding sources, including RHBSSI, the NCAA, the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA), and USA Ultimate, demonstrating the quality and applicability of his research. 

“Equally important, Dr. Corr’s collaborative spirit enriches Clemson’s research environment,” Stokowski said. “He actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students, co-authors with emerging scholars, and engages in applied projects that extend Clemson’s land-grant mission.”

Student Engagement in the Sports Sciences

Recognized for her unwavering commitment to student success, Sarah Stokowski, Ph.D., has made an impact on graduate education and student engagement within the Athletic Leadership program. She has supervised more than 75 doctoral students across both the Higher Education and P12 concentrations. 

“Dr. Stokowski is unbelievably passionate and committed to student learning and success,” noted her colleague from the College of Education, Chris Corr, Ph.D. “She is tremendously caring and committed to students’ scholarly achievement, and students walk away from her research methods course with a tangible academic publication and, more importantly for their professional development, an in-depth understanding of the research process. 

Her commitment to publishing with students has led many graduate students to continue their education by pursuing terminal degrees. 

“While Dr. Stokowski is an all-around tremendous scholar and influential member of the campus community, her commitment to student excellence and achievement is to be marveled at,” Corr said.In addition to her mentorship efforts, Stokowski was awarded a 2025 ESPN Research Fellowship by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas International Gaming Institute (IGI). Through this fellowship, she will research how student-athletes perceive and engage with online sports betting content. To learn more about her work, click here.

Friend of the Institute

Gurchiek is the principal investigator in the Human Movement Biomechanics Lab (HuMBL), where his team uses standard motion capture technologies for human movement analysis and biomechanics. 

A recent project, funded by RHBSSI, involved developing a passive assistive hamstring device to support muscle recovery. Read more about the work here.

Gurchiek has also been integral in collaborating with the Institute on plans for the University’s new human performance center on the ground floor of the student wellness center, which has recently broken ground.

“The Institute is very appreciative to Dr. Gurchiek for his continued leadership in the development of this new facility that will bring human performance research at Clemson to national prominence,” said John DesJardins, Ph.D., director of the Institute.

By Katie Gerbasich

‘Awesome’ is now a four-letter word for many female students: AWSM, or the Association of Women in Sports Media. AWSM is dedicated to empowering and supporting women interested in sports media. The Clemson chapter, advised by Department of Communication Assistant Professor and Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute Faculty Fellow Rikishi Smith-Rey, Ph.D., is part of the nationally recognized AWSM network of schools. 

“I’m really excited to be with them now, because I feel like I have a lot to bring to them, whether it’s sharing my network or what I know about sport and media,” Smith-Rey said. 

Department of Communication student Erin Mason has always had a passion for supporting women in sports. She joined AWSM as a first-year student, dreaming of the day she could work in the industry.

“Growing up around sports, I saw how male-dominated the field was and witnessed women in sports be doubted and pushed to the side,” Mason said. “Seeing this made me want to make a positive impact on women in the industry and women looking to break into the industry.” 

 She initially described the club in her first year as having only a couple of meetings a semester, featuring guest speakers. Now, as president, she has helped AWSM expand. 

“Watching this club grow over the years has been truly amazing,” Mason said. “Now, AWSM has over 140 active members, bi-weekly meetings, as well as drop-in meetings and other events. We provide professional development opportunities & resources consistently to all active members.”

A highlight for Mason has been the launch of its new athletic credentialing program last semester. Members now have the opportunity to apply for an accredited photo or press pass for athletic events. Following the event, members must promptly create and publish media.

The organization worked with Jeff Kallin, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Communications, to establish the importance of getting students in front of cameras and working with cameras in front of coaches. Additionally, having to learn what the sports world is like, with a quick turnaround on product time. AWSM covered 46 events across 55 different credentialed members last semester. 

 “It’s a competitive process to be able to get a pass, but we have someone at every single sporting event,” Smith-Rey said. 

Community Outreach Chair, Caity Eng, has been managing the credentialing experience.

“Our members have put in so much hard work, and it has been so wonderful to see them shine, whether it is their first sports photography or reporting experience, or to expand their current skills and portfolio,” Eng said. 

“Seeing and hearing about everyone’s passion for sports media and their time working on the sidelines and the press box has been so fulfilling.”

Last semester, the club participated in a professional photoshoot utilizing the Nieri Family Student-Athlete Enrichment Center’s studio. Members received a camera workshop before the event. Exclusive experiences like this are what Smith-Rey believes make the organization unique. 

“These students wouldn’t ever really have that opportunity if this association didn’t exist,” Smith-Rey said. “I love that it’s specific to females to give them a voice and a chance to grow.” 

Female students across all majors can connect through the common thread of sport. 

“You see business students talking with sports communication students, talking with engineering students, and it’s a really cool way for them to be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t think we had anything in common, but you love sports, and I love sports,’” Smith-Rey said.

Looking ahead, the organization hopes to continue strengthening its relationship with Clemson Athletics to make a greater impact on students’ professional development and the community. 

“In such a male-dominated field, women in sports must stick together, support one another no matter what, and unite on issues that pertain to us,” Mason said. “As female representation continues to grow in the sports industry, I hope to be a voice and supportive figure for women in the industry.”

By Katie Gerbasich

Happy New Year, from the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute. For the Spring 2026 semester, RHBSSI welcomed three new and two returning student interns. Additionally, through the UPIC Beyond the Game program, two student-athlete interns will join the group. These students bring a multitude of experiences that will help drive new ideas that support the Institute’s mission. 

Evy Lane, Communications Lead

Evy Lane is a senior Marketing major and Spanish minor from Piedmont, South Carolina. In her fourth semester with the Institute, she will serve as the Communications Lead, which entails creating a content calendar and editing or posting blogs across RHBSSI social media handles. Lane has two cats, Otto and Lottie, whom she adores dearly.

Katie Gerbasich, Writer/Editor

Katie Gerbasich is a senior Sports Communication major and Women’s Leadership minor from Houston, Texas. In her third semester with the Institute, she will be assisting the team in detailing the stories of sports science endeavors. Gerbasich has prior experience with Clemson Baseball’s Sports Analytics team and has written sports articles for Tiger View Media.

Nathan Inman, Writer/Editor

Nathan Inman is a junior double majoring in Sports Communication and Marketing from Spartanburg, South Carolina. He has been involved with The Tiger student newspaper for three years and was recently appointed Assistant Sports Editor. This semester, Inman looks forward to continuing to grow as a writer and collaborating with the rest of the team.

Sofia Cordi, Events Lead

Sofia Cordi is a senior at Clemson University pursuing a B.S. in Management with an emphasis in Human Resources, a concentration in Entrepreneurship, and a Global Leadership Certificate. She serves as the Events Lead intern for The Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute, where she supports the planning and execution of events that foster collaboration, innovation, and community engagement across sports science and performance disciplines.

Previously, Sofia worked with Incora Health, a women’s health startup developing patented smart earrings that capture real-time biodata, where she supported community engagement, content strategy, and cross-functional initiatives. Her experience also includes work with Kognitos, a generative AI company in healthcare automation, and Clemson’s Brook T. Smith Launchpad. Sofia is passionate about innovation, strategic planning, and building meaningful connections through events and community-focused initiatives.

Katie Colton, Graphic Designer

Katie Colton is a Graphic Communications major with a minor in Brand Communications from York, South Carolina. This past year, she worked with Clemson Creative Inquiry and Undergraduate Research’s Decipher Magazine. Colton traveled to Italy over winter break.

Shanque Williams, Beyond the Game Intern

Shanque Williams is a sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Business Management. Williams is a track and field athlete from Jamaica. She’s excited to meet the team and begin working.

Kevin Collins, Beyond the Game Intern

Kevin Collins is a senior Economics major with a Minor in Business Administration from Waldorf, Maryland. He competes in shorts sprints with track and field.

By Katie Gerbasich

Kathryn Kisska-Schulze, J.D., LL.M., a Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute Faculty Fellow and the Elliott Davis Associate Professor in the School of Accountancy in The Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, recently published work on athlete name, image and likeness (NIL) rights that was relied upon by the Tennessee legislature in 2025. Her article, An Evolving Landscape: Name, Image and Likeness Rights in High School Athletes, co-authored by Adam Epstein from Central Michigan University and Nathaniel Grow from Indiana University, was cited as a research reference and practice aid in drafting Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-25-1103, which addresses NIL rights.

The article examines the evolving NIL landscape for high school student-athletes, identifying potential financial risks and proposing a framework to better protect minor student-athletes entering endorsement agreements.

“This honor showcases the impact our research can have on major state legislative interests,” Kissaka-Schulze said.

In spring 2024, Kisska-Schulze launched the School of Accountancy’s first undergraduate sports law course. She also teaches a graduate sports law course for the College of Business’ Master of Science in Sports Business and Analytics program.

Kisska-Schulze has served as chair of the Sports and Entertainment Law Section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, represents the College of Business on Clemson University’s Faculty Athletic Council, and was recently named a Brooks Sports Science Institute Fellow.

Individuals who suffer from chronic pain have increasingly come to rely on kratom, a Southeast Asian plant whose principal psychoactive alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), may soon become Schedule I Controlled Substances in the United States. The two compounds bind to, and partially activate, opioid receptors in the brain.

“People in Southeast Asia have long relied on teas brewed from kratom leaves not only to manage pain but to ease the symptoms of opiate withdrawal,” said Bryan E. Denham, Ph.D., Campbell Professor of Sports Communication in the Department of Communication at Clemson. “Although kratom is not entirely safe, it appears to be less hazardous than concentrated, synthetic versions of 7-OH, manufactured by unscrupulous firms. Synthetics are sold at gas stations and vape stores and are packaged to attract the attention of high-school and college-aged individuals.”

Denham’s study appears in the Journal of Substance Use and addresses the extent to which kratom use correlates with health concerns and signs of dependency on other substances. One finding showed that individuals struggling to quit prescription pain relievers were more than four times as likely as others to have used kratom, a substance the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers “drug of concern.” In July 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised the DEA to add mitragynine and 7-OH to the list of Controlled Substances, and the DEA is currently considering that recommendation.

“It will be interesting to see what the DEA chooses to do in the coming months,” Denham said. “It announced plans in 2016 to ban mitragynine and 7-OH, but it received significant pushback from kratom users. This time, the FDA has made it a point to state plainly that its recommendation does not include the kratom plant itself. It is primarily interested in the two alkaloids and especially the hazardous synthetic products. A trade group, the American Kratom Association, has endorsed the recommended actions on mitragynine and 7-OH.”

Denham studies the media, health, and policy aspects of substance use in sport and society. He said that in sport, athletes have used kratom to increase energy and to recuperate from intense exercise. Some athletes believe it enhances their focus during competition, and some experiment with it for pain relief. Technically, kratom is not a banned substance, but the United States Anti-Doping Agency advises athletes to avoid using it given potential side effects. Athletes and non-athletes alike should appreciate that kratom is a drug, not a dietary supplement, and they should be aware of manipulative labels on synthetic substances.

In addition to his study in the Journal of Substance Use, Denham has examined the agenda-building function of mass media on kratom policy, exploring how coverage in major national news outlets and regional news organizations has impacted regulatory action. Denham said the Tampa Bay Times, in particular, has examined kratom use in depth, and its reporting has impacted coverage elsewhere in addition to policy conversations at the state and national levels.

By Griffin Barfield

Each year, the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute supports Clemson’s student body by expanding access to scholarships and enhancing experiential learning opportunities, providing funding to various undergraduate and graduate students who are studying sport in their disciplines.

Through annual research awards and professorship funding endowed to faculty in the Departments of Automotive Engineering, Communication, Marketing and Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, graduate students are hired to engage in research activities affecting the field of sports science.

This year, two of the Institute’s ‘legacy professors’ – Bryan Denham, Ph.D., in the Department of Communication in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences and Angeline Scheinbaum, Ph.D., in the Department of Marketing in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business – funded two graduate students each at Clemson University. 

These students are four of the seven graduate students that the Institute has supported over the last academic year. 

Within the Department of Communication, two research assistants have been analyzing social networks and sports on a global scale with sports communication faculty. 

Cassidy Gruber and Erin Knight have been researching social media responses that have been presented during the PGA Tour and LIV golf merger, looking to find the role of care during organizational changes. After reworking the literature review, they aim to have a manuscript titled Understanding the role of care in communicating organizational change: A social network analysis of the PGA Tour-LIV golf controversy, published in the Social Media + Society journal.

Assistant professors, Virginia Harrison, Ph.D., and Brandon Boatwright, Ph.D., will be spearheading the manuscript. 

“The Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute has given me a unique and rewarding opportunity to incorporate my strategic communication background into sports science research this semester,” Gruber said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a motivated research team and contributing to meaningful projects!” 

Knight is also working to understand the social media conversation of sportswashing and nation branding, which has become a rising issue from the political lens of sports. This is her first assignment as a research assistant, and she will continue her work into the Spring 2026 semester. 

“It’s been really exciting to be a part of the research process in this way,” Knight said, “especially with such an interesting focal point.” 

Boatwright and Harrison are also faculty fellows of the Institute. 

In the Department of Marketing, research assistants Sairah Abraham and Cara Levin work closely with Dr. Scheinbaum, the Institute’s Dan Duncan Endowed Professor of Sports Marketing. 

The two have centered their research on sports marketing and consumer behavior, focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility over the last year with their team. The pair have been examining sport sponsorship as a form of corporate community involvement, investigating how local consumers view sponsor brands and exploring their feelings of gratitude. 

Their team has found outcomes through four large-scale field studies across three professional sports: automotive racing, PGA golf, and USA professional cycling. The research project under the direction of Dr. Scheinbaum found that consumer-corporate identification perceptions help the sponsor-event fit, and the consumer intentions to support sponsor brands, allowing the results to assist with local sponsor brands’ strategies.

“As a Brooks RA, it’s exciting to see how psychology, sports and marketing can team up,” Abraham said. “Each brings unique strengths to interdisciplinary studies that advance research that captures both the science of people and the spirit of the game!” 

Levin has also looked into how sponsorship and community engagement initiatives influence consumer perceptions of the brand’s authenticity, ethical leadership and trust. She has a background in Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology, using that to see how corporate strategy and stakeholder response are affected.

“Clemson’s drive powers both our athletics and research,” Levin said.

As their research wraps up and the semester comes to a close, the students will be reporting on any outcomes or taking their work into 2026.

By: Griffin Barfield

Sarah Buford graduated from Clemson in May 2025 with a B.S. in Marketing and a double minor in Accounting and Sports Communiction. She received the Markvan Bellamy Endowed Scholarship in Sports Marketing in 2024. During her time at the University, she worked with IPTAY and Clemson Athletics Marketing and Fan Experience teams.

How have you utlilized your major/concentration in sports to help your career?

I have utilized my Sports Communication minor to help with my career sports many times, especially when I speak with Season Ticket Holders about why they love coming to Drive games. Throughout the classes I took in my minor, sports being a unifying factor was always something we discussed, and it is very evident in my career.

What is your role, where, and what do you do?

Currently, I am an Account Executive at the Greenville Drive. My main responsibilities include working with our Season Ticket Holders, selling new season tickets, groups, and hospitality spaces, and creating relationships with people throughout the Greenville area.

What was your journey like since graduating from Clemson?

Four days after graduating from Clemson, I began working at the Drive since baseball season had already started. It was a very quick transition, but I was able to jump in and start helping soon after because of the knowledge I gained from my time at Clemson and previous internships.

What advice would you give to future Brooks scholars as they approach post-grad?

My biggest piece of advice is to find a job that interests you and go for it because you never know what opportunities could come from it.