In the News
- David and Nicole Tepper gift $5 million to South Carolina’s sport and entertainment management department: Sports Business Journal (covered by many outlets locally and nationally)
- Why are women’s shoes so pointy? A fashion expert on impractical but stylish footwear: The Conversation (written by Mike Watson)
- Best Baseball Cities: WalletHub (feat. Nick Watanabe)
- USC Homecoming 25th celebration: WLTX (feat. Michael Sagas and Tina Weeks Weaver)
- USC students turn leftovers into lifelines with Feed the Flock initiative: WIS (feat. Scott Taylor and Feed the Flock)
- New USC program turns leftovers into nutritional meals for hungry Gamecocks: SC Daily Gazette (feat. Scott Taylor and Feed the Flock)
- Expert Thoughts on Capital One Venture X: WalletHub (feat. Lori Pennington-Gray)
Faculty and Staff Notes
- Welcome to Catherine Wiggins, HRSM’s new vice dean for external relations.
- Welcome to Anna Patterson, the new event manager for the David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management.
- Welcome to new HRSM HR Coordinator Irene Daniels.
- Andrea Pack will begin her role as HRSM executive operations manager on Nov. 10.
- Congratulations to Alissa Samek on being named to a national advisory board for NACADA.
- Scott Kaplan has been asked to extend his term on the College Business Management Institute (CBMI) External Advisory Committee for an additional year and also continue to serve as a mentor. He is also currently serving on the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO) Investment Committee.
- Tena Crews, currently on sabbatical, recently completed a mission trip to Peru. It included medical assistance, construction, and providing food to children and seniors.
- Check out the new HRSM Office of Organizational Development and Innovation (ODI) web page.
- Congratulations to Sport and Entertainment Management Ph.D. student Gregory Smith on his first academic research publication! His article, "Death, Taxes, and the Right of Publicity: The Price of Fame in the Music Industry," co-authored by Armen Shaomian, was published in the SPTE A-rated journal Symposium (published by the College Music Society).
- The Sport Marketing Association has selected the paper, “Train Like an Athlete, Play Like a Gamer: How Gameful Experiences Shape Mixed-Reality Sports Engagement" for the Best Paper Award to be presented at its upcoming conference in Phoenix. Congratulations to authors Keshav Gupta, Yongjin Hwang and Ph.D. student Kartik Midha for this accomplishment.
- Congratulations to Terry (Haekyung) Kim on winning the 2025 Fashion and Textiles Best Paper Award (along with co-authors Naan Ju and Hyunjoo Im) for the paper, "Fake human but real influencer: The interplay of authenticity and humanlikeness" and on the publication of her latest paper, "Mental and Physical Humanlikeness in Artificial Intelligence Influencers: Effects on Humanness, Eeriness, and Consumer Responses” in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
- Congratulations to Tarlan Chahardovali on the publication of her latest paper, “Under-marketing women’s sport: the gendered labor of value co-creation in U.S. women’s soccer” in the European Sport Management Quarterly (ESMQ) journal.
Student Notes
- Regan Dowdy (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) completed second project as director of design with Fashion Board USC: the spooky October photoshoot: "Haunting on the Horseshoe.” Fellow students Bree Wurf, Coco Farrell, Catalina Perez and Lexi Hixenbaugh served as stylists, Kaleb Hurley, Julia Sugden, Caitlyn Wesoky and Emma Vela as models and Keira Romine, Sarah Graham and Kaylee Sharp as photographers.
- Meredith Hoover (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position with Gamecock Athletics Live Productions as part of the broadcasting staff for this winter.
- Augie Jansen (Tourism Management) accepted a summer 2026 hospitality operations internship at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
- Jemyah Jones (Hospitality Management) was accepted into The American College of the Mediterranean, where she’ll be pursuing her master’s in business administration in Aix-en-Provence, France.
- Abigail Kern (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a position with the video services department for Gamecock Football, starting in January.
- Shane McCune (Sport and Entertainment Management) worked his first event with GoHammerhead as a transportation specialist at the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
- Susanna McCormick (Retailing - Retail Management) earned Loss Prevention Qualified (LPQ) from the Loss Prevention Foundation through Mike Watson’s Asset Protection class.
- Katelyn Vetro (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations) worked another market at Atlanta AmericasMart with AFA Staffing. This year, she has represented Level Showroom, blu pepper, and jodifl by connecting with buyers and aiding in product selection for boutiques.
Alumni Notes
- Gracey Baucom (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as an account executive with the Gamecock Club.
- Danielle Brown (Sport and Entertainment Management ‘21, Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management ‘22) started a new position as an adjunct faculty member at Tallahassee State College.
- Kylie Corbett (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) accepted a full-time position as retail coordinator at The Plantation at Ponte Vedra Beach.
- N.C. Darby (Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management ‘12, Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management ‘15) was featured on the “Around Town” podcast with Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann.
- Patrick Donovan (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘11) started a new position as vice president, consulting at MKTG.
- Emma Doyle (Tourism Management, ‘23) accepted a position with RXR as Employee engagement and education coordinator.
- Adysan Frank (Retailing, ‘25) started a new role as an inside sales representative at Shred-it Stericycle.
- Kenny Goodwin (Information Management, ‘02) was recognized as a 2025 Who’s Who in Black Charlotte honoree and will be featured in the Corporate Brass section of the 10th Edition of Who’s Who In Black Charlotte.
- Ellen Guilford (Sport and Entertainment Management, 23) started a new full-time position as a customer service representative with Blumenthal Arts.
- Kaileigh Hamilton (Tourism Management, ‘25) will be joining Red Sage Communications, a marketing agency specializing in tourism destinations. Red Sage was recently recognized as the #2 Public Relations Firm and #7 Advertising Agency by Business Alabama Magazine.
- Caiti Lieberman (Hospitality Management, ‘23) started a new role as communications and membership coordinator at Carmel Country Club.
- Alice Freeman Lindsay (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘18) accepted a position with Eventive Sports as the Sales and Marketing Director for the Colonial Life Charity Classic, the inaugural Korn Ferry Tour event at Woodcreek Golf Club in Columbia.
- Dayton Loper (Hospitality Management, ‘23) co-founded Southern Sippin' Mobile Bar.
- Colleen Mitchell (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘18) started a new position as assistant director, life skills and education with the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Rasheed Muhammad (Retailing - Retail Management, '95) was featured in The Hollywood Reporter's "Power Business Manager" edition.
- Erin Murray (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) will be joining HNS Sports Group as the Tournament Coordinator for the Jefferson Lehigh Valley Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event.
- Ndidi Okafor (Retailing - Retail Management, ‘18) started a new position as ISE project manager at The Home Depot.
- Isabel Stroth (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘24) completed her master’s degree in merchandising and buying at Polimoda in Florence, Italy.