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College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

  • Four HRSM community members featured in the October 2025 News and Notes: Tyshawn Hundley, Koby Ruff, Julianna Sikoryak, and Brooke Yates.

October 2025 HRSM student, faculty, staff and alumni notes

Posted on: October 7, 2025; Updated on: October 7, 2025
By Allen Wallace, awallace@sc.edu

In the News

Faculty and Staff Notes

  • Keshav Gupta and Yongjin Hwang’s “Train Like an Athlete, Play Like a Gamer: How Gameful Experiences Shape Mixed-Reality Sports Engagement" which was named Best Paper for the Sport Marketing Association's 2025 national conference.
  • Omid Oshriyeh, Ph.D. student in Hospitality Management, is the lead author of a study titled "The double-edged sword of user reviews: how customer feedback can build and break hotel brands," published in the Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management (SSCI, Q1, Impact Factor: 12.5).
  • Nick Watanabe and former HRSM faculty member Johan Rewilak authored “The designated player dilemma: an analysis of demand for star players in Major League Soccer,” published in European Sport Management Quarterly.
  • Keshav Gupta is the lead author of "Challenge Accepted! Or Not: Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Matchmaking on Motivation to Re-engage with Fantasy Sports Applications," published in Sport Management Review.
  • Md. Rafiqul Islam Rana’s paper, “When Global Goals Fail Local Lives: A Critical Study of the Gap Between Sustainable Development Goal Commitments and Garment Worker Realities,” has been selected for a Margaret Rucker Paper of Distinction Award in the Textiles and Apparel Industries Track at the 2025 International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference. The review committee said Professor Rana's "work stood out for its scholarly merit, clarity of contribution, and significance to our field, an exceptional achievement."
  • Saad Al Shamari, sport and entertainment management Ph.D. student, is the lead author for the article “Examining the Relationship between Pre-sport Mega-event Programming and Physical Activity Participation,” published in Qatar University Research Magazine and co-authored by Stephen Shapiro and Ryan Dastrup.
  • Mike Watson collaborated with individuals from Wake Forest's Experiential Learning Center in conjunction with USC’s Center for Experiential and Integrative Learning (CIEL) in support of their work planning a new Quality Enhancement Plan focused on experiential learning.

Student Notes

  • Landon Beirne (Sport and Entertainment Management) will be joining the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour team this spring as an executive assistant intern.
  • Jayden Crosby (Sport and Entertainment Management) worked the Bank of America ROVAL 400 as a returning intern at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Joshua Fair (Sport and Entertainment Management) accepted a part-time security officer role with the Charlotte Hornets.
  • Jackson Gore (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management) started a new position as education and events coordinator at the South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association.
  • Tyshawn Hundley (Sport and Entertainment Management) was named assistant coach for Lexington High School boys’ basketball.
  • Reese Leonard (Retailing - Retail Management) started a new position as member coordinator at Moltó Vino.

Alumni Notes

  • Tori Baglio (Hospitality Management, ‘25) joined Raffles Hotels & Resorts in Boston as a sales and marketing coordinator.
  • Gillian Bay (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) was part of an International League championship in her role as premium services manager with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
  • Isabelle Perez Birts (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as hospitality and events associate at MKTG.
  • Jaron Coney (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as account executive for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
  • Aaron Crowder (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as associate, sponsorship consulting at MKTG.
  • Kendell Collins (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘23) supported five international brands (DHRUV KAPOOR, GIADA, ASHLYN, Moussy, and Perverze) during Paris S26 Market.
  • Parker de Leon (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new role as an account executive with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
  • Sarah Frisch (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) was promoted to a new position as manager, hospitality and events at MKTG.
  • Elizabeth Gleeson (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new position as e-commerce coordinator with Dietz and Watson.
  • Ellie Hill (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) accepted a new role as manager of ticket operations with the Charleston Battery.
  • Maddie Johnson (Master of Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) accepted a new role as business development manager with Carolina Ascent FC and Charlotte Independence.
  • Christian Lodde (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘23) started a new role as banquet manager at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
  • Anthony Lotito (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22) started a new position as associate, sponsorship consulting at MKTG.
  • Ashley Mathison (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘23) was promoted to associate account manager on the international sales team at Spanx.
  • William Mendez (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) started a new position as men's basketball graduate assistant at UCF.
  • Jacob Miller (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘22)  a new position as manager, sponsorship consulting at MKTG.
  • Noko Nashville, founded by Jon Murray (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘06) was featured in the New York Times’ 25 Best Restaurants in Nashville Right Now.
  • Jacob Painter (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘21) started a new position as a commercial law clerk at FIFA. He will be assisting with contractual agreements surrounding the 2026 World Cup across all areas of the commercial legal department.
  • Sara Piper (Hospitality Management, ‘07) authored the article "Forging Talent Pathways with Empathy and AI Analytics," published in Manage HR Magazine.
  • Madeline Piron (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘24) joined the American Bankers Association as a member liaison specialist.
  • Mary-Catherine Pollin (Hospitality Management, ‘22) started a new position as account administrator at Kanawha Capital Management.
  • Tiara Porterfield (Sport and Entertainment Management ‘20, J.D. Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, ‘25) passed the July 2025 Georgia Bar Exam.
  • Emily Reichling (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) started a new role as an account executive at Hirschfeld.
  • Jordan Ridgeway (Hospitality Management, ‘24) started a new position as assistant general manager at The Boathouse at Breach Inlet, part of Circa 1670 Hospitality Group.
  • Koby Ruff (Tourism Management, ‘22), now a sales manager for the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and secured the booking for the 2026 National Space & Missile Materials Symposium that will happen at the convention center in June and will bring more than 750 people to the Columbia area.
  • Julianna Sikoryak (Retailing - Retail Management, ‘25) started a new position as a portfolio associate at Stryker Joint Replacement.
  • Emma Smith (Hospitality Management, ‘25) accepted a position as a field travel agent with AAA- The Auto Club Group.
  • Jenna Sweetman (Hospitality Management, ‘25) was promoted to guest relations supervisor - overnight relief at The Breakers Palm Beach.
  • Dillon Tan (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘16) started a new position as corporate associate at BakerHostetler.
  • Lia Tenebruso (Retailing - Fashion Merchandising and Digital Innovations, ‘25) began a new role as a digital client service advisor at Prada Group’s main headquarters in Milan, Italy.
  • Lauren Webster (Retailing, ‘25) started a new position as digital marketing and communications intern at Good Food Services.
  • Brooke Yates (Sport and Entertainment Management, ‘25) was promoted to account executive with the Washington Commanders.

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