Chelseaparis Henry- Competing In An Academic Competition (4pts) and Placing In An Academic Competition (6pts)

Although Homecoming Week is quite important, I spent it participating in the 2025 U.S. Soccer Case Competition. My group members and I originally submitted our case study presentation proposal in early October 2025. Our proposal addressed the prompt of how we may improve NCAA men's soccer by making the championship not just a game but a destination for spectators. Some of our ideas included location strategies, transportation partnerships, game scheduling, and media promotion. Fortunately, our submission was chosen as one of the top 15 finalist groups out of over 120 group proposal submissions. Thus, we were selected as a University Champion for the 2025 U.S. Soccer Case Competition. 

The case study finals round granted us the opportunity to present our proposal in person on October 15, 2025. It took place at Clark Atlanta University, where my group members and I presented our revised proposal, which incorporated feedback on our original submission. During this competition, my group and I connected with other Spelmanites, my friend Madison (who is a GSU student), her group from Georgia State University, another group from Georgia Tech, and many U.S. Soccer Foundation professionals. Networking with these individuals gave me the chance to understand the deeper complexities of soccer, college, and the intersectionality of professional soccer and marketing tactics. Although my group and I were not selected as competition winners, we were still grateful for this experience and the opportunity itself. This opportunity led me to gain exposure in the sports entertainment field, which relates to my future career goal of legally specializing in entertainment law. Because of this experience, I now know that soccer is a possible avenue of work when I become a practicing entertainment and contract attorney. Also, this experience replicates the same essence and organization of research conferences that I have presented at in the past. Both opportunities gather people together while emphasizing intellectual complexity. 

Additionally, this was the first U.S. Soccer Case Competition that the USSF has ever hosted. This information shocked me because I was quite impressed with the logistics and organization of the competition at large. The turnaround timing for final decisions was very quick, the location was very convenient and easily accessible, and the schedule of the in-person presentations was thoughtfully organized. My only critiques are that the competition should have ended earlier in the evening and that the competition should have had a rubric/guideline for the logistical information that they expected from our presentations. I believe this would have enabled all group submissions to be more prepared overall.