Business Research Showcase Gives York College Students an Industry Edge
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Business Research Showcase Gives York College Students an Industry Edge
June 23, 2021The inaugural Graham School of Business Student Research Showcase awarded three groups of students cash prizes in recognition of their research projects.
Emily Renninger ’21 is the first to admit she’s not a practicing attorney, but she recognizes the value in understanding laws and regulations as they relate to Sport Management. The complexity of the major is what attracted her to the York College of Pennsylvania program, and it led her to want to learn more about how important law is to working in sports.
During her Law Issues in Sport class, Renninger wrote a paper on copyright in broadcast. She was so intrigued by the changing dynamics of the topic that she submitted it for the inaugural Graham School of Business Student Research Showcase. Renninger’s research project received second place in the competition, winning her a $300 cash prize.
“I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about something I’m really passionate about,” Renninger says. “We don’t often have a chance to see what other students in the College are learning, much less demonstrate what we’ve learned to faculty or community members.”
About the competition
The first-place prize was awarded to Jennifer Miller, Kiersten Hay, Emma McDade, Alberto Mateos, and Josh Bucciero for their presentation on Wolfgang Confectioners; third place went to Cory Bechtel, Hannah Maute, Fernando Garcia, and Nicolas Prego for their presentation on Allegro Winery. Both of those presentations included proprietary information for mentor companies, who gave students the ability to present solutions for real challenges within their respective organizations.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students, who often work on similar projects in the classroom, to demonstrate that knowledge and information to a broader audience,” says Mohammed Raja, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Operations Management and Department Chair for Operations and Information Technology.
An edge in the industry
Renninger hopes to work in marketing for a sport organization, and she recognizes how the complexity of copyright could be important to her future role in the industry. “It’s often early on in a career that slip-ups can happen, and I know that a mistake related to copyright can result in a huge financial loss for an organization,” she says.
While most sport broadcast laws were once related to television, radio, and print newspaper, the addition of streaming services and social media has added some complexity to those laws. Most broadcast companies pay for exclusive rights to show a game, such as NBC broadcasting Sunday Night Football or MASN and MLB.TV being able to stream Baltimore Orioles games.
It becomes a concern for the sport organizations when someone can steal content by making it available online through various links or unpaid services. With 5G network capabilities, Renninger says, people can now capture and upload games live right on their phones, often beating the sport organization to even updating a website. The result is billions of dollars lost throughout the industry each year.
“It’s not an issue that’s going to go away,” Renninger says. “It’s something that teams and the organizations that run them will have to continuously follow and adapt to—and push for the law to change as quickly as the technology changes.”
Gearing up for a summer internship with Rising Stars Football Academy, Renninger sees an opportunity to take what she’s learned about copyright law to help the team grow their presence and be more aware of their rights regarding content and its distribution.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to dive deeper into a subject and share it with others,” she says. “I know that experience is one of many York College provided to give me an edge in the industry.”
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