Indianapolis professor Jennifer VanSickle’s sport-management class is getting some real-world experience with the NCAA and is hoping to hit a home run or two in the process.

The students from the Division II school are presenting marketing and promotional ideas for the Division II Baseball Championship this year and next in Cary, North Carolina, to members of the national office championships staff March 4. For the students, the benefits of the outreach are obvious – they’ll get to present in a professional setting and experience pre-job-market training with a big-time sports event. For the baseball championship administrators, they get to expand their idea pool.

“If there’s anything we think we can use, we certainly would look to implement those ideas, and if there’s a way that leads to the students continuing to be involved with marketing the event, we would explore that possibility,” said the NCAA’s Russ Yurk, who manages the administration of the Division II Baseball Championship.

It’s a good year to expand the marketing-concept pool for the baseball championship, since it will be staged for the first time as part of a pilot “Championship City” initiative in six cities have been selected to host several NCAA championships over the next few years. The idea for Championships Cities is to generate economy-of-scale efficiencies that reduce administrative costs (particularly with lodging and meals) and provide community-engagement opportunities during the championship and even between championships that sustain the NCAA brand over an extended period in that locale.

Indeed, it’s “game on” for the students, who have spent the semester doing market analyses (researching target audiences) and competitive analyses (researching concurrent events in the Cary market) and are ready to present their findings and concepts.

“It’s a chance for us to give back to the NCAA and to learn through a hands-on project,” said VanSickle, who noted that the idea emerged after a conversation with NCAA Senior Vice President for Championships Joni Comstock. “This is great opportunity for our students. The NCAA is looking for some solid ideas they can actually implement, and it’s a chance for our students to think, ‘If I were working this championship, what strategy would I use to increase attendance?’ It gives the students some real-world insight into an actual event, and it’s a relevant example of some of the issues they’ll face after they graduate and enter the job market.”

VanSickle also noted that the presentation itself represents a real-world situation. “It will be a professional setting in which they will present (both verbally and in writing) and defend their ideas. It also gives them a networking opportunity for possible future contacts,” she said.

VanSickle also will be watching the presentations with interest – and with a notepad. She’ll grade her students on their presentation skills and on the concepts they actually produce.

“After the presentations, I’m hoping there will be a chance for feedback from NCAA staff. It will be beneficial for the students to hear why or why not their ideas would or wouldn’t work and receive tips on presentation skills. They hear from me all the time but it will be valuable for them to hear from people already in the field.”

VanSickle said she and her students appreciate the opportunity.

“Not everyone is willing to take the time to do this, so I am grateful to the NCAA staff for showing the interest,” she said. “I’m hoping for one or two good ideas that the NCAA staff will actually be able to use. We will benefit a bunch no matter what, but I’m hoping the NCAA will get something out of it as well.”