When talking about Cinderella sports stories in 2008, many people mention Davidson College. But at The University of Memphis, eleven graduate students and a few classes of undergrads organized an athletics conference that is bringing national sports icons and athletic marketing moguls to The U of M campus.
The students in this Cinderella story go by a different name: The College Sport Research Institute.
Richard Southall, director of the CSRI, and his class of 11 students are putting together the "Issues in College Sport" Symposium and Scholarly Conference April 16 - 19 here at The U of M. Since 2006, the conference has grown from a six-week lecture series to a four-day national event with a budget of more than $40,000. Speakers include Jon Ericson, former provost at Drake University, Lee Evans, former track star and civil rights activist, and Sonny Vaccaro, Nike, Adidas and Reebok mogul, and former director of Basketball Programs. There will also be panels of guests from Ph.D.s to former athletes with an insight on athletic academics today.
Southall said last year's conference was a great success, but this year they have "gone to the next level."
Ron Mower, graduate research coordinator and second-year graduate student said, "you put in all the work up front, but once time gets here...I'm excited for it."
Southall said it is the members of CSRI and their efforts this year that have really made a difference.
"The story is the work the students do," he said. "The real interesting part is that these students have to learn their issues. They have to become experts on a topic ... it's supposed to be like a full-time job."
Southall went on to describe the unconventional type of education his students receive. He and his wife Deborah Southall, conference coordinator and professor of sports and leisure management, use what he calls "experimental learning."
"It's discrete learning," Southall said, "knowledge, with the benefit to learn."
CSRI focuses on many aspects of sports from event management to investigating the most common academic majors among athletes - known in the business as "clustering." Southall described it as an "affluent program for non-traditional students."
Steven Medlock, a second-semester graduate student, is in control of the media relations for the conference. He is the first person to contact media outlets. Medlock also has been responsible for planning the advertising budget, writing the press release and sending out individual e-mails.
As for his stress level, Medlock said he is "in a good place right now, but it's about to get real busy."
The graduate assistants in the department are Mower and Carrie Sorrel, CSRI Office Manager. Sordel has an assortment of responsibilities, from registration correspondent to reservation maker, but she likes to put her job description simply and bluntly by describing it as "making sure they're all happy."
In an effort to make matters much more organized, Mower has researched the members attending the conference, blind reviewed their abstracts, and basically assembled the pieces of the conference puzzle to form a well-designed program.
"I do anything Dr. Southall tells me to do," he said. "I find stuff."
Two students in the program commute from other cities. Howard Liebengood, known to his fellow classmates as "Scrounger" for his ability to collect random items, flies to Memphis from Washington D.C. every week in order to be a part of this program.
Titus Jackson, who calls himself "Scrounger's assistant," makes the three-hour drive from Nashville each week.
Brent Sumler and Patrick Tolivar work on the aspects of the conference that directly effect presenters and guests. Sumler is in charge of any technological aspect of the conference, not to mention casting the undergraduate students in their positions.
"If anyone's talking, I'm making sure it's broadcast," he said. "I work hand in hand with Steve...Basically, if someone's talking, I control the time it takes place."
Tolivar works with hospitality and registration. He insures that the guests are happy and all of their particulars are handled.
"Basically, making sure everything's taken care of at the airport, hotel and with their credentials," Tolivar said.
Southall said his staff of students "takes it up a notch."
Next year, he will be taking a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Despite a recent discrepancy in a New York Times article, Southall said he has been "hugely happy" with The U of M and that the dean of his program is "phenomenal." He said he's leaving because of an open opportunity for his wife, himself and the opportunity to develop the CSRI program.
"I'm not a big self-promoter. Our primary advancement was in academics," he said. "Our mission is to put on a national conference and publish a public journal."
