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The purpose of this case is to illuminate the numerous factors administrators must consider when conducting and completing a coaching search. Specifically, participants are instructed to use Kellison’s (2013) ethical decision-making process framework to guide their analysis when deciding on, and eventually hiring, a head coach at an exceedingly visible university and athletic department. A hypothetical situation was created based on actual events that took place during a highly publicized head coach search in a major university football program. In all, participants will be immersed in the process of identifying, interviewing, and ultimately choosing a new head coach for their highest revenue-generating program during the most important time in the history of the university and athletic department.

This case study explores the issue of team leadership among players who have been selected to play for their national team in an international tournament. After the coaching staff had solidified the roster, a total of 12 (fictional) players were chosen to represent Canada Basketball on the senior women’s development team. With some players having known their teammates for only 2 weeks, the coaching staff has asked the team’s analytics specialist to gather data regarding the network of players within the team and present potential captains of the team to the coaching staff. Students will take on the role of the analytics specialist and provide the summary of the analysis to the coaching staff. Specifically, using a social network analysis approach, students will use the team’s network of players to determine which individual players are involved in the team’s leadership structure as captains. The primary objective of this case study is to afford students an opportunity to be acquainted with social network analysis in a sport management setting.

Wisconsin State University (WSU) is on the verge of receiving an invitation to join the Mid-Atlantic Conference (a conference with Football Bowl Subdivision [FBS] status). To successfully transition to FBS, WSU needs its students to approve a fee increase to offset the additional costs. Alex Pence, the assistant director of marketing, has been placed in charge of developing a marketing plan to influence students to support the fee increase. Unfortunately for Pence, WSU students have a history of opposing fees for athletics. With pressure from the school’s administration, Pence must figure out how create support for the move while balancing the ethical and political pressures he is facing.

Mary Graham is the athletic director at Western Arkansas University (WAU), a successful Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school that is about to receive an invitation to join a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference. WAU’s Board of Regents has put the decision to join in her hands, but WAU’s president is pushing her to recommend accepting the invitation. Using details from a recently completed feasibility study and information from a professor in the sport management program, Graham must decide the future of her athletic program and university.

Reseating a stadium or arena is not a new phenomenon. It offers colleges and universities the opportunity to reward donors who have contributed financially to the athletic department as well as to create or maintain an equitable seat allocation system. At the same time, a poorly planned or poorly executed reseating project has the potential to upset current donors to the point of alienation. ABC University is looking to take on a reseating project, and it is looking to Virginia Commonwealth University for guidance because of its successful 2013 reseating project. With the success of its men’s basketball program and highly engaged fan base, the time is right to undertake this project. Factors involved in the decision to reseat, communication with fans, and the method involved with the actual reseating are among the topics discussed. This case study would be beneficial to other schools looking to reseat or future athletic administrators interested in an insider’s perspective at a major revenue generation project.