Sports Business Management student Annika Bell had never been a part of a business case competition, so she was thrilled when her Durham College (DC) team placed second in the MLSE PrimeTime Sports Case Competition in November.

Under the guidance of professors and coaches Sheldon Koufman and Ian Ellis, and the leadership of Team Captain and Marketing student Mason Wright, the team of five included two other Sport Business Management students, Sapandeep Messina, Josh Dasilva, and Sport Management student Coulter Babcock.

Following tryouts in September, the team trained using MLSE cases from previous years. In the first couple of weeks, they figured out the team’s strengths and weaknesses and divided their members into specialty areas from financial analysis to creative. Then they drilled cases, working especially hard on refining the return on investment in each solution they presented. At each step, their coaches helped them tighten their teamwork and improve their speed and presentation skills.

“It was great to have the coaches. We needed that guidance and structure, and it was nice to have them to motivate us,” said Bell.

But nothing could prepare the team for the actual competition day, where the topic turned out to be a bit of a curveball: how to improve equity, diversity and inclusion within the sports industry.

“We had focused our practice on cases that would bring in revenue, and this was industry based,” said Bell. The team nonetheless quickly got to work, brainstorming ideas and coming up with a solution that really resonated with the judges. In their 15-minute presentation, they proposed community collaborations where every month would kick off a focus on a different equity-deserving group (a sample event was an LGBTQ+ game night), while continuing to follow up with each group afterwards to ensure continuity.

“The judges loved it—we got lot of comments, and they liked the idea of us thinking long-term,” said Bell.

Bell said that the overall learning experience of participating in the case team was valuable from start to finish. She called out the team captain in particular for his leadership. “We wouldn’t have gotten where we were without our captain, Mason. He was there for us, he really went above and beyond,” said Bell, adding that the day itself was great for networking, both with the other case teams and also with the opportunity to attend the PrimeTime Sports Management Conference and trade show where the competition took place.

Originally from New Brunswick, where she completed a bachelor’s degree from Mount Allison University with honours research in sports media and communication, Bell said she came to DC specifically for the Sport Business Management graduate certificate. She recently accepted an internship in Nova Scotia as marketing coordinator with one of Canada’s new soccer teams, the Halifax Tides. “My passion is to work within the sports industry, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity,” said Bell.