{"686016":{"#nid":"686016","#data":{"type":"news","title":"First-Year Students Win US Soccer Case Competition ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA group of first-year Georgia Tech students took first place in a U.S. Soccer Case Competition, in which teams from universities throughout Georgia developed plans to reimagine the NCAA Men\u2019s Division 1 Soccer Championship and increase revenue and fan engagement.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EComputer science and mathematics student Sudarshan Prasanna, industrial engineering student Manu Sankaran, and industrial design student Aisha Abraham were one of the 100 participating teams in the competition. Fifteen finalists presented their plans to U.S. Soccer officials and marketing professionals during the final rounds, held at Clark Atlanta University.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom expanding the sport\u2019s postseason tournament from 48 to 64 to more closely follow what the team calls the \u201cMarch Madness model\u201d of college basketball, to regionalizing the early rounds to reduce travel costs, the winning team offered several recommendations to the panel. But it was their thorough use of data and analytical projections that set them apart from the field.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing current television ratings, network and streaming revenue, and attendance figures, the team leveraged machine learning models to incorporate aspects of their plan and projected a $20 million net profit, with increases from media rights deals and additional partnerships over five- and 10-year periods.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen the judges announced our win, they mentioned that it was a clear implementation, backed by data-driven, numerically oriented facts. I think that Georgia Tech-type mentality is why we won,\u201d said Prasanna. \u201cIt\u0027s not just about having cool ideas, but also about learning to support them with legitimate evidence and present them to an audience in ways that everyone can understand, whether it\u2019s software engineers or CEOs.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike a soccer team, Prasanna said that each member of their team played a unique role in the victory. While Prasanna handled the data, Sankaran\u2019s previous case competition experience and consulting background suited him to lead in crafting the presentation, and Abraham served as the graphic designer.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA major lesson learned from this competition is that there\u0027s something in sports for everyone. Aisha is a friend of ours and an incredible artist. Even as an international student who didn\u2019t know much about college sports beforehand, she was able to make her mark in her own way, and she is the perfect example of using your existing experiences to find what that connection is for you,\u201d Prasanna said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/activity-7385053279610789888-ISd_?utm_source=share\u0026amp;utm_medium=member_desktop\u0026amp;rcm=ACoAAB2RNoYBQx0o2CDEDNjKruqYn7qm36y48K4\u0022\u003EU.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said\u003C\/a\u003E the competition is part of a larger effort to connect with local talent following the federation\u2019s move to Atlanta, and it coincides with the release of a white paper outlining additional suggestions to ensure the success of collegiate soccer. As winners, Prasanna, Abraham, and Sankaran will receive guaranteed internship interviews to continue developing ideas for the organization. Prasanna, a lifelong soccer fan, intends to pursue opportunities in sports analytics \u2014 a skill he used in a data-driven project that tracked Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King\u2019s optimal path to the endzone on each of his 11 touchdown runs in the 2024 season.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Teams presented plans to increase revenue and fan engagement around the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Championship. "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETeams presented plans to increase revenue and fan engagement around the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Championship.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Teams presented plans to increase revenue and fan engagement around the NCAA Division 1 Soccer Championship. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-10-27 16:11:28","changed_gmt":"2025-10-27 16:26:26","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678456":{"id":"678456","type":"image","title":"US Soccer Case Competition","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech first-year students \u2013 Sudarshan Prasanna, Aisha Abraham, and Manu Sankaran \u2013\u0026nbsp;celebrate their victory in the U.S. Soccer Case Competition hosted at Clark Atlanta University. Submitted photo.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1761581785","gmt_created":"2025-10-27 16:16:25","changed":"1761581785","gmt_changed":"2025-10-27 16:16:25","alt":"US Soccer Case Competition Winners","file":{"fid":"262479","name":"1760733900451.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/27\/1760733900451.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/27\/1760733900451.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":113299,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/10\/27\/1760733900451.jpeg?itok=Z2U6fR00"}}},"media_ids":["678456"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"167723","name":"soccer"},{"id":"168486","name":"college sports"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}