Susmit Gulavani

Why FSU?

The FSU Department of Sport Management is a top-ranked doctoral program in the nation. The department has the philosophy of nurturing talent. The academics within this department are quite challenging yet rewarding, which provided me with an opportunity to examine management principles and formulate effective argumentation through the rigorous doctoral degree coursework. I began my journey as a graduate student in this prestigious department. Throughout this journey, I have found my passion in sports marketing and analytics. This area of interest lends itself to both conceptual and analytical lenses to examine the business aspects of the sports industry. The department provided me with the opportunity to learn from and shadow some of the best professors in the field of sports marketing and analytics. Among whom, Dr. James Du has helped me in developing critical skill sets including quantitative data analysis, sports marketing and communication, creative thinking, and teamwork collaborations.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

My ultimate goal in life is to bring about a difference in the lives of people by being a meaningful scholar. The doctoral program will allow me to achieve this goal in two ways. First, the program will equip me with knowledge in the field of sports marketing and analytics, which can be disseminated to enlighten people. The focus of the doctoral program in this esteemed department and university is to train students who go on to be professors at research universities. Teaching is considered to be a noble profession and it helps in conveying knowledge through evidence-based practice to the masses in a sophisticated way. This experience will help in constructing new, creative, and positive ideas which will not only benefit the lives of people but also bring about a change in society. Second, the program will enable me to become a proficient researcher. I will learn the science of conducting an exploration of the current sport management literature. Research in the field of sports marketing and analytics will help in refining the current approaches undertaken by industry professionals and in improving the association between a sports property and the consumers. Also, research in the field of sport management and public health will help in fostering positive and healthy living among people.

Importance and/or impact of research and work

My research interests lie in transformative sports consumer inquiry. I am interested in researching the transformative impact of sports on people’s lives. Historically, marketing has been deceitful, manipulative, and intended to persuade people to spend money they cannot afford on goods and services that provide little to no benefit. My research endeavor is to transcend the traditional definition of marketing and examine how the consumption of sports products and services can bring about transformation in the lives of individuals. This line of research leapfrogs the profit-oriented view of marketing and emphasizes the well-being of consumers. In order to conduct empirical investigations in this research area, I employ advanced analytical procedures, including machine learning and natural language processing, as well as psychometric procedures, including confirmatory factor analysis and cross-lagged panel analysis. My scholarly works are built on an interdisciplinary body of knowledge involving marketing, management, data science, economics, sociology, and cognitive psychology.

Career aspirations

In order to describe my career aspiration, I have devised a set of short-term goals and long-term goals. The first short-term goal is to develop a strong knowledge base of the current sport marketing theories and practices. The second short-term goal is to investigate these theories and practices through the lens of an academic researcher and contribute to the refinement of these theories and practices. Lastly, the third short goal is to actively work in an academic setting and implement the knowledge through research that will benefit not only the sport management literature but also the lives of people. My first long-term goal is to advance the pedagogy in the field of sport management and equip future practitioners in the sports industry with a comprehensive knowledge base that could help them serve sports fans in a better way. My second long-term goal is to bring about transformation in the lives of people by emphasizing the well-being aspects of sports. Sport represents a powerful tool that can bring about positive outcomes in the lives of people (e.g., happiness), and my endeavor is to connect people with sport and help them realize this transformative potential of sport.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

I believe that three things are essential to pursue a graduate degree. First, it is important to demonstrate a burning desire to gain knowledge. I believe that students should always have a desire and fascination to understand why things function the way they function. Second, students should demonstrate patience. Success comes to those who have the courage to persevere through the rigors of college coursework. Third, I believe that hard work is very important to achieve success. There is no substitute for hard work. Students should work hard to ensure that their energies are directed toward academics in order to secure success in graduate school.

Accomplishments during graduate career

I have gained a menagerie of service experiences with several FSU constituencies. I served as a student member for the faculty search committee when the Department of Sport Management received approval to hire a new assistant professor specializing in sports analytics. My work involved reviewing the materials for each prospective applicant, meeting with other committee members to discuss the applicants, identifying a list of the most qualified candidates, and participating in both the initial virtual interviews and the subsequent in-person campus interviews with a final list of candidates. In addition, I have also served as a member and vice-chair of the Student Leadership Council at the College of Education. I was responsible for promoting leadership and the professional development of students in the college and for developing partnerships with different departments at FSU to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity and foster holistic assess to various resources on the campus. I was also involved with the Indian Students Association of Tallahassee in my capacity as president of the organization. I worked with the Indian students at FSU to preserve the Indian culture in Tallahassee through individual and group activities, and I was actively involved in assisting new incoming Indian students. The objective behind undertaking leadership roles in different capacities was to serve the student community and be a torchbearer of student well-being and resiliency at FSU. Lastly, between 2020 and 2022, I have received grants from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Center for Research in Intercollegiate Athletics (CRIA)