For the eighth consecutive year, Major League Baseball’s Advanced Media division (MLB.com) and the School of Information Studies (iSchool) have teamed up to challenge Syracuse University students to see if they have what it takes to make it in baseball’s technology big leagues.
MLB.com and the iSchool are co-sponsoring the MLB.com College Challenge, a contest that invites students to develop new ideas that could end up being used on MLB.com, Major League Baseball’s official website, or incorporated into another one of the enterprise’s digital properties.
Participants in the 2016 challenge work with MLB staffers to fine-tune their pitch ideas.
The competition will put teams of students to the test by challenging them to work on real-world problems in the realm of technology and sports. Teams will submit competing solutions to demonstrate creativity, insight and talent in a fun, interactive environment, and then pitch their ideas to current MLB.com employees who are also Syracuse alumni.
“This year, we’ll again have an exciting new topic, and some great prizes for students to win,” says Julie Walas Huynh, director of alumni & student engagement at the iSchool. “The 2017 College Challenge is poised to be the best one yet!”
Along with Walas Huynh, the contest is being coordinated by iSchool faculty member and CEO of SIDEARM Sports Jeffrey Rubin and iSchool alumni and current MLB.com employees Josh Frost ’08, Marc Squire ’11, Ben Romy ’12, Andrew Pregler ’15, James McRoberts ’15 and Sammy Pardes ’16, along with fellow Syracuse University graduate Mike Hoffman ’93.
This year’s event will be held beginning in the evening on Thursday, Nov. 9, with dinner at the Carrier Dome’s Club 44 followed by an all-night hackathon in Hinds Hall where student teams work on their ideas.
The next evening, teams will have the opportunity to pitch their creative ideas to a panel of MLB and Syracuse judges.
The winning team will travel to New York City for a dinner with MLB.com employees and an overnight stay. The following day, they will tour the MLB.com office located in NYC’s historic Chelsea Market, followed by lunch and the opportunity to share the winning presentation with other MLB employees. All challenge entrants will enjoy participation prizes from MLB.com.
Team-based registration for the contest will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5.
All students are encouraged to register and form teams consisting of two to four members. The contest is open to all Syracuse University students, and all teams must have at least one iSchool student on them. Details and online registration.
Questions about the competition can be directed to Walas Huynh at jlwalas@syr.edu, or by phone at 315.443.4133.
