INZONE MAKING AN IMPACT

As they say, you’re only as good as your first impression.  If the phrase rings true, Virginia Commonwealth University’s newly-founded InZone is headed in the direction of success after recently completing its initial business project with Speedway Motorsports, Inc. of Concord, North Carolina.

InZone, currently in its first month of operation, is a sports research organization created by VCU SportsCenter graduate students as an action learning project. The company was contacted in September by SMI Business Development Director Mike Burch to perform marketing research at two NASCAR events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The track is one of seven NASCAR facilities owned and operated by SMI.

InZone’s primary objective was to assist SMI in developing a better understanding of fan demographics at the speedway, in addition to providing SMI with data relevant to its contract renewal with Nationwide Insurance, one of the racetrack’s largest sponsors. On October 15, the Sports Impact staff and approximately 40 additional SportsCenter students made the trip to Charlotte to survey nearly 1,650 fans at both the Busch Series “Sponge Bob Squarepants the Movie 300” and the Nextel Series “UAW-GM Quality 500.”

“It was a great experience for everybody,” said project manager Ian Wiese. “It was crucial to establish a foundation on which Sports Impact hopes to build. We knew what we had to do and we were in mission mode – that’s a credit to our preparation. ”A detailed final report including survey data, graphical analysis, observations and suggestions was forwarded to Burch on November 1, marking the completion of InZone’s first-ever business initiative. The achievement is impressive considering that the eight-person team of Craig Aliff, Eric Dutt, Daniel Ndungu, Joel Pannell, Jennifer Sprouse, Peter Stuart, Celeste Thompson and Wiese had not met prior to August 26, the first day of the fall semester. “This group has done a tremendous job in developing this project vision, and they’ve done it at the utmost professional level,” said Michelle Meadows, VCU athletics assistant compliance director and the group’s action learning project mentor.

The concept of a sports research organization has been in the works at the SportsCenter for a few years, originally as a vision of Director Dr. Richard Sander to offer students real-world experience in sports marketing and research while promoting the new graduate program. The class of 2004 developed a detailed business plan before handing the torch to this year’s students, who have been instrumental in turning the concept into a reality. Be it a tremendous accomplishment, the InZone staff has not dwelled on the success of the SMI project and has currently began planning for future projects with clients such as the Richmond Volleyball Club and Colonial Athletic Association. The company will also oversee an economic impact model of the 2005 VHSL State Basketball Championship in Richmond. The staff agrees that establishing key contacts in the sports industry while building a solid business resume is crucial for the continued success of the organization. “VCU’s status within Richmond has really given us great opportunities with the CAA and other local sports organizations,” said Sprouse, Sports Impact business development manager. “It has allowed us to branch out into other areas of marketing research.”Aside from new projects, InZone is currently in the process of establishing itself as a non-profit business entity, operating independent of VCU but donating all revenues to the university. It is a goal of InZone’s founding students to have created a fully-functional sports research organization, with a strong client base, by the time they graduate the SportsCenter program next year. With a great first impression in Charlotte, it sure looks like InZone is headed in the right direction to making a lasting impression on the sports industry.