The Army West Point Athletics staff member – and former sport management major – collaborated with School of Communications faculty members Young Do Kim and Cara Lucia to offer marketing-based strategies, case challenges, and teaching resources to help sports-related organizations meet evolving audience expectations.
In collaboration with Department of Sport Management faculty members Young Do Kim and Cara Lucia, Emilia Cappellett ’24 served as lead author on a recently published study that examines the business of sports halls of fame and museums across North America and explores marketing strategies to increase audience engagement. She completed and submitted the study to the journal as an undergraduate and continued collaborating with her faculty mentors on final revisions after earning her degree.
The research, titled “Developing Marketing and Engagement Strategies for Sports Halls of Fame and Museums: A Case of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, was published in Case Studies in Sport Management (CSSM), a peer-reviewed journal that publishes teaching case studies for the sport management discipline. CSSM requires authors to submit both the main case study and teaching notes for a full double-blind review. Teaching notes are accessible only to institutions with a CSSM subscription or Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) membership.
The case study highlights how the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, under new executive leadership, is modernizing its engagement programs to meet contemporary audience expectations, remain competitive, and advance its mission. Cappellett, Kim and Lucia identified two pressing challenges. The first involves limited engagement programs constrained by budget and staffing. The second stems from a traditional, object-based museum model centered on passive observation and offering few commercial opportunities.
To help readers address these issues, the authors developed six sport marketing–oriented discussion questions connected to core marketing principles such as the marketing mix, targeting, positioning, branding, and corporate partnerships. In addition, they analyzed market trends, revenue streams, funding sources, and future directions, drawing on examples from leading organizations such as the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, The Franklin Institute, the USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.
In addition, the authors created a 90-minute teaching plan with three interactive classroom activities: a mini-marketing plan proposal, an industry analysis and perceptual map exercise, and a project designing an innovative sports hall of fame exhibit. They also provided suggested responses to discussion questions and recommended readings.
One reviewer praised the materials, noting that “the best part of your revisions was the enhanced content in the teaching notes – you have provided instructors with a myriad of activities that align with your learning outcomes.”
Kim commended Cappellett’s leadership and scholarship, noting that her work demonstrated both analytical rigor and professional insight.
“Emilia’s contribution to this study was remarkable because it demonstrates not only her ability to produce well-researched, evidence-based writing, but also her strong intellectual passion for understanding and applying core marketing principles to real-world practice,” the associate professor of sport management said. “This passion has also been the driving force behind her professional development in the sport industry.”
Cappellett’s professional experience strengthened her research. At Elon Athletics, she worked for two years as a marketing assistant before interning in Major League Baseball’s marketing operations department in New York in summer 2023, where she helped plan and execute major events including MLB Moments, the All-Star Game, the London Series, and the World Series. In 2025, she joined Army West Point Athletics as assistant director of the Army A Club, supporting fundraising efforts that directly benefit Army Athletics and its cadet-athletes.
The authors thanked Trip Durham, former executive director of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and founder of 2D Consulting, whose guidance and resources were instrumental to the success of the research project.