What We Do

GSCG pairs small teams of Gonzaga students with sport organizations — professional teams, leagues, venues, brands, and agencies — to work on genuine business problems. These are not simulations. Clients share real challenges and expect thoughtful, well-researched recommendations in return.

In exchange, students gain something most programs can't offer: direct access to sport industry professionals, real deliverable experience, and the pressure of performing for a client who is counting on your work.

What We Aspire to Be

GSCG aspires to be the best undergraduate consulting program in the country — not because of rankings or reputation, but because of the quality of our people and the integrity of our work. We want every client we work with to feel that we brought more value than they expected. And we want every student who goes through GSCG to leave more capable, more confident, and more prepared for a career in sport business than when they arrived.

We are building something worth being a part of. That only works if everyone takes it seriously.

Our Four Principles

Everything GSCG does is grounded in four principles. They are not aspirational slogans — they are expectations for how we work together and how we show up for clients.

Weeks 1–2 · Problem Definition

• Kickoff meeting with the client — listen more than you talk
• Align as a team on what you've been asked to solve and why it matters
• Write a one-sentence problem statement that the full team agrees on
• Identify your key objective — what does a successful answer actually look like?
• Scope the work — what's in, what's out, and what are the constraints

Weeks 3–5 · Research and Analysis

• Conduct market research — secondary sources first, then primary if needed
• Divide research workstreams by team member with clear ownership
• Hold a mid-point sync — share what you've found, identify gaps, adjust direction
• Begin mapping findings to your key objective — does the data support your early hypothesis?
• Flag anything surprising or contradictory — those are often the most important insights

Weeks 6–7 · Synthesis and Build

• Agree on your core recommendation before you start building slides
• Choose a framework to structure your argument — SWOT, 4Ps, Porter's Five Forces, or a custom structure that fits the problem
• Build the deck with a clear narrative: problem → insight → recommendation → implementation
• Do a full dry-run with someone outside the team — get honest feedback
• Refine based on feedback; cut anything that doesn't serve the core argument

Week 8 · Delivery

• Final presentation to the client — treat it like the real thing, because it is
• Be prepared for Q&A — clients will push on your assumptions
• Send a follow-up summary within 48 hours
• Hold a team retrospective — what worked, what didn't, what you'd do differently

Why It Matters

Without a clear key objective, teams waste time on research that doesn't connect to a recommendation, build presentations that wander, and deliver answers to questions the client wasn't asking. A well-written key objective keeps everything — your research, your analysis, your recommendation — anchored to the same target.

It also protects you in Q&A. When a client pushes back or goes off-topic, you can return to the objective: "That's a great point — our focus for this engagement was X, so we'll flag that as a direction for future work."

Revisit It Often

Pin your key objective to the top of every team working document. Reference it at the start of every team meeting. As you learn more about the problem, you may need to refine it — that's fine. What's not fine is drifting away from it without noticing.

Two Types of Research

Secondary research uses information that already exists — industry reports, news coverage, academic studies, company filings, competitor websites, social media data, and publicly available statistics. Start here. It is faster, cheaper, and often more than sufficient to establish context and identify patterns.

Primary research means gathering new information directly — through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations. Use primary research when secondary sources can't answer a specific question, or when you need a client-specific data point that doesn't exist publicly.

Turning Research into Insight

Raw research is not insight. Insight is what you conclude from the research — and why it matters for your client's specific situation. "Attendance at minor league baseball games increased 12% last season" is a data point. "Attendance growth is concentrated in markets with new stadium infrastructure, which suggests your proposed renovation could meaningfully shift your competitive position" is an insight.

Every piece of research your team produces should answer the question: so what does this mean for our client?

Why Frameworks Matter

Without a framework, research is a pile of facts. With one, it becomes an argument. Frameworks give your audience a mental map — they know where you're going, how each piece connects, and what you want them to take away. This is especially critical in a presentation context, where you have limited time and your audience is evaluating both your answer and your thinking process.

A well-chosen framework also signals credibility. It shows the client that you approached their problem with rigor, not guesswork — and that your recommendation didn't emerge from instinct alone.

Common Frameworks in Sport Consulting

• SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats — good for situational assessment and competitive positioning
• 4Ps / Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Place, Promotion — useful for fan engagement, sponsorship, and go-to-market questions
• Porter's Five Forces: Competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants — strong for market entry and competitive landscape
• Problem → Insight → Recommendation: Simple narrative arc that works for almost any consulting deliverable
• Custom structures: Sometimes the best framework is one you build yourself to fit the specific problem — three drivers, two trade-offs, one recommendation

What a Case Competition Looks Like

Teams receive a real sport business problem — typically 6–24 hours before presentation. You analyze the problem, develop a recommendation, build a presentation, and deliver it to a panel of sport industry judges. Q&A is live and unscripted.

The University of Michigan Sport Business Conference is a notable example of the level GSCG competes at. Previous GSCG teams have received recognition there.

Presentation Day

• One person owns the opener and the close — these are the most memorable moments
• Transitions between speakers should be clean and rehearsed
• In Q&A: listen to the full question, pause before answering, be honest when you don't know
• Time yourself — going over on time signals poor preparation
• Dress to the level of the judges, not your teammates

Before You Travel

• Confirm logistics with your PM — travel, lodging, meeting schedule
• Review the engagement brief so you know what you're observing and why
• Prepare 3–5 questions for any client meetings — demonstrate you've done the work
• Know who you're meeting and their role in the organization
• Dress professionally — business casual minimum, business formal for presentations

What We Look For

• Curiosity: Do they ask good questions? Are they genuinely interested in sport business?
• Coachability: Do they receive feedback well? Are they honest about what they don't know?
• Commitment: Can they manage the time investment of an eight-week engagement alongside coursework?
• Collaboration: Evidence they've worked well in team settings before
• Character: Will they represent GSCG well to clients?

Onboarding New Members

• Walk through the GSCG Consulting Guide in the first week
• Assign a returning member as a peer mentor
• Complete the profile photo standardizer tool
• Introduce to the current client roster and engagement context

With Clients

• Treat every client interaction as a professional engagement, not a class project
• Respond to client communications within 24 hours
• Never share confidential client information outside the team
• Be honest about what you know and what you don't
• Deliver what you committed to, on time

With Each Other

• Give feedback on the work, not the person
• When you disagree, say so — silence is not agreement
• Follow through on what you commit to in team meetings
• If you're struggling, say so early — don't wait for a deadline
• Celebrate each other's wins — publicly and specifically

Representing GSCG

• You represent GSCG at conferences, events, and on social media
• Maintain a professional LinkedIn presence as a GSCG member
• Don't make claims about clients or engagements without authorization
• If something feels off — a conflict of interest, an ethical question — bring it to the director