WashU athletes second baseman Ben Browdy (BSBA’17), outfielder Max Golembo (BSBA’16), and pitcher Brad Margolin (A&S’17), have been named to the 2016 Jewish Sports Review Baseball All-America First Team, as announced by the publication.

Browdy who is majoring in finance, is a D3baseball.com Third-Team All-America selection, started all 51 games and batted .352 with 18 doubles, three triples, five homeruns, and was second in NCAA Division III with 79 RBIs. Browdy also led the UAA in home runs, doubles, RBIs and total bases (114). He earned D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team all-Central Region selection, and was named the 2016 University Athletic Association (UAA) Co-Player of the Year. Browdy drove in a run in 33 of 51 games, including 25 games with two or more RBIs. He ended the season on a 19-game hitting streak, and is a two-time UAA Hitter of the Week selection.

Golembo, majoring in finance and entrepreneurship, is a second-team all-UAA and all-Central Region honoree, batted .358 with eight doubles and 28 RBIs in 50 starts in centerfield. He tied the WashU single-season record and ranked eighth in NCAA Division III with 41 walks. Golembo ranked in the top five in the UAA in seven offensive categories: first in on-base percentage (.488) and walks, second in runs scored (56), third in hits (69), fifth in stolen bases (20), eighth in RBIs (28) and ninth in total bases (77). He was named to the UAA Championship All-Tournament Team in March, and reached base in 47 of 50 games played. Golembo ranks second in school history in runs scored (172), fourth in stolen bases (67) and fifth in games played (162) and hits (208).

Margolin, majoring in psychology, is the D3baseball.com Central Region Pitcher of the Year, posted an 8-1 record with a 2.74 earned run average in 13 starts for the Bears. He was also a D3baseball.com First-Team and ABCA/Rawlings Second-Team all-Central Region selection. Margolin led the UAA in shutouts (two), complete games (five) and strikeouts (73), and was second in wins and fifth in ERA. He ranked in the top 15 in NCAA Division III in walks allowed per nine innings (seventh, 0.89) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (12^th, 7.30). Margolin was a three-time UAA Pitcher of the Week honoree, and earned Central Regional All-Tournament Team honors.

WashU finished the 2016 season with a 33-18 overall record, one win shy of the single-season school record, and were the 2016 UAA champions. The Bears also made their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and won two postseason games for the first time in school history.

News Release courtesy of WUSTL Bear Sports

As the Olympic Games approach, Brazil’s government remains in turmoil after a corruption scandal. There’s also concern about crime and water quality in the host city Rio de Janeiro.

And then, there’s the Zika outbreak.

The mosquito-borne virus proven to cause severe birth defects has hit Brazil particularly hard, and left athletes with a difficult choice: risk possible infection or give up the chance to compete on the world stage.

One group of athletes in particular is dropping out of the Summer Olympics en masse: male golfers, most of whom are on the PGA Tour. And while they’re citing Zika concerns, Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School, said there’s another factor at play.

“It’s all about the cost-benefit analysis of whether it’s worth it to professional male golfers to compete in the Olympics,” Rishe said. “For male golfers, there is much more money and glory in being a major championship winner.”

“Jordan Spieth’s withdrawal from the Rio Games means the top four players in the world, including Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, have withdrawn from the Olympics, citing Zika as the primary reason,” Rishe said.

“We have golf back in the Olympics for the first time since the 1904 Games in St. Louis, and it will only feature four of the top 10 players in the world, and just eight of the top 15.”

For many athletes, the games are the pinnacle of their careers, with financial rewards and endorsements coming after Olympic gold. As Rishe recently wrote in Forbes, for pro golfers, that’s not the case. He points to the fact that the pro golf schedule is packed with major events that are occurring just before and after the Olympic Games. With too many chances to rake in millions, the golfers are simply choosing to rest up rather than compete in Rio.

“For male golfers, the cost-benefit comparison is reversed,” Rishe said.  “What are the benefits? Playing for your country? The pride of winning a medal against a watered-down field? There is no prize money, and this fact alone may have deterred some from Rio.”

Guest Blogger: Erika Ebsworth-Goold

Image: Chick Evans, 1915, Bain News Service, Flickr, The Commons

Former Washington University in St. Louis women’s basketball star Melissa Gilkey, BSBA’15, completed her first season overseas by helping lead the Virum Vipers to its first Danish Women’s Professional League Championship in 36 years. Gilkey majored in economics & strategy, and marketing.

Gilkey, a 2015 graduate, averaged a team-best 14.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for Virum in the program’s first season back playing in Denmark’s highest level of basketball. She shot 45.3 percent (130-287) from the field and 83.6 percent (92-110) from the free-throw line, and also connected on 20 three-pointers in 28 games played.

Virum won the championship series 3-2, including a 66-61 victory over Stevensgade in game five on the road. Gilkey averaged 7.8 points per game in the finals, and had 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the 71-57 win in game three.

“I had a fantastic time in Copenhagen and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the sport I love at the professional level,” Gilkey said. “With a new country and new team came new challenges, but my time at WashU definitely prepared me for the new experience. Of course it was incredible to end our season, and my career, on such a high note.”

Gilkey earned first-team All-America honors in 2014-15 after leading the Bears in scoring (19.1 ppg), rebounding (8.9) and blocked shots (45). She also earned first-team all-Central Region honors and was named the UAA Player of the Year. Gilkey was one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Jostens Trophy.

One of 13 players in school history to surpass 1,000 career points, she finished her career second on WashU’s all-time scoring list with 1,707 points. Gilkey also ranks third in career rebounds (876), fourth in blocked shots (144) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.785).

“While I’ve been here many Bears have come through Denmark and that has been so much fun,” Gilkey added. “Some were close friends and some were friends of friends, but we were all connected by WashU and I loved that I felt that alumni connection so strongly even in Europe.”

Gilkey announced she will be retiring following her one season in Denmark, and moving to San Francisco this summer to work for Protiviti, a business consulting firm. Until then, she will be traveling and seeing some of the countries through Europe that she didn’t get a chance to see during the season.

News release from WashU Bear Sports

The NFL’s decision to move the St. Louis Rams football franchise to Los Angeles has more to do with money than sports, so it’s no surprise that the media has been turning to Olin experts for their views on the news.

Patrick Rishe, director of Olin’s Business of Sports Program has been making the rounds on local radio, TV, and national outlets including  this report on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street and this interivew with CNN Money.

Dan Elfenbein, strategy professor, told St. Louis Public Radio that the loss of the Rams could allow the city to focus attention and investment on more pressing needs like improving public schools. Listen to or read the report, “For some, the NFL’s departure from St. Louis is a ‘gut punch.'”

Patrick Rishe, director of the Business of Sports program at Olin, calls out the Dallas Cowboys in his Forbes column for failing to acknowledge the behavior – off and on the field -of Greg Hardy.

“Signing players with more-than-questionable character issues, and then designating them as team leaders in remarks to media members, undermines a once-great sports brand, and quite frankly, is just downright poor business.”

Link to column on Forbes.  Greg Hardy And The Dallas Cowboys: A Case Study In Poor Sports Branding 10/27/2015

Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Olin, backs Los Angeles as the best site for the 2024 Olympics in his Forbes.com blog. He writes, “Because they already have numerous facilities in place, this makes it more likely that Los Angeles can be cost-effective in operating the Olympics. Something the I.O.C. wants to see.”
Read entire article, “Facilities, Public Support, Cost-Effectiveness Make Los Angeles Ideal Choice For 2024 Olympics”published: 8/13/15.