Me Presenting My Research at the SOBIE Conference

Author: Jackson Wollscheid | Major: Economics, Political Science | Semester: Spring 2025

My name is Jackson Wollscheid and I am an Economics and Political Science double major with minors in Statistics, Outdoor Leadership, Finance. For the Society of Business, Industry, and Economics Conference, I did research on the factors outside of playing ability that build a MLB player’s candidacy for the Baseball Hall of Fame. My research found significance in awards, all star appearances, and teams playing a major role in deciding who becomes a Baseball Hall of Famer more so than many individual player statistics did. Along with this, my research found that there is a significant gap in the level of play by players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers of America and those voted in by the Eras Committee. This research was done by me with advisement from my father Dr. James Wollscheid at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. As my father has worked as a professor for 15 years, he has been to many conferences and has been a constant source of encouragement for my research. It was over Christmas break that he discussed the possibility of going to the SOBIE conference in Destin, Florida as he believed it to be one of his favorite conferences and that I would have a good chance of winning awards at the conference. This being my first conference, I was incredibly nervous as while I had written papers for classes before, it had never been to this level, and now having done it I feel much more confident in my research abilities especially as I move forward on my honors thesis. This is especially so as I was one of three papers to win Best Student Research Paper at the conference out of the nearly 70 students who entered research for the conference. This award was incredibly nice as it provides a great award for my resume and boosts my confidence as a researcher. Being able to present the research I did on the Baseball Hall of Fame to other students and professors also provided me with great feedback and a great opportunity to improve for future presentations. Having had to rush through this presentation due to having too much information to cover lets me know that I should make more concise presentations. The feedback I got will help me guide my paper as I hope to refine it further and present it again after making some improvements especially as it relates to the literature review and further research opportunities! This being a primarily student based research conference, I was able to make great connections with students from the University of South Alabama and Austin Peay State University as both schools brought many students. The conference did a great job presenting these networking events hosting a beach volleyball game, conference breakfast, and student trivia night. This conference was an outstanding opportunity to improve myself as a researcher and presenter as well as a prime opportunity for building connections with other students and professors coming from schools in the Southeastern United States. I would advise any students interested in research to approach a professor and enter into a conference as the opportunities presented at conferences are prime for students soon to enter the job market or further their education with graduate school!