Jared Orange pitched a partnership between Athletes Unlimited Basketball and OPI, a global nail polish and nail care brand, to a panel of industry leaders on March 26, 2026. His presentation earned him top recognition at the University of Miami's second annual Simon Summit.
The Simon Scholars Program trains students to develop professional-level sponsorship strategies. This year, nearly 40 students applied. The program selected 11 Simon Scholars and advanced seven to present at the Summit. Students crafted pitches for women's sports sponsorships, aligning brand strategy with business value.
Orange positioned OPI's values of empowerment and self-expression alongside Athletes Unlimited's athlete-driven model. He identified an emerging opportunity: growing male viewership in women's sports matched OPI's expanding gender-neutral consumer base.
Industry professionals Matt Hillman and Scott Becher ran Innovation Labs that improved Orange's strategy.
"Their guidance helped me refine my ROI projections, develop more impactful and realistic activations, and think more intentionally about how to keep the audience engaged," Orange said.
Their input transformed creative ideas into credible proposals.
The expert panel tested each presenter. Judges Jamie Dinan, co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, Eric Pincus, NBA analyst and salary cap specialist, Alex Fraser of Smart Merchant Processing and Invictus Holdings, former University of Miami Head Basketball Coach Jim Larrañaga, and Sean Simon of Soundlink Partners challenged students with real-time questions.
"To be honest, I was definitely nervous going into it," Orange said.
He valued their feedback and called the post-presentation discussions a highlight.
Seven presenters delivered exceptional work: Emma Sadovskiy, Ananth Uday Nayak, Talen Samant, Matt Cianciulli, Doug Parker, Jac Doucette, and Jared Orange.
Four top performers (Orange, Sadovskiy, Doucette, and Samant) earned summer externship opportunities.
Sean and Stacey Simon funded the program. Co-directors Professor Tanner Simkins and Dr. Andrea Buenaño, Associate Dean Ellenmarie McPhillip, Dean Laura Kohn-Wood, and the School of Education and Human Development teams built and executed the initiative.
"The most valuable lesson I'm taking away from the Simon Scholars Program is the importance of thinking creatively while grounding those ideas in strong strategy and clear communication," Orange said.
