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Shelby Toompas Heather Richardson Mikenna Pierotti Jake Stump
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Beauty and the Least (Paid) $$$

Beauty and the Least (Paid) $$$

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Football was never intended to be a beauty pageant. A study led by economics professor Brad Humphreys backs it up. In fact, if you’re a handsome heartthrob coaching an NCAA Division I team, you might get a penalty flag when it comes to pay.

Using a face recognition and machine learning approach, researchers found that head coaches with a more aggressive appearance earned a salary premium. More attractive football coaches, on the other hand, faced a salary discount.

And, because you’re probably already wondering, Neal Brown ranked among the top quarter of attractive coaches.

Former WVU football coach Dana Holgorsen was ranked “substantially less attractive.”

“One explanation for the attractiveness discount and aggressiveness premium may stem from that fact that American football is a very aggressive sport, and an unattractive face might signal mental and physical toughness, viewed as a desirable characteristic in this market,” Humphreys said. Tackle more at go.wvu.edu/footballbeauty.

Chambers' Campus Cameo

Our business students were energized by College namesake and proud West Virginia native  John Chambers, who visited campus with his wife, Elaine earlier this semester. He inspired our Entrepreneurship classes and student fellows by sharing his lessons learned from 20 years of leading Cisco Systems as CEO.

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Big Data, Bigger Wins

The year 2023 was a significant one for Data Driven WV. One of the Chambers College’s research and outreach centers, Data Driven WV works to improve living and working conditions statewide through data-centric and technological solutions, with clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations.

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Business Butterfly Effect

What happens to small businesses when big retailers shut down?

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First Pitch

Supported by Silicon Valley CEO Ray Zinn, the first ZinnStarter Pitch Competition, hosted by the LaunchLab, gave aspiring collegiate entrepreneurs an opportunity to win cash to build their ideas into the next groundbreaking product or business. Winners included: First place ($2,500): Emma Adams, WVU animal and nutritional sciences major, and her business idea PetRecord, which provides universal medical records for pets in emergency situations; second place ($1,500): Cameron Keefe, global supply chain management major, and her idea ThermoRoller, which combines physical massage with temperature control to relieve sore muscle pain; and third place ($1,000) to the team of Austin Davis, Anne Byer and Emily Thomas, from the University of Charleston, and their idea Second Chance, a program that helps give active control back to people with quadriplegia and paraplegia. 

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No Dessert - or Dinner

One of seven West Virginians don't know where or when they’ll get their next meal. Food deserts are defined by the USDA as areas that lack fresh and healthful foods, and these are found throughout the state in impoverished areas lacking grocery stores, farmers’ markets and healthy food providers. John Saldanha, Sears chair in global supply chain management, is addressing this West Virginia problem head-on with his supply chain technology students. Read more in an upcoming edition of our magazine.

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