Center for Supply Chain Innovation Capitalizes on Upcoming World Cup

From the moment Simone Biles posted “Hats off to Fort Worth” on her socials in 2021, Fort Worth has been a sports-hosting city on the rise. 

The Sports Business Journal recently named it “the No. 1 City for Hosting Sporting Events,” and all you have to do is turn on ESPN to see the NCAA, the WTA, MLB and more in Fort Worth. But when FIFA announced Dallas-Fort Worth as one of the host cities for World Cup ’26, that was another level, and Jason Sands, the vice president of sports at Visit Fort Worth, knew exactly who he wanted on his team. 

“We went to TCU and asked ‘would you be willing to do this with us?’ and they were a yes,” Sands said. “TCU has been a great partner. They have great facilities. FIFA came out and they loved the site. Since then, we have teams come out and say they love it. TCU has a great reputation in college athletics, and we love partnering with them.” 

Sands was on campus recently, helping kick off the TCU Center for Supply Chain Innovation’s annual Graduate Student Supply Chain Case Competition. 

What does futbol and Fort Worth have to do with Frogs and Frito-Lay? A lot, actually. 

While campus will not be bustling with a World Cup team for a while, the center had the idea to use the global competition as the jumping-off point of the business case written by Cliff Defee, professor of professional practice in supply chain management. He incorporated a real-world challenge Frito-Lay, the official FIFA World Cup snack sponsor, is facing: launching a new product in conjunction with World Cup ’26.   

Twenty graduate student teams coming from as far as Germany were in Fort Worth to tackle the problem. The kickoff party included a talk by Sands and Ryan Peck, TCU’s senior deputy athletics director for external relations, as well as a panel discussion with Horned Frog soccer players and assistant coach Tom Serratore.   

“The collaboration between TCU, the city of Fort Worth and Frito-Lay is an incredible example and opportunity for students to apply those same principles to real-world challenges,” said Molly Kanthack, who ran track at TCU and now serves as director of TCU Neeley’s Center for Supply Chain Innovation. “It bridges academics with global impact and highlights the strength of community, leadership and the Horned Frog spirit on an international stage. As a former TCU student-athlete, I understand the power of teamwork, strategy and dedication — both on the field and in the classroom.” 

There is nothing more important than teammates — in sports and in the business of hosting the biggest sporting event in the world. TCU’s facilities and reputation helped Fort Worth become a World Cup ’26 base camp, which will bring a World Cup team, their fans and so much more to the city and to campus.   

This opportunity on the world stage underscores why TCU made Community Engagement one of the four pillars in its recently launched strategic plan, LEAD ON: Values in Action.  

“There is no bigger sports event than the World Cup,” said Peck, who is the architect of another strategic plan pillar, Athletics. “So, for TCU to be in front of that audience — to open our doors to international teams, international fans and international media in the same manner that our student-athletes, our students and fans get to experience it — is an unbelievable opportunity.”