HIGH POINT, N.C., March 20, 2015 – Four High Point University seniors recently gained invaluable insight into the sport management industry while attending the NFL Combine Football Career Conference in Indianapolis.
During the conference, the students attended panel discussions about careers in sports and a networking event where they met professionals currently working at the highest levels of the business.
All of the seniors – Andrew Schleicher, Michelle Milano, Megan Robinson and Joe Wetzler – are active members of HPU’s Sports Management Association, a student club for those interested in pursuing a career in the sports industry. Three of them are also sport management minors at HPU.
Schleicher, president of the Sports Management Association at HPU, says the conference showed him that sports professionals may follow different paths in their careers, but there are some common ingredients to success.
“Have a definite goal, meet people, get your foot in the door anyway you can, and be the hardest worker you know,” Schleicher says. “Sports is a fairly small industry, and it seems that everyone knows everyone, which makes networking at events like this more important than ever.”
The Sports Management Club will host its own HPU Sports Conference on campus March 29. Speakers for the event will include Dan Hauser, HPU athletic director; Pete Philo, Pacers director of international scouting and president of TPG Sports Group; David Duquette, Charlotte Hornets director of basketball affairs; Randolph Childress, Wake Forest University assistant men’s basketball coach; Bob Hamer, founder of Sports Business Solutions LLC and former Phoenix Suns vice president of ticket sales; and Julia Heelan, partner services coordinator with Wake Forest IMG Sports Marketing.