HIGH POINT, N.C., April 13, 2022 – The executive leadership of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team recently hosted a group of High Point University sport management students for a unique externship at the team’s headquarters, providing students the opportunity to connect with and learn from NBA leaders during the hustle and bustle of game day.
The externship, held April 7-8, gave students an insider’s look into how the staff of a professional NBA team works together to produce an experience that fans love while implementing values-based leadership throughout their organization. Students enjoyed working sessions and shadowing opportunities with a variety of departments, including ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, community relations, youth basketball, merchandising and operations.
“It was a surreal experience,” said sophomore Brandon Tuthill. “The biggest takeaway for me came from sitting down with Cynt Marshall and asking her what it takes to be an effective leader. Her advice helps in sport management but in life as well. I took a lot of notes from her, and I’m grateful for this experience.”
Marshall is the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence. She visits campus often to mentor students, and she hosts students at the Mavericks’ headquarters.
“I love High Point University, and I love getting back to campus,” said Marshall during a session with HPU students inside a Mavericks conference room. “As you know, my son went to High Point University and had an extraordinary experience. HPU is a special place.”
Marshall, who previously served at AT&T in leadership roles, including as the president of AT&T North Carolina and as the senior vice president for human resources, told students that values are the key to effective leadership.
“When I arrived at the Mavericks, I asked myself, what are my personal values and what is the foundation I know an organization needs to stand on?” said Marshall. “We laid out the vision, the values and the plan very clearly.
“We call these C.R.A.F.T.S. – character, respect, authenticity, fairness, teamwork and safety,” she added, pointing to a framed poster that highlights these values. “We had lots of meeting and dialogue. We said, ‘We’re all in.’ We made a commitment.”
Students spent the afternoon shadowing the Mavericks staff before a game inside the American Airlines Center. They saw first-hand the ins and outs of the arena and how teams in merchandising, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and more work together. They also learned from two HPU graduates who work at the Mavericks – Jake Wilkins, who graduated in 2020 with a business administration degree, and Murphy DiRosa, who graduated in 2020 with an event management major degree and in 2021 with a master’s degree in communication and business leadership.
“This is a phenomenal place to work,” said DiRosa, who connected with Cynt Marshall during her time on campus before going on to work for the Mavericks. “Everyone loves it here, and I love being involved in the events I’m part of and working closely with the Girls Empowered by Mavericks (GEM) program.”
After their externship concluded, students shared their business cards to make valuable career contacts.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity the Mavericks offered us to see so many aspects of their organization,” said sophomore Sam Geida. “It’s very interesting to see how involved and intertwined the different departments of the Mavericks are.”
Throughout the experience, HPU students enjoyed a variety of other events, such as visiting the home of Mavs Gaming esports arena to learn about the success of their NBA2K league. They also enjoyed attending the Mavericks game and celebrating their victory against the Portland Trailblazers.
“Dallas was an amazing experience,” said senior Sydnee McDuffie. “My favorite part of this trip was to soak up all the knowledge from the high-level executives in the sport industry.”