Sport Management – Ways to Get Involved

The Sport Management Association student club is for motivated students seeking to enhance and transform their undergraduate experience. Members of this highly engaged group design and create opportunities to network with and be mentored by industry professionals, tour sport facilities, and socialize with other students. Executive leadership opportunities available including President (Sam Geida), Vice President of Administration (Brian Stuart), Vice President of Communication (Annie Borovskiy), Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations (Sebby Giliberto), Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations (Camille West), Creative Director (Kyle Shelley), Secretary (Shania Peterson-Bobbitt), Student Government Association (SGA) Lead Representative (Brandon Tuthill), and Student Government Association (SGA) Representative (JP Grace and Sam Orseno).

Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, serves as HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence. In this role, Marshall visits campus each semester and helps students understand how to navigate complex organizational situations and use communication to bring people together. These are the life skills that set our students apart when they enter their careers in the sport industry. You could even be chosen to have lunch with Cynt!

We kickoff each year by getting all the Sport Management majors and minors together to hear important and exciting information about the upcoming year. We also invite a sport industry professional to speak about their experiences in the sport industry and network with students in attendance. Previous speakers include David Brody (Director of Global Marketing Partnerships at the NBA) and C.J. Johnson (President and Director of Baseball Operations at the Winston-Salem Dash). We welcomed Rebecca Reese, Product Operations Professional at Under Armour, to our Kick-Off this year! This is always an engaging event where students are able to kick off the semester by meeting other Sport Management students, learning from professionals, and expanding their network!

The Sport Management Association aims to attend two conferences a year. Previous groups have attended the Sport Industry Networking & Career Conference (SINC) hosted by George Washington University and the Mark H. McCormack Sport Leaders Forum hosted by UMass-Amherst. Students have also attended conferences at Florida State University and Penn State University, as well as the NFL Combine Football Career Conference and the Sports, Events, & Marketing Experience. Be sure to join these conference trips to make connections with leaders in the sport industry!

Students tour local facilities in both collegiate in professional athletics giving them an opportunity to not only see these incredible facilities but also interact with sport professionals. For instance, SMA recently took students to Duke University where they listened to an exciting panel with five members of the Duke University Athletics staff, including multiple HPU alumni. After the panel, the students received a behind-the-scenes tour of the football stadium, football practice facility, basketball arena, basketball practice facility, athletics hall of fame, as well as their media and production offices. These are the types of opportunities that set HPU apart!

This exciting trip provided students the opportunity to learn from and network with sports professionals from around New York City, including ESPN, Madison Square Garden, the NBA, and BSE Global! All company contacts were former HPU Sport Management students. This was a great opportunity for anyone interested in working in one of the greatest metropolitan sports markets in the world!

Students traveled to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to get a behind-the-scenes look at life as an Olympic or Paralympic athlete. Students had the opportunity to network with professionals including the Vice President of the USOPC, tour the training facilities, and stay in the very same dorms as Olympians!

The HPU SMG program is proud to present the SMG Industry Insights Podcast! Tune in to hear from sport industry leaders, with many being HPU SMG alumni, as they share their stories. Dr. Lukow co-hosts the show with Alana Sullivan, a Sport Management major, and Wendell Epps, a Sports Media major. Happy listening! Tune in on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts, Overcast, iHeart Radio, and Castbox.

A small group of select students work together to develop the best solution to a sport business-related case study. Teams then deliver their presentations to a panel of judges in a Case Study Competition. This year, a group of students competed at the College Sport Research Institute Conference at the University of South Carolina. Great opportunity to practice critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork under pressure!