The Covenant College Sport Management program took three students and two professors to work the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans. Nicole Graubard (senior sport management major), Sydney Jones (senior sport management major), and David Perry (sophomore business major and sport management minor) worked the Super Bowl and various events leading up to the big game. Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Michaela Kourmoulis and Professor of Sociology, Matt Vos led the trip.
They traveled to New Orleans on Wednesday, Feb. 5. On Thursday, Feb. 6, they visited an alumni, Makenna Dance '24, who is currently a group sales executive at NOLA Gold Rugby. She showed the group around the facility and explained some of the unique aspects of rugby. Then students experienced the beignets from Cafe Dumont and spent some time with another alumni, Jonathan Pelts '10, who is currently the head of US Sport at YouGov. He spent time with students encouraging to network while at the Super Bowl and encouraging them as they pursue their interests in sport management.
On Friday, Feb. 7, they had gameday training with the NFL. At the training they were informed of their station for gameday and trained on the various tasks they would be doing. The group took some time to attend the Super Bowl Experience as a fan. That night, the students attended a sport management networking event where they heard from various professionals that currently work in the sport industry. They also met other students from various sport management programs that were in town to work the Super Bowl.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, they volunteered with Athletes in Action Super Bowl Breakfast which enabled students to rub shoulders with celebrities like Terry Crews, Cameron Jordan, Tony Dungy and more. That evening the group had dinner with Ms. Dance and Solomon Crouch '24, who works as the motion graphics coordinator for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.
Sunday, Feb. 9 was the day of the big game. The Covenant College group was given the shift of 8 a.m.-8 p.m. to assist with fan entry into the stadium. Students and faculty were stationed right outside the entry gate and assisted fans with entering the stadium and answering questions regarding the event.
Finally on Monday, Feb. 10, they toured Tulane University Athletics and the University of New Orleans. The tour guide at the University of New Orleans was another Covenant College sport management alumni, Brooks DuBose '21, assistant baseball coach at the University of New Orleans.
This trip was not only an opportunity for students to apply the various things they learn in classroom at one of the largest sporting events in the United States but also allowed them to connect with and see various alumni from the Covenant College sport management program in action in New Orleans.