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State
students visit Memphis sports executives
April 14, 2007
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Starkville,
MS: On April 10th and 11th, a group of Mississippi State
University's top sports communication
undergraduate students and sports administration graduate students
received hands-on knowledge of the sports industry from experts
in the business during an educational overnight trip to Memphis,
TN. The trip was part of S.P.O.R.T.S., a student honor fraternity
for elite students at the
university that aspire to work in the sports business industry after
graduation.
The students spent two days touring and listening to professionals on
many aspects of sports
management, ranging from financial issues, strategic planning, sales
and marketing in sports, facility management, and event
management. The
group enjoyed visiting with Andy Dolich, President of Business
Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as receiving a tour of
the FedEx Forum from Brent Schoeb, Manager of Corporate Partnership
Sales for the Grizzlies. Chad Bolen, Vice President of Corporate
Partnerships, and Dennis O'Connor, Vice President, Ticket Sales and
Services also shared their knowledge. The group also visited with
Harold Graeter, Associate Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty
Bowl, for a glimpse at a sports organization that operates on a
seasonal basis. To conclude their first day in Memphis the
students returned to the FedEx Forum to support former MSU basketball
player Lawrence Roberts while taking in the Grizzlies - Sacramento
Kings basketball game.
On day two, the student visited with the tournament directors of the
Regions Morgan Keegan Tennis Championships. Last year's
championship included such noted players as Andy Roddick and Venus
Williams and is one of only nine tournaments in the world to have both
men and women competing on-site. In the afternoon, the group
concluded their visit by actively working the Memphis Redbirds baseball
game in the areas of media relations, operations, customer service and
ticketing. The Redbirds serve as the Triple A minor league team
for the St. Louis Cardinals and recently hosted the Civil Rights
Baseball game at AutoZone Park, one of the top facilities in all of
minor league baseball.
”The Memphis trip was the best experience that I have had so far in the
sports business', said junior undergraduate student Daniel Webber. "I
have come into contact with some top people in the business but the
executives that I met on the trip exceeded my expectations and made me
thirst for more. It gave me more insight on how hard those guys work!"
"We really want to make in-roads with sports organizations in our state
and region as we prepare our students for a career in the sport
business industry," said Dr. Robert Zullo, faculty advisor to the new
honor society.
"The trip to Memphis was an inspiring experience. We can all sit on the
sidelines or in the stands and say we want to work in sports, but it
takes much more than that; something we all saw on this trip. The
players may be the "show" but the heart and soul of sports lies behind
the scenes where most fans don't venture. This trip allowed us, as the
future sports professionals to make great contacts and network with key
players in the management of sports to position ourselves as the next
leaders of this great industry,” said graduate student Aaron Epstein.
The honor fraternity hosts their own events each semester with proceeds
benefiting Special Olympics, the Boys & Girls Club, and future
educational opportunities. Such provides students an opportunity
to garner experience in the areas of sales, publicity and event
operations, as well as hosting guest speakers on campus. The
fraternity is already preparing for a fall trip to New York City for
the fall semester. For more information, please visit: http://www.msstate.edu/org/sports/
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For additional quotes or
questions, please
contact Dr. Robert Zullo at
662-325-9281 or log on to the sports administration program
website at http://www.kinesiology.msstate.edu
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