BGSU sport management students go behind the scenes at Super Bowl LIX

24 students from the Sport Management Alliance fundraise their way to New Orleans to be Super Bowl volunteers

For two dozen Bowling Green State University students, Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans served as a window to what could be possible through a career in sports.

With help from the College of Education and Human Development and the School of Applied Human Development, 24 members of the BGSU Sport Management Alliance fundraised their way to volunteer at this year’s Super Bowl, which allowed students to gain valuable experience by helping to stage the biggest event on the American sports calendar.

Students used entrepreneurial skills to fund the trip, then found themselves at ground level of an event at the largest scale, including being at the Superdome on game day, during which the Philadelphia Eagles topped the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I didn’t know it was possible for a student like me to do such a big experience like that until I got to BGSU,” said Taryn Fraley, a junior from Waynesfield, Ohio.

“I was mainly thinking about events on campus prior to coming here, but once I was introduced to SMA, I saw all the opportunities that are available, and it let me know that I can think big.”

While in New Orleans, SMA students from majors such as sport management saw the behind-the-scenes efforts that go into the biggest day of the United States’ most popular sport.

Experiences that further careers are key part of many degree programs at BGSU, which the Wall Street Journal ranked first in Ohio for career preparation.

For the students selected to be Super Bowl volunteers, the effort to make the New Orleans trip a reality was like a part-time job. The experience of funding and organizing travel for a large group, collaborating with a major organization and being in the middle of the action at the Super Bowl proved valuable as students prepare for careers in sports.

“We had to find the time to fundraise, to do paperwork, find times to meet and the time we were in New Orleans was all about time management,” said Jillian Windbiel, a senior from Elk Grove Village, Illinois, outside of Chicago.

“We had to do a lot of things that go into a career, which was a challenge in a good way. Especially for an event this big, a lot goes into it. It was a lot of great experience you can take into the future.”

While in New Orleans, students helped run booths at the Super Bowl Experience – which draws thousands of fans for games, music and fun in the week prior to the game – worked with professionals in their field, served on the welcome committee at the New Orleans airport and were on site for gameday as exterior fan services.

Lily Smith, a sophomore from Oregon, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, said the chance to gain career experience at the Super Bowl was surreal.

“I never thought it was something I would be able to do, but it happened because of my opportunities and connections here at BGSU got me there,” Smith said. “It was really cool to apply some of the things I learned in my classes and in my smaller sport management experience to such a larger event and be able to experience something I never thought I would.”