BGSU sport management senior secures role with NFL’s Chicago Bears

Prior to graduating from BGSU, Darius Coleman accepted a position on the equipment staff of the Chicago Bears

As snow flurries fell on the Glass Bowl and the victorious Bowling Green State University Falcons sang “Ay Ziggy Zoomba,” Darius Coleman found himself in the center of the celebration.

Beating rival Toledo in 2022 was the type of game players, coaches and support staff will remember forever, and as a student equipment manager, Coleman was part of the journey from the exhausting days of training camp to a memorable late-season victory.

As a sport management major at BGSU, Coleman immediately took advantage of the many on-campus opportunities for students, and found being part of a team was what he loved most.

“When we beat Toledo in the snow at their home stadium, I remember just being in the moment,” Coleman said. “It was the most amazing game of my life.”

As his undergraduate days come to a close, Coleman’s next step will take place on an even grander stage: the National Football League.

Prior to his BGSU graduation day, the Chicago Bears offered Coleman a full-time role on their equipment staff.

A native of Dayton, Coleman took the advice of the expert faculty within the COSMA-accredited sport management program at BGSU and became involved early and often.

The University, which the Wall Street Journal ranked as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for student experience, has ample opportunity for sport management students to jumpstart their careers while they are still students.

Coleman served in various support roles for events such as volleyball games and swim meets on campus, volunteered at the NBA All-Star Game and traveled with the Sport Management Alliance to the Super Bowl, but it was being part of the football team’s equipment staff that helped Coleman chart his future path long before he graduated.

His experience with the program – the exhilarating wins, the tough losses, travel to away games and the lasting, personal connections on the team – is what let Coleman know he was headed in a direction that spoke to him.

“When I felt like that, I knew that this was what I loved,” Coleman said. “I knew how much went into it, from the athletic department to the coaches to the players to the staff. I realized that this is what I want to do because nothing gave me that type of feeling. That’s when I said, ‘Man, I really love this.’”

Assistant Athletic Director for Equipment Operations and Licensing Jake Warnke ’08 said he often tells student managers that football season is a grind filled with early mornings, late nights, sweltering summers, frozen fall evenings and everything in between.

For Coleman, the high expectations that come with Division I football were part of the allure, and helping a team achieve something is a tangible part of being on an equipment staff.

“Darius took all that in stride,” Warnke said. “He never batted an eye and knew what we had to do, and each year he took on more and more responsibility. He continued to grow within our group and the team overall.”

Warnke said that Coleman landing a role with an NFL team is a reflection of his work ethic honed during his time at BGSU.

“It's a testament to his hard work because he put in the time and effort to learn all the different things we do on a day-to-day basis,” Warnke said. “I always tell students that what you put into this job is what you get out of it, so Darius landing this job with the Chicago Bears is a testament to how hard he worked here. I’m really excited for him to take the next step.”

Coleman’s start date with the Bears will arrive during the spring semester, so BGSU and Coleman’s professors worked out a flexible plan that will allow him to finish his courses prior to moving to Chicago.

During his time on campus, Coleman said his college experience was filled with supportive faculty members who helped him achieve his dreams in the field.

“The sport management professors at BGSU always really helped me out with any opportunities I had,” he said. “Whenever I had something come up – like going to the Super Bowl or to away games for the football team – they were always willing to work with me, and I’m thankful for that.”

Coleman, who began working with the BGSU football team’s equipment staff prior to his first day of classes as a freshman, said the best choice he made as a student was taking advantage of the opportunities he had on campus.

“One thing I would say is that there are so many opportunities and things around campus to do for sport management majors, and all kinds of events to get involved with, big and small,” Coleman said. “It was great to be part of things that I had never really thought about before, but that really helped me.”