By Dr. Nancy Spencer, Professor in Sport Management, BGSU

February 3, 2019

About ten days before Super Bowl 2006 was played in Detroit, BGSU Distinguished Alum Dick Maxwell (recently inducted into BGSU’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni)  organized a Super Bowl panel of experts who spoke to BGSU’s Sport Management students and faculty. Through his position in the NFL Commissioner’s Office as Senior Director of NFL Broadcasting for 36 years, one of Maxwell’s responsibilities was to coordinate the annual Super Bowl broadcasts. Among those who appeared on the 2006 panel were NFL representatives in public relations/communications, broadcasting, international media, game security, and the Vice President in charge of the Super Bowl. Before the panel began, ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman introduced then Sport Management Association (SMA) President Stephanie Serda via a taped message.

In addition to hearing from the distinguished panel of experts, Maxwell explained that the company that the NFL hired to put on the NFL Experience and the NFL Tailgate Party interviewed BGSU Sport Management students who volunteered to work at the 2006 Super Bowl. Dr. Jacquelyn Cuneen, Professor Emeritus in the Sport Management Program, said that, “We sent 20 kids to Detroit for the week to help with the festivities and 20 more on game day.” As a result of their work at Super Bowl XL, SMA students from BGSU volunteered the following year in Tampa Bay. Thanks to rave reviews about the performances of those first SMA student volunteers, BGSU students have been able to volunteer for subsequent Super Bowls.

Fast forward to 2019 and Super Bowl LIII is being held in Atlanta, GA. This year, 24 SMA students from BGSU are volunteering in preparation for game day (see photo above). The students left for Atlanta this past Tuesday and have been working “at the Super Bowl Experience at Georgia World Congress Center” (Piotrowicz, 2019, para. 10). Among the activities of student volunteers was to “guide visitors through exhibits and help them get photographs with the Lombardi Trophy that the winning team will hoist after Sunday’s game” (Dupont, 2019, para. 8). On game day, the “BGSU students will assist the 1,700 fans who bought $20,000 Super Bowl packages” by helping them “find their way around Mercedes-Benz Stadium” (Dupont, 2019, para. 11).

SMA Adviser, Dr. Amanda Paule-Koba explained that by “going to the Super Bowl they can see what they learned about in the classroom enacted in the real world” (Dupont, 2019, para. 13). Several students who volunteered at last year’s Super Bowl echoed the value of their NFL experience. As current SMA President Kyle Edmond said, “being part of the experience shows how much planning goes into the Super Bowl, a worthwhile trip for a group of students who are interested in working in the sports industry after college” (Piotrowicz, 2019, para. 14). Cory Radebaugh, another student who volunteered last year, said that unlike previous years when students were able to see the game, “no volunteers will be allowed on the concourse after kick-off” in this year’s game (Dupont, 2019, para. 26).

Regardless of which team wins Super Bowl LIII, the 24 SMA students who volunteered in Atlanta will bring back the memories of a lifetime. I look forward to some of them sharing about their experiences on the Maxwell Media Watch. BGSU faculty members and students are grateful to Mr. Maxwell for affording our students this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

References

Dupont, D. (2019, January 31). BGSU sports management team headed to Super Bowl. BG Independent Media. Retrieved from http://bgindependentmedia.org/bgsu-sports-management-team-headed-to-super-bowl/

Piotrowicz, N. (2019, January 28). BGSU students fundraise way to Super Bowl LIII. Toledo Blade. Retrieved from https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/bgsu/2019/01/28/bowling-green-bgsu-students-fundraise-super-bowl-LIII/stories/20190128136