Shenandoah University Students Continue To Benefit From Hands-On Sport Management Opportunities
Students worked at national, high-profile sporting events during the 2025-26 academic year
In late March, 12 Shenandoah University students traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, where they spent a week immersing themselves in the sport management industry and assisted with gameday operations for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four.
The trip was one of many hands-on sport management opportunities that Shenandoah has made available to students over the years, primarily through the Sport Business Association and the School of Business, and provided students with valuable on-the-job experience while connecting them with industry professionals.
Shenandoah’s students – led by David Eyl, J.D., chair of the Division of Sport Management and Esports, and Brian Wigley, Ed.D., associate dean for student services and professor of sport management – visited various facilities in and around Indianapolis in the days leading up to the Final Four, including NCAA headquarters (where they met up with Shenandoah alum Malik Henry ’18, ’20, who is the coordinator of Division III for the NCAA); Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the headquarters for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts; Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and WNBA’s Indiana Fever; and Indiana University in Bloomington. At each stop, students got to hear from and interact with administrators and other professionals who play leading roles in the sport management efforts of their respective organizations.
During the Final Four, which began on April 4, at Lucas Oil Stadium, Shenandoah’s students teamed up with On Location – the official hospitality provider for big-ticket sporting events like the Super Bowl, Final Four and college football’s Rose Bowl – to help produce and manage fan events and experiences before and during each of the three games, which culminated in Michigan’s win over Connecticut on April 6.
“Throughout this experience, we had the chance to connect with professionals across many areas of the sports industry. Each individual we met was not only knowledgeable, but also genuinely supportive, offering valuable insight and encouragement as we navigate our own career paths,” Ciera Cameron ’29 wrote. “One of the most impactful parts of the trip was working with On Location, the NCAA’s official hospitality partner. As a team captain, I helped oversee volunteers across multiple fan experience locations, ensuring guests had a memorable and smooth experience. Whether it was guiding fans, answering questions, or simply being a friendly face in the rain, every role contributed to something bigger, and that was incredibly rewarding.”
The trip to Indianapolis was one of several sport management trips Shenandoah students embarked on during the 2025-26 academic year.
Last November, 20 students traveled to the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to assist in gameday operations for an NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets. Students worked at stadium entry gates and served in various other guest service functions.
In late December, five student-athletes in Shenandoah University’s men’s basketball program traveled to Indianapolis to work the Indy Classic, a premier NCAA Division I college basketball event.
Less than two weeks later, the men’s basketball program again led a trip for 19 student-athletes to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium to work the Orange Bowl, which served as one of this year’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal contests. During the three-day trip, students worked directly with John Mas, senior vice president of partnerships for the Orange Bowl, gaining behind-the-scenes exposure to event operations, sponsorship activation and gameday management at the highest levels of college athletics (the matchup between Oregon and Texas Tech was played in front of over 65,000 fans). The students’ efforts also helped raise $50,000 for programs that assist underprivileged children in the Miami area.
“The Orange Bowl was an amazing experience,” said Kameron Brown ’29, a member of Shenandoah’s men’s basketball team and a sport management student. “The opportunity to not only attend a major sporting event, but to be an integral part of the team behind the scenes that put it all together was eye opening. It gave me confidence, and it inspired me to chase my passion for a field I’m extremely interested in pursuing.”
