Students, faculty and sports industry insiders gathered at the Wolf -Kaplan Center on Thursday for the tenth annual Partners in Sports Conference.
Bill Schmidt, president of Pegasus Sports Marketing, said the conference was created to meet students’ demands for a professional gathering.
“It’s a great opportunity for students who are pursuing a sports career to hear from some of the best in the industry,” Schmidt said.
Sarah Frazier, board member for the event and senior in sports management, said the event is a good opportunity for students to meet professionals in the sports management field.
“You have to network. Everything (in sports management) is who knows you and who you have to link through to get where you want to go,” Frazier said. “It really is important that people know that you are a hard worker and a good person and you’re able to be effective at a job. The more people who know that, the better.”
Professionals from Under Armour, an athletic clothing company, were meeting and greeting with students. Schmidt said that having employers present at the conference has helped students land internships.
Guest speakers included Colin Clark, assistant vice president of marketing for Ripken baseball; John Maedel, vice president and assistant general manger for the Chattanooga Lookouts; Jenneen Kaufmann, vice president and chief financial officer of the Tennessee Titans; and Houston Fancher, director of UT men’s basketball operations.
Students from Martin Methodist College and Lincoln Memorial University were also invited to the event.
Attendees received words of wisdom from the speakers about building strong contacts and prevailing through hardships as they enter their careers.
“Don’t let anybody belittle your ambitions, and don’t sell yourself short,” Fancher said. “Believe in your abilities, don’t be afraid to fail, and become the best you can be in whatever direction you take.”
Schmidt said that over the past decade the real challenge hasn’t been building morale among students, but ensuring that the confidence lasts after graduation when students are entering the job market.
“I think for a long time, and I think the concern for us, was, ‘Are we just people out there who aren’t going to have jobs because there’s only a limited number of professional teams?'” Schmidt said. “I think what’s been obvious over the (last) ten years is that there’s other opportunities other than professional sports. You still have corporations that have products that are related to sports and (students) could end up marketing there. It’s been a great growth.”
