The sharkskin suits, the sun-blocking hats and the pinnacle of horse racing greeted UT students this past spring as TEAM UT worked the 138th Kentucky Derby.

The trip came about through a long-standing relationship between UT’s recreation and sport management program and M Group Scenic Studios.

For the past eight years, Fritz Polite, clinical assistant professor of sport management, has led a team to work at the Super Bowl.

Lori McAllister-Antol, president and executive producer of M Scenic Group Studios, liked the idea of TEAM UT helping out with the Kentucky Derby because of how well it performed at the Super Bowl.

“She wanted to have our group more involved with the preplanning stages of the Super Bowl,” Polite said. “At the same time, she had the Kentucky Derby coming up and her company has the rights to that as well. She said she also thought it would be really good to have TEAM UT come up and help with the event.”

While at the Kentucky Derby, the team experienced a lot of work in the event management industry.

“We assisted with the setup and operation of the Oaks and Derby races,” said Candice Greene, senior in recreation administration. “The operational duties were crowd control, venue setup, venue appearance and cleanliness throughout the entire day, and essential communication between the team, M Scenic Group Studios and other staff that was working at the event.”

Along with Greene, five other current UT students went, along with two mentors and Polite.

For Greene, this was her first trip the Kentucky Derby, and she said that it certainly lived up to the hype.

“The atmosphere was very exciting,” she said. “The place was crowded with people everywhere. The mood was filled with excitement and anticipation. There was an abundance of flashy suits and hats at every turn. Between races everyone was socializing and making bets for the next race.”

It was not long before the team saw faces they knew. Faces like Michael Jordan and Bill Clinton were just a few of the spectators sitting in the VIP suites.

Polite said that the team oversaw around seven VIP boxes, and that they were both directly responsible for the service and treatment these high-profile guests received.

“Basically, we were directly responsible (for) those high-end luxury suites,” Polite said. “I was freaking out myself. I can imagine a college student freaking out. I’ve been around celebrities before, but I’ve never been to Churchill Downs. I’ve never been to the Kentucky Derby, and I’ve been to eight Super Bowls — the Kentucky Derby was a spectacle.”

Greene said that while many big names were at the event, TEAM UT maintained a low profile, and just did their job.

“TEAM UT kept a professional presence the entire time at the event,” she said. “We were not there to search for famous people and disrupt their experience, as they would in public areas, but provide a relaxing and safe environment for them to enjoy with friends and family.”

Polite said the team oversaw agenda items such as trash and garbage overflowing, direction, emergency response and other happenings that needed to be attended to.

“I call it quality control,” Polite said. “It just means that you maintain the quality of what’s going on in that area. It’s kind of like problem solving. Someone lost a bottle opener. Well that’s not a big deal. Well, when you have 5,000 bottles of beer and you’re in a VIP box, and the owner of the horse wants a beer, and you don’t have a bottle opener, we need to get a bottle opener.”

Sean Hensley and Justin Shaw served as mentors to the team, while Danielle Polk, sophomore in marketing, and Kristen Petway, sophomore in recreation and sport management, went to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis in January.

“Between those four, they know how I operate and they know what I want,” Polite said. “For as short as time as we had, I think we were nearly perfect. It’s hard to be perfect. But we were 98.9 percent perfect.”

But in the end, out of all the hard work that was put in and the month-long preparation that took place, those that went will never forget those fast-paced two minutes.

“No doubt my favorite part of the entire experience was being able to watch the Kentucky Derby race,” Greene said. “The surroundings were perfect with an excellent view to see the race and all the people around cheering and socializing.”

Polite shares the same sentiments.

“It’s way over any Super Bowl I’ve ever seen,” he said. “The horses only run for two minutes, but it’s the most electrifying two minutes ever.”