The massive crowds, the bright team colors, the halftime spectacular — these are what most associate with the Super Bowl, one of the largest sporting (and pop culture) events in the world.

For these 10 UT students, however, the Super Bowl became a meaningful and impactful experience beyond the game of football.

Every year, the Big Orange Combine program gives a handful of students under UT’s Haslam College of Business the chance to travel and work behind the scenes at the Super Bowl. This opportunity allows students to network like never before, working among hundreds of industry professionals.

Dr. Debra Mackey has been the faculty advisor for the program for over 10 years, overseeing every step of the process from initial student interviews to game day. Mackey said that the Big Orange Combine “teaches you to take a risk, be out of your comfort zone and network. You never know when you’re going to meet someone.”

According to Mackey, the program didn’t always take 10 Haslam students.

“It started out sports management, any student communications, a few business students and athletes,” said Mackey, “and it’s evolved into a bigger program as far as networking, meeting with companies, meeting with former students, working Super Bowl experience, working game day.”

This year, the program took mainly human resource majors, who are able to gain key experience in their field.

“You know, depending on what you do in HR, you also have to make sure people always have what they need and can work to the best of their abilities,” graduate human resources and management student Mary McJunkins said. “And I feel like, you know, being able to help support other workers for the Super Bowl and making sure they have what they need and making sure they feel very supported kind of helped me get that experience in that way.”

During the Super Bowl, UT students work under Populous, an architecture company that assists with stadium preparations, operations management and construction of game day facilities.

The students are assigned to different areas within the parameters of the event and are able to help ensure that the day runs smoothly for all of the behind-the-scenes workers.

Graduate management and human resources student Ethan Warrior described the vastness of the Super Bowl stadium.

“The NFL sets up a huge parameter around the stadium … it’s got concert venues, restaurants, bars, team events and parties,” Warrior said. “We were just helping wayfind, we were helping just really anywhere we could, and it was a great experience to do so.”

In addition to wayfinding, the UT students also worked in the employee break rooms, helping maintain the well-being of over 6,000 employees.

“We were in the security compound, so we were helping with … all of the security, just kind of making sure they were fed, making sure they were hydrated, just kind of keeping everything in order,” senior human resource management major Amanda Moon said.

Both Warrior and Moon described the event as “surreal” when sharing their perspectives from the day of the game.

“Being able to see (the flyover) and hear the national anthem and the fireworks go off, it kind of put the moment in perspective, just to really understand that you’re at the Super Bowl. You’re at the pinnacle of the game,” Warrior said.

For Moon, who has taken part in the Big Orange Combine for two consecutive years, the events of the game weren’t the only bizarre moments.

“I mean, you turn around and there’s Charlie Puth and then there’s Dak Prescott and Jordan Mailata, and you’re like, oh my God,” Moon said. “It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m very lucky that I got the opportunity to go twice, but, it’s something I can’t even describe.”

Although Super Bowl Sunday may be the most excitement-packed part of the trip for these students, the itinerary of the trip entails much more than just the event.

During their multi-day stay in San Francisco, the students went to training, went sightseeing and networked with UT Alumni.

Thanks to Mackey, who has organized the events for the program for several years, some of the more memorable events for the students on the schedule this year included meeting Patriots quarterback and UT alumnus Joshua Dobbs and touring Google headquarters.

The students each described meeting Dobbs as a meaningful moment from the trip. Warrior said, “… he was just such a nice guy to interact with … He’s just a great example of a Tennessee alumni who really just stays in tune with the university, and I kinda wanna be like that once I’m out.”

As for the Google experience, the students were able to take a look at a Fortune 500 company’s headquarters, as well as network with another UT alumnus.

Mackey said, “This year we toured Google because (UT alumnus) Kyle West is at Google, so that was exciting too. It’s a continual process of updating and networking so you can provide the students with some great opportunities.”

Warrior, who gained perspective on large technology companies like Google on the trip, expressed his appreciation for Mackey. “I’m just grateful overall for Dr. Mackey and her connections,” Warrior said.

After her second Super Bowl with the Big Orange Combine, Moon describes her relationship with Mackey as that of a “mentor and a friend.”

The standout experience for these students and temporary Super Bowl employees is the networking, made possible by Mackey.

“It was all about networking,” Moon said, citing a key moment as meeting Dobbs.

For Warrior, it also came from interacting with other employees.

He said, “… there are other university kids who are at this event, so it’s a great networking opportunity to meet with kids, you know, from all over the country, and just see another part of the world.”

According to Mackey, not only is the Big Orange Combine about networking, but “it’s also being asked to do things that you probably haven’t done, not being afraid to work hard, learning, again, how business comes together, and how you need to know about other aspects of the business, no matter where you’re working.”

This program provides such a unique opportunity for students, one that they will certainly never forget.

“Take the random opportunity,” Moon said, “because you never know what could come out of it.”