Celebrity Beach Bash & Florida Cup

Sunday, January 8^th was a great day for the Baldwin Wallace University Sport Management program students on the College Football Playoff Experiential Learning opportunity.

The students were split into groups with some heading to work the Clearwater Beach Bash, a celebrity flag football game featuring performances by the Clemson University and University of Alabama marching bands. The other group headed out to work the Florida Cup, an international soccer competition in which Clubs represent their countries in a format similar to the Davis Cup in tennis.

While at the Florida Cup, students served as ushers, ticket takers, security personnel for the teams and VIP areas, guest greeters, and directional aides with many rotating through several positions. Additionally, Sport Management majors Joe Freeman & Ryan Swingle took over the SnapChat responsibilities for Front Office Sports (http://www.frontofficesports.org/).

“It was a great experience,” said Freeman. “I’d love to do social media management for a professional or collegiate sports organization and this provided me an opportunity to showcase my skills.”

At the Beach Bash, the students were there to escort the celebrities, assist the Alabama and Clemson bands, secure the court and VIP areas, and assist with any other event duties that were needed.

“We had a great time,” said BW Sport Management Assistant Professor James Mattern. “It’s nice to have the students experience events in non-traditional venues. This was a good opportunity for them to see how to set-up, plan, and execute a beach-based event.”

After a long day of working, the students headed back to the hotels to get some rest and prepare for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. While it may seem like an easy event to work, the students are required to be at the stadium 10 hours before kickoff, making for one very long, albeit enjoyable, day.

For more information on the Baldwin Wallace University Sport Management program, please contact Asst. Professor Dr. Charles Campisi at ccampisi@bw.edu or visit https://www.bw.edu/academics/undergraduate/sport-management/.

Baldwin Wallace University Sport Management: Experiential Learning from Day One!