Behind the Scenes MVPs

By Meg Tippett ’20, February 13, 2020

Ithaca College sport management students spent Super Bowl week working on-site at the big game.

Students provided a variety of event management tasks throughout Hard Rock stadium during their time in Miami.

(Photo courtesy of Annemarie Farrell)

This year’s Super Bowl, between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, drew more than 75,000 fans to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on February 2, and was watched by more than 100 million fans at home.

The week leading up to the game was a series of events in itself, and helping to make sure those events went well was a team of 16 sport management and sport media majors from Ithaca College.

Those students, accompanied by Annemarie Farrell, associate professor and chair of the department of sport management, spent the days leading up to Super Bowl LIV by working tirelessly behind the scenes, not only helping events go off without a hitch, but seeing their classroom knowledge translate into real-life professional success.

Experiential learning opportunities are a key part of the college’s strategic plan, and professor Farrell’s classes prepare students to take advantage of them. But an event as big as the Super Bowl, teeming with A-listers and C-suite executives, required even more prep work. There was also an added element this year, because the students were not working as volunteers, but were paid by a pair of companies contracted to oversee stadium operations and for NFL House, a premier VIP experience for team owners, players, media influencers, and sponsors.

“Our students continue to do such an incredible job. They consistently outperform what is expected of students, because our program is very focused on providing real-life experiences.”

Annemarie Farrell, associate professor and chair of the department of sport management

“We were representing Ithaca College, which means we were representing Annemarie, as well as the [students] who will come after us. We needed to do a good job, so that they will know future students will too.” said Emily Broggy ’21, a business administration major.

Prior to the trip, students attended training courses and meetings on campus to learn how to handle stressful situations, communicate with celebrities, and learn about being a brand ambassador.

That training came in handy for Broggy, who worked with a few other students to monitor the entrance to the NFL House. Part of her job entailed checking credentials and turning away people who did not have access.

“It was kind of scary, coming to terms with the fact that I did have that authority,” she said. “I had to tell [a high ranking NFL official] he couldn’t come inside.”

Other students helped with pre-game hospitality services and other essential tasks, staffed the concierge desk and NFL shop, and helped with access control. Several others also worked as way finders inside the stadium, and helped provide directions for staff members. This required them to learn where everything was and how to navigate the entire stadium in only a few days.

This is the third time a group of Associate Professor Annemarie Farrell’s students have worked at the Super Bowl.

(Photo courtesy of Annemarie Farrell)

The work was challenging, and the hours daunting — most days started at 4 a.m. — but the students pushed through.

“I tried to remind people that, even though we were tired, if other people saw us being tired, it would not help them do what needed to be done,” said Broggy.

For her part, Farrell wasn’t surprised that her students handled the challenges well.

“Our students continue to do such an incredible job,” she said. “They consistently outperform what is expected of students, because our program is very focused on providing real-life experiences.”

This is the third time Farrell has taken a group of students to the Super Bowl. And seeing them excel in such high-stakes situations always makes her feel professional pride.

“There’s always that moment when I look across and see a first-year student realize that the kind of career that they want, they can have,” she said. “Instead of just talking about the jobs that they want, they are interacting with the people who have them. It’s such a delight to see them build their confidence.”