One of our BA (Hons) Sports Management students recently enjoyed a week working with NFL side the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Second Year student Oliver Kenyon, who is based at our Wembley Campus, spent a week at Wembley Stadium working with the Jags in the lead up to the NFL UK London Series.
Oliver worked as part of the club’s accreditation team, gaining quality experience while working alongside sports industry leaders in both the UK and the USA.
When asked about his time working with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and what his role entailed, he said: “My role involved reviewing applications requiring access to the game, producing credentials for the event, and distributing them to the teams, personnel and employees. It required an emphasis on attention to detail and using strong organisational skills.
“During the gameday, I was assigned to escort the Jaguars coaches from the locker room and up to their viewing gantry. This occurred before the game, during half time and after the game.
“Ultimately it meant I oversaw co-ordinating their movements around the stadium, as well as feeding back this information to the team’s logistics to ensure the logistics team knew their location.
“Their movements need to occur at a fast and orderly pace, I was required to use effective time management and communications skills to ensure their transition occurred smoothly.”
He added: “My favourite part of the week was the level of involvement the Jaguars provided to me. My roles leading up to and during gameday saw me up close and personal with players, executives and broadcasters alike.
“This proximity to these senior staff provided me with many valuable insights into the running of sports organisations and events at the highest level.”
Oliver went on to talk about how he has used the skills and knowledge gained from his studies at UCFB into his role at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I found course content was relevant to the workplace environment,” he said. “In particular having become used to sports business language terminology. Also my GIS trip to Miami had given me confidence to successfully network with new people.”
He finished, offering advice to fellow students: “Work with all the teams within the university to access opportunities to network, gain confidence and try out all that you can, they are helping me make my dreams and aspirations come true.”
To find out more about UCFB’s partners, who offer our students valuable experience within the sports industry, click here.
Alternatively, click here to view a prospectus and see where a degree from UCFB could take you and your career.
