For 20 of Bowling Green State University (BGSU) students, this year’s Super Bowl was more than just a championship game, it was a hands-on professional experience inside one of the largest sporting events in the world.
Through the Sport Management Alliance (SMA), students traveled to San Francisco to work Super Bowl week events while gaining real-world experience in fan engagement, event operations and guest services.
According to Amanda Paule-Koba, professor in BGSU’s sport management program, the organization has been sending students to the Super Bowl since 2013. Over time, the program has built relationships with sports commissions and staffing agencies, allowing students to now work paid shifts during Super Bowl week.
“This isn’t just observing,” Paule-Koba said. “They’re working. They’re part of the operation.”
More than 60 students applied this year, but only 20 were selected. Paule-Koba said students were chosen based on academic performance, maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, involvement in sport-related activities and their ability to represent BGSU professionally.
“We look for team players,” Paule-Koba said. “Students who are going to listen, work hard and be great representatives of the university.”
Students worked primarily at Super Bowl Fan Fest and on game day at Levi’s Stadium. Their responsibilities ranged from running interactive games for fans to serving as wayfinders and answering questions from thousands of visitors.
“For many fans, our students are their first interaction with someone connected to the NFL or the Super Bowl,” Paule-Koba said. “They’re ambassadors.”
For Kendall, sophomore, and member of SMA, the opportunity felt surreal.
“I was so excited,” Kendall said. “I called my family right away. I didn’t fully know what I was getting into, but I don’t regret it at all.”
Without a faculty advisor traveling alongside them, students were responsible for coordinating schedules, transportation and communication among themselves.
“We had to make sure everyone got to their shifts on time,” Kendall said. “We really relied on each other.”
At Fan Fest, students helped run football challenges, mock drafts and crowd control activations. Kendall said seeing the scale of the event up close was eye-opening.
“Every single activation had a sponsor tied to it,” she said. “You don’t realize how much logistics go into it until you see it from behind the scenes.”
She also noticed the layers of leadership present throughout the event.
“There were zone managers, shift leads and people overseeing everything,” Kendall said. “It made me realize how many people it takes to make something like this run smoothly.”
For Alexis Suttleworth, sophomore and vice president of SMA, the experience reinforced her career goals.
“Being at an event that big was one of the best experiences of my life,” Suttleworth said. “You tell people you worked the Super Bowl and they don’t believe you.”
Suttleworth helped assist with trip planning and fundraising prior to departure. This year’s trip was largely student-run, with officers handling much of the coordination and logistics, while faculty served in a supporting role.
During Super Bowl week, Suttleworth worked guest services, greeting fans as they entered Levi’s Stadium.
“We were their first interaction when they walked in,” she said. “That’s a big responsibility.”
She said one of the most surprising elements was the number of people required to operate the event.
“Even just through the staffing company we worked with, there were about 50 people from different states,” she said. “And that’s just one group. There are so many people involved in every small detail.”
Both students said the experience strengthened their confidence in fast-paced environments.
“The shifts were long, but they were rewarding,” Kendall said. “It showed me I can handle high-pressure situations.”
Suttleworth added that the week helped her grow personally.
“I’m usually more reserved,” she said. “But in that environment, you just make it work. I realized I really enjoy interacting with fans and being part of their experience.”
Paule-Koba believes that growth is one of the most valuable outcomes of opportunities like this.
“They’re thinking on their feet, solving problems and representing a major organization,” Paule-Koba said. “Those are skills that stay with them long after the event is over.”
She added that the trip reflects the program’s emphasis on experiential learning.
“We want students to see how classroom concepts translate into real-world execution,” Paule-Koba said. “There’s no better classroom than an event of this magnitude.”
For Kendall, the bonds formed during the trip were just as meaningful as the professional experience.
“We didn’t all know each other going into it,” she said. “But we realized we were representing BGSU as a whole, we became like a family.”
When asked to describe the experience in one phrase, Kendall called it “extremely eye-opening.” Suttleworth described it as “the best week of my life.”
As SMA continues to send students to major sporting events, Paule-Koba hopes opportunities like this remain a defining feature of the program.
“It’s become part of what our sport management program is known for,” Paule-Koba said. “And we want students, from their first year to graduate level, to have access to experiences like this.”
For these students, the Super Bowl was not just a game, it was preparation for their future careers in sports.
