Sports Symposium
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, 7:00 PM
Linda Cohn ~ Adam Schefter ~ Desmond Howard
​The Decision​​
As a Sport Management major I knew that going into the University Program Board position that I wanted to bring in some sort of sport personalities to Slippery Rock University. The list of names I created over the summer was long enough to create a phonebook. However after extensive research, negotiations with agencies, and comparing speaker availabilities I was able to come to a consensus to bringing the following ESPN personalities to Slippery Rock University: Adam Schefter, ESPN NFL Insider & Commentator, Linda Cohn, ESPN SportsCenter Anchor, and Desmond Howard, ESPN College GameDay Analyst & Commentator. My decision included a multitude of factors, however what really made these three guest speakers stick out to me was their diversity and the ability for me to collaborate with multiple academic departments to get involved with the opportunity to meet these sport communication professionals.
Co-Sponsorships
During the process of researching and selecting the speaker(s) to bring to Slippery Rock University I always keep in mind those academic departments and student organizations that make up Slippery Rock University. Once I knew that Linda Cohn would be one of our guest speakers I was quick to contact the President of the Women's Studies Program (Dr. Cindy LaCom). Since Linda Cohn is an iconic woman for her accomplishments in a male dominated industry I thought this department would benefit from listening to Linda Cohn. I created a proposal for the Women's Studies Program; the proposal requested the Women's Studies Program to help fund catering for two pre-lecture events; a Linda Cohn Workshop and a Student-Faculty Leadership Reception. Click on the flyer to your right to be directed to the Co-Sponsorship proposal. In exchange the UPB reserved 5 seats for students to attend the Linda Cohn Workshop, 10 seats for students to attend the Student-Faculty Leadership Reception along with the Women's Studies Program being represented on all forms of advertisements and marketing. The sponsorship was beneficial to both programs and from the experience I have built a strong relationship with Dr. Cindy LaCom and plan to work with her on future programs at Slippery Rock University.

I did not stop there, once contracts were signed for all three guest speakers I approached Dr. Catriona Higgs, the Sport Management Department Chairperson. She was delighted to receive the proposal and was more than happy to support the event. The Department of Sport Management received the same benefits as did the Women's Studies Program. I visited a few Sport Management classrooms throughout the week to help raise awareness of the event and also spoke during a Sport Management Alliance meeting to answer any questions students had.

Now since our guest speakers all have degrees focused in the realm of Communication, I had to visit Dr. Thomas Flynn from the Communication Department and approach him with this opportunity. Dr. Flynn was more than happy to support my efforts with the program and his students made a strong representation at the pre-lecture programs and came prepared with questions related to their field of study.

My experiences reaching out to on campus academic departments and organizations has helped the University Program Board and I build relationships with these departments and my intensions are to continue to tighten and broaden these relationships in the future. I see my position with the Program Board being unique from Concerts, Comedians, and University Events because I have the power to touch and make an impact on the student body with who I bring in to give a voice to our students. I take pride in my position and I look forward to bringing two more speaking engagements to Slippery Rock University in the spring of 2013!
Linda Cohn Workshop​
​As per the co-sponsorships each Department chair was reserved 5 seats for students of their choice to attend the Linda Cohn Workshop. The workshop included a total of 25 students representing the Women's Studies Program, the Department of Sport Management, and the Department of Communication, along with members of the University Program Board Speakers Committee. To create more of a networking atmosphere I pre-printed individual name tags for registered students and worked with AVI catering services to arrange for desserts and beverages for the guests. The purpose for the workshop was to provide students the opportunity to personally connect with Linda Cohn by asking her questions and for her advice. Overall the workshop was a great pre-lecture program and I am very happy that I chose to implement this in my negotiations with the agency.
Click on the Linda Cohn workshop welcome slide to your right, it will direct you to the itinerary I developed for the workshop and what Linda included in her discussion.
​Student - Faculty Leadership Reception​
The Student and Faculty Leadership Reception was designed to bring a large group of both students and faculty together that hold leadership positions on the campus of Slippery Rock University. I began the reception with opening remarks to thank my University Program Board Advisor, Graduate Assistant, Executive Board, and Speaker Committee members for their support and assistance through the planning process. I also acknowledged the departments that co-sponsored the pre-lecture programs and thanked them for their collaborations.
The other University departments and groups I invited to the Reception include the Rock Football Coaches and Captains, the staff from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, Bookstore staff, and the Department chairpersons from each co-sponsoring department.
To create a comfortable networking environment I pre-printed individual name tags for those who registered as requested and we provided appetizers, desserts, and beverages the guests. The guest speakers welcomed questions, conversations, pictures, and even autographs during the reception. I received many words of appreciation for the invitation to the event and I know everyone enjoyed interacting with our personable guest speakers.
Please select on my name tag to your right to be directed to the Reception Itinerary.
​Sports Symposium Program​
​To open the Symposium program I introduced each of our guest speakers with a brief introductory biography. Following the introductions I turned it over to the guest speakers to speak about their career paths and experiences working for ESPN. We opened it up to student questions for almost an hour of the program and closed it up with an overview of the week 11 NFL match ups. My committee members were a great help to me during the program; I used a majority of them to take tickets and wristband our guests. Another group of my committee members were ushers and assisted me with security and floating the venue to make sure everything was running smoothly.
The picture to your right gives you an idea of all the planning and organization that went into successfully presenting this event. If you select on this picture it will direct you to the Program Itinerary which recaps the entire day.
Select on the picture below with all the NFL team pennants, it will direct you to the presentation we used during the program to overview the NFL match ups.
Marketing Strategies Implemented
Sports Symposium Rally Towel Giveaway Strategy​
​In an effort to raise the awareness for our event, I placed a bulk order with the bookstore for customized rally towels. The towel featured the event name, date, and our @SRUPB twitter username. I ordered a total of 500 towels and wrapped them into balls filled with candy in the . My committee and I visited the Homecoming Football game and tossed the towels into the crowd during the game. On Homecoming day we gained over 200 followers to our twitter page and I think this was largely due to the towels we gave away.
During every Tuesday at common hour my committee helped me pass out lollipops labelled with information regarding our event. We handed out the lollipops in the Robert M. Smith Student Center Dining area which is the same place where tickets can be purchased.
The tri-fold above I created and posted at multiple dining locations on campus. ​I have observed and realized that the informational program tri-folds do a great job at catching peoples attention, and this is primarily because of its prime location at on campus dining locations and study halls.
I budgeted for a total of 460 tri-folds. The Tri- folds included detailed information on the event time, location, and ticket sales and each of the three panels of the paper fold recapped some facts about the three ESPN professionals visiting Slipper Rock University. The touch to the bottom of the tri-fold included co-sponsorship recognitions and contact information for questions. The tri-folds are great because they draw attention and can stir up conversations at the table.
Flyers, Posters, and Publications
Another form of marketing we traditionally engage in is posting 11.5 X 17 flyers on campus and at off campus establishments such as Sheetz and the local Bowling Alley. Of the 200 flyers we printed, 67 of these went to the 9 on campus residence halls, 43 went to off campus establishments including apartment complexes, and the remainder posters were posted all over campus buildings and bulletin boards.
The University Program Board also made an investment this semester by purchasing 3 new sandwich boards for posters sized 24 X 35 or larger. I placed the sandwich boards at prime locations where students were always passing by from day to day including one by the Library, North Hall, and outside of the Robert M. Smith Student Center.
Bailey Library Banner​​​
When posting flyers and advertisements on campus we are responsible for receiving approval from faculty. My Speaker Committee assists me with brainstorming ideas for designing a banner to raise awareness to the student body. We traditionally paint posters in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership Office and hang them facing the outside of Bailey Library. The Library is located in our quad and the banner is visible to hundreds of students daily. Click on the banner to see the responsibilities my Committee assisted with on event day.
