Sports Business Day Field Trip for Two HS Classes

November 17, 2022

Sayville High School students in Hannah Michaelson's Sports Marketing class and in Adam Sznitken’s Sports Analytics class took a trip to MetLife Stadium in mid-November for "Sports Business Day." "Schools in the surrounding area," Mrs. Michaelson explained, "were invited for a stadium tour and to hear from New York Jets executives about the business behind sports and about running a successful NFL team. Stops on the tour included the NYJ locker room, Commissioner’s Clubhouse and Coaches Club with speakers from various departments, including finance, marketing, data analytics, branding, sales and corporate sponsorships. The event is hosted each year with up to 30 high schools from the tri-state area in attendance." 

This eye-opening trip aligned the concepts taught in both Sports Marketing and Sports Analytics and gave the Sayville students firsthand experiences in how these concepts are applied to a professional sports team. After their excursion, the students shared their feedback (below):

 

"It was fun and interesting to see the processes that go into every franchise in sports"

"Just having the experience of going on the field and the workers willing to answer questions about how they got to this place made it really interesting."

"I really enjoyed getting the in-depth experience that many fans would not be able to experience, like going on the actual field and seeing their actual locker rooms. The guides and the people working there were also really helpful for anyone who wanted to actually pursue a sports type of career."

"I learned that there is a lot of setting up before a game at MetLife and there are a lot of people working."

"I learned new things about what it's like to keep a stadium up and running."

"I think that, in general, I just learned more about the way that sports businesses work and how sports teams are actually a business that needs to focus on marketing just as much as any other company."

"I learned how much they helped out with charities."

"There are multiple teams behind the scenes that keep the business profitable."

"I learned that there's a lot of ways that you can work with a franchise. You can work in many different departments and in many different positions."

"I learned about the ways that they promote the tickets and times of games online."