Wilmington College Sport Management Students Working at Super Bowl LX
- Real Change Wilmington
- 10 hours ago
- 4 min read
WILMINGTON, Ohio (February 4, 2026)—Unlike the Bengals, Steelers, Lions, and 27 other National Football League teams, a dozen Wilmington College students are going to the Super Bowl. They won’t be viewing this Sunday’s Patriots versus Seahawks mega-event from luxury suites; rather, they will be working in customer service at the game and getting an inside look at the inner workings of the largest single-day event in the sports-obsessed American society.
These sport management students and several faculty and staff members will be spending four days at Super Bowl LX at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
As volunteers, they serve as ambassadors, greeters, and customer service staff to assist the thousands of guests attending a myriad of events and activities during Super Bowl week. While their work itinerary isn’t yet fully known, previous WC contingents have assisted in staging the NFL Experience events and, on Saturday, the Super Bowl Breakfast and Bart Starr Awards Ceremony, as well as working game day at the stadium. They expect to be on site from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (California time) on Super Sunday.
“Our students will experience Super Bowl Week and Game Day from behind the scenes to learn the ins and outs of the business of hosting a mega-event — they will gain a hands-on understanding of what it takes to plan, organize, and execute a true sporting event behemoth,” said Steve Cukovecki, assistant professor of sport management. This marks his eighth time leading WC students to professional football’s nirvana.
“The students also will be networking, interviewing, meeting, and learning from top people in the sports business world,” Cukovecki added, noting that this experience should have positive ramifications as the students pursue internships and, ultimately, careers. “Having a sport management experience at the Super Bowl is an impressive resume bullet point and conversation starter when interviewing and starting a career in the field.”
Wilmington College has been a trailblazer in bringing students to the Super Bowl since 2016. Then, besides Wilmington College, only several schools located near the venues participated. Today, with some 500 collegiate-level sport management programs in the United States, WC remains among a limited number of institutions that offer students such high-impact opportunities.
WC sport management students already worked at the NCAA College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship earlier this winter in Miami and the LPGA Tour’s Queen City Golf Championships this fall.
In previous years, students worked various major college bowl games, the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Final Four, and the Little League World Series. Throughout the year, they tour and meet with officials at such sports venues as the Bengals’ Paul Brown/Paycor Stadium; The Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds; The Dayton Dragons’ Day Air Ballpark; the Columbus Crew’s Major League Soccer stadium; and athletics facilities at The Ohio State University.
Graduates of the College’s sport management program are working throughout professional sports, as well as with numerous other sport-related venues and organizations. WC is represented in pro sport franchises, including, among others, the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington, DC, Commanders.
Four members of this year’s Super Bowl contingent spoke about their expectations for the experience. They include Camden Morgan, a sophomore sport management major from Wilmington; Gavan Hunter, a junior sports management major from Clarksville; Addison Sparks, a senior sport management/communication arts major from New Paris; and Logan Lovins, a senior business management/sport management major from Goshen.
Lovins, who has a keen interest in the operations side of sports, worked his first Super Bowl as a sophomore in 2024 when Kansas City defeated San Francisco in an overtime thriller. Also, he was among the contingent to work the CFP Championship game earlier in January. “I’ve networked and learned a lot working with many great people at these events,” he said.
Morgan, who worked the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament last year, is “leaning” to the sales side of the industry and perks up when hearing about a WC alumnus who sells the high-ed luxury suites at the Super Bowl. “It’s a fun time and a great experience,” he added.
Sparks sees her work at these major sporting events as helping create lifelong memories for attendees. She also worked the CFP Championship in Miami — how many people get to attend both the college football championship and the Super Bowl within fewer than 30 days? She gravitates toward the more creative side of the sports industry, with an interest in social media production and strategies. “I jumped at this opportunity to go to the Super Bowl,” she said. “It’s special that Wilmington College students have this open to them.”
Hunter, who has aspirations of becoming an athletic director, is also a veteran of working those mega-events. “I enjoyed networking and experiencing the energy of the day,” he added. “The Super Bowl experience pops out on resumes and gives you a better chance, in a job interview, to dig deeper and sell yourself through your internships and other related experiences.”
Sport Management students also stage events at WC like the annual Hermann Madness: Hops & Haunts event, which combines a Halloween theme with the opening of basketball season. They’re also hosting a youth basketball tournament in late April after returning to work the Big 10 Basketball Championships and the March Madness Final Four in Indianapolis.
Article Submitted by Wilmington College
