FLORIDA STATE SPORT MANAGEMENT Oklahoma City Networking Trip May 30 - June 4, 2018
DAY 1 OKC Thunder Oklahoma State University OVERVIEW OF THUNDER: We had the opportunity to meet with a few staff members who work for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Katrina, Abby and Tyler spent time teaching us about the different roles they each play to make their organization a success. We toured the facilities and even had the chance to ask new employees for advice. OVERVIEW OF OSU: After meeting with the Thunder, we traveled one hour to Stillwater, OK to visit Oklahoma State University. There we met with Keegan Davis, who works in development for the athletic department. Keegan spent three hours showing us the athletic facilities, as well as, the OSU golf course that just hosted the NCAA National Championship.
OKC Dodgers OKC All-Sports DAY 2 OVERVIEW OF DODGERS: We met first with the Triple A franchise s VP Michael Brynes. He explained his career path, as well as, walked us around the facilities. We then met with four other employees for a panel. Jenna, Kyle, Ben and Travis taught us about the benefits of working for a minor league baseball team. That night, we also got to go to a Oklahoma City Dodgers game. OVERVIEW OF OKC ALL-SPORTS: The main part of this trip was to volunteer for the Women s College World Series. OKC All- Sports is an organization that assists the NCAA to make the WCWS possible. We had a chance to speak with the executive director, Tim Brassfield. He gave us advice and explained how he runs his organization.
DAY 3 OKC Boathouse WCWS Volunteering OKC BOATHOUSE: In the morning, our group met with Todd Goodman from the Oklahoma City Boathouse. Todd took us around the different boathouses and explained the history of the structures. Then we had the chance to talk to Reilly Dampeer, the US Rowing s High Performance Coach. She spoke to us about her background and advice to future professionals. After, the group went white water rafting at their Riversport activity area. VOLUNTEERING: After leaving the OKC Boathouse, we had to go work our second volunteer shift at the WCWS. The group had ranging duties from helping parents sign liability waivers for the Fan Fest activities to watching the National Championship trophy as fans snapped photos with it. After our three hour shift was over, we had the chance to watch FSU play Oregon in a elimination match. FSU won and moved onto the next round!
OKC National Memorial WCWS Volunteering DAY 4 12 6 VOLUNTEERING & FSU SOFTBALL GAME: The group finished up the last WCWS three hour volunteer shift at the NCAA Fan Fest. After the shift, we all got to watch FSU take on UCLA for a spot in the National Championship. During the game we took a picture with FSU AD Stan Wilcox and Senior Associate AD Vanessa Fuchs. FSU went on to beat UCLA and make school history by clinching a spot in the National Championship with a score of 12-6! OKC NATIONAL MEMORIAL: In the morning, we went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial to walk around and honor the lives that were lost in the tragedy. The memorial included 168 chairs for the 168 lives that were taken on April 18, 1995 from a bombing.
DAY 5 University of Oklahoma Joe Castiglione OVERVIEW OF UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: One of the most memorable parts of this trip was when University of Oklahoma s Athletic Director, Joe Castiglione, spoke to us for two hours. Mr. Castiglione spoke about what helped him become one of the best athletic directors of all time. He has been at OU for 20 years, which is the longest an AD has been at one school. We are very grateful he took time out of his busy schedule to speak to us. After, Senior Associate AD Mike Meade showed us the academic center for student-athletes! The tour ended with OU s Academic Advisor Eric Bailey walking us around the athletic facilities. We toured the football stadium, weight room, and trophy room, along with the wrestling room and the new dorm owned by the athletic department.
THANK YOU TO: KATRINA WILEY ABBY MORGAN KEEGAN DAVIS LANCE TROESTER MICHAEL BYRNES JENNA BYRNES TIM BRASSFIELD RACHEL MEYER TYLER LANE JUSTIN JORDAN LARRY REECE BEN BEECKEN TRAVIS PIERCEFIELD JORDAN SATARAWALA TODD GOODMAN REILLY DAMPEER JANE MEEKS JOE CASTIGLIONE MIKE MEADE ERIC BAILEY & DR. PAPPAS!