Catawba College Sport Management students in Dr. Duane Aagaard's class, were visible across uptown Charlotte recently as they served the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) at its annual football championship game at Bank of America Stadium. The game featured two top five teams, Clemson University and the University of Miami.
Lacy Lange, Volunteer Director of the ACC Football Championship, expressed her appreciation to Catawba College students who partnered with Pfeiffer University. "Catawba Sport Management students were fantastic and vital to the success of the ACC Football Championship," she shared. "We're excited to have Catawba apart of our team."
Thirteen Catawba students were active volunteering in a variety of responsibilities from hospitality in the team hotels, event management during Saturday's 5K Charity Race, and the Youth Football Combine. Additionally, students served at the ACC Fan Fest which is the conference's day-long activities that included live music, interactive games, contests, novelty stations, ACC mascot appearances, corporate champion attractions, giveaways, and autograph opportunities with ACC legends.
There was additional excitement this year as the game attracted ESPN's traveling pregame show, College Gameday. The show airs live on ESPN from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Romero Bearden Park and included hosts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, and Reece Davis.
Aagaard, Associate Professor of Sport Management at Catawba, explained: "We are so thankful to Lacy and the ACC who are providing our students with first-class experiential learning opportunities. We see these moments as catalyst to our students' career in the sport industry."
Senior Sport Management student Josh Stewart described his experience. "Working the Youth Football Combine at the ACC championship was one of my favorite experiences as a Catawba student," he said. "My day included interacting with fans, throwing footballs with kids and taking in the College Game Day experience."
Another Sport Management senior, Erin Fulcher, added, "I loved this experience. Being a part of the ACC Championship weekend was incredible."
On the field, Clemson University defeated the University of Miami 38-3 to capture the ACC Championship for the third consecutive year and earned one of the four spots in the 2017 College Football Playoff.
