Catawba College Sport Management students traveled to Charlotte October 23-24 for the Big South Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Basketball Media Days.
The Big South Conference Media Day took place at the Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel and included the annual tip-off luncheon and announcement of the preseason poll and all-conference teams. Interview sessions were also held for local, regional, and national media outlets including the Big South Network and ESPN.
Catawba student Logan James '21 shared his experience: "Working the Big South Conference Media Day was a great learning experience and networking opportunity. It was amazing to both witness and assist in the work that goes into hosting such an event."
James was joined by fellow Catawba College Sport Management students Jamareon Clark '21, Jhalisa Bell '22, Shemya Stanback '21, and Nathan Simmons '22.
The ACC Basketball Media Day was held at the Spectrum Center, the venue in Uptown Charlotte which will host the 2019 ACC Basketball Tournament this March. Each of the fifteen ACC basketball programs arrived with their head coach and two marquee players to interact with national media that included ESPN, Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
Associate Professor of Sport Management Dr. Duane Aagaard shared, "This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our students, as Charlotte previously hosted the ACC Basketball tournament in 2008. The next time the tournament returns to Charlotte, it's possible our Catawba students will be working within the ACC."
The largest media interest was dedicated to UNC and Duke University; however, the league now has seven teams opening the season ranked in the Top 25: #4 - Duke, #5 - Virginia, #8 - North Carolina, #15 - Virginia Tech, #16 - Syracuse, #17 - Florida State, and #22 - Clemson.
Student Josh Coman '21 described his experience - which included meeting UNC Coach Roy Williams – by saying that "working the ACC Media Day was incredible. Ironically, we learned that our supervisor {ACC Associate Commissioner Brian Morrison} is a Catawba College alumnus."
Joining Coman from Catawba College were first-year students Kyle Freeman, Giovanni Sterling, Jade Williams, and Joseph Hyatt.
