Five Pacific University Students will compete in a series of competitions
This spring, Linfield University, Portland State and Pacific will square (triangle?) off in a different type of competition: Over three months, teams from each university will work a major company and create a presentation about the nexus between sports and entertainment. Each month, one of the universities will host a competition where they showcase their findings.
Each university gets to choose the company they will work with to determine the course materials, competition, and prize. The prizes are assumed to be internships and apprenticeships with the participating company. Each competition will be a six-hour course designed to educate students on the chosen topic and company, followed by two and half hours of competition in their university groups on the given assignment. The teams must be able to present their PowerPoint concept to the panel of judges in 10 minutes.
Pacific University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Sports, and Entertainment director Marc Williams has recruited the help of five students to compete in the tournament—and he is very confident in their abilities. After working together for a semester in the Advanced Theory and Practice Sports Marketing course, Williams believes his students are more than ready for this tournament.
“Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork,” expressed Williams when asked about the most valuable part of the experience. “Knowing how to deal with people who don’t have the same vision as you, the same ideas as you, but I purposely put these students together because I have seen how they work together.”
On February 25, Pacific University will collaborate with Intel to create a presentation about E-sports. It is unknown which companies the other universities will work with, but both will be related to sports or entertainment. Students can learn about the industry and the products that the company manufactures. In March, Portland State will host the next round of the competition, and in April, Linfield will close it.
Williams emphasizes the value of versatility in all aspects of life and encourages his students to step outside their comfort zones. He hopes that these competitions will demonstrate to students that they are more than capable of working with top executives and large corporations; he also wants his students to be rewarded for their efforts and understand their worth, which he believes these masterclass competitions will demonstrate.
“The purpose of this really is just to give students access to internships and opportunities that they normally would not have gotten,” explained Williams. “We do a lot of network experience, as well as how to not be afraid or intimidated when working with these top executives, and simply how to conduct themselves.” — Emily Rutkowski
Major: Journalism
Hometown: Mesa, Arizona
Hobbies: soccer, track, being outside, hiking, writing
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