SMA’s ‘Sports Business Career Night’ was a huge success for their first event of the year. The Sports Marketing Association, also known as SMA, is a newer organization at Pace University, having been approved in the previous semester. They hosted their first major event of the semester through a partnership with Pace Athletics to create a sports marketing panel on October 6, including a professional and student panel with three people in each. Another benefit to these attendees was the networking opportunities upon the conclusion of the event. Over 100 students and faculty came from both the New York City and Pleasantville campuses, specifically for a large number of student-athletes.
To start off the event, SMA introduced the professional panel, all of whom are very successful within their respective industries. The host first introduced Koma Gandy, a Harvard and Georgetown graduate. Gandy played and coached women’s rugby over three decades and is now on the board of USA Rugby and a co-founder and board member for the Women’s Elite Rugby League, the first professional women’s rugby league in the United States.
The next panelist was Jonathan Adler, a University of Buffalo and University of Miami School of Law graduate. Adler is the Vice President of Business Operations & General Counsel for MADE Hoops, an elite basketball program that hosts events all over the country. Notable MADE Hoops alumni include big NBA names like Tyrese Maxey, Bam Adebayo, Cooper Flagg, and Trae Young. Adler was also on the men’s basketball team during his time at the University of Buffalo, which inspired him to find a career that would help him stay close to basketball without actually playing.
The final speaker in the professional panel was University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate Joe Carney. Carney spent over twenty years in sales for big brands, including ESPN, NFL, MLB, and Viacom. Most recently, Carney founded ZIYNX in 2020, an athlete market brand that he is now the CEO of. When speaking about his company, he talked about the importance of assisting student athletes in transitioning into the world beyond their sport, “It’s about networking. It’s about relationships. It’s about connections. It’s about being in the rooms that you wouldn’t be in had you not been a student athlete.”
The sports industry is a tough industry to break into, and all of the panelists exclaimed that. When asked what he was looking for in an intern for his company, Carney stated, “I want to know what you’re passionate about…I want to know why you want to be in sports. Everybody wants to be in sports. Sports is cool, right? Why do you want to be in sports? Why are you going to work late? What are you willing to sacrifice? ‘Cause it’s really easy to find somebody raising their hand and saying, ‘I want to do this.’ Are you willing to make those sacrifices to do it?”
After some questions from the host, the floor was opened up to the students. A long line of intrigued students formed to get their questions in. A notable question was, “What were things that you guys did to help move through these moments of doubt?” Gandy responded, “You got to have something else that grounds you because you’re the only you you get. So making sure you take care of yourself and you ground yourself.
Another question asked was, “How do you deal with the highs and lows from a business standpoint? How do you move on from one thing and go right to the next?” To which Adler responded, “I’m not a business owner, but I can tell you this is something I look for in myself and everyone else that I deal with is ‘next play mentality.’ So basically, it’s like being a quarterback and throwing a pick. What are you going to do? Are you going to fold or are you going to come back? I heard this from my dad a long time ago, ‘There’s two types of people. There’s tennis balls and there’s eggs. You drop either one on the floor and you either crack or you bounce back.’ So that’s the way I approach this.”
Following the professional industry panel, a panel comprised of recently graduated student athletes, including Pace alumni, shared their experiences beginning work within the marketing field. Emma Rafferty, a Pace graduate who now works as an associate media planner, was credited with being a significant figure in making this event happen. Rafferty shared that she “left Pace a little bit unprepared. Being a Spring sport athlete on the women’s lacrosse team, [she] was very focused on [their] season and getting through games.”
To find direction in her career, she networked through LinkedIn, Pace networking events, and contacted individuals working in media that she knew to help secure her current job. Rafferty emphasized how critical it is for current students to learn to network and to use resources available to them, as “getting your foot in the door with someone that you know is a huge plus, because from there it’s all on you.” Panelist Aidan Martinez agreed with this notion, stating that he got his current job through meeting someone at his current company and using them as a reference when applying. Martinez now works at a large media company, working with creative and influencer agencies.
Even for students with a great GPA and resume, not networking and getting into the field as soon as possible can mean losing job opportunities. Taking the summer off, according to Martinez, is a mistake, as “if you want a job in marketing, especially in media, that’s not the route to take,” since by Q3 and Q4, companies will not be hiring as many people and planning for the next year.
For student athletes who are interested in making a transition to the behind-the-scenes of professional athletics, Klarke Sconiers, a 2024 graduate from the University of Delaware, offered some perspective. Sconiers, who now works as a Head of Athlete Relations at an athlete marketing consultancy, helps with recruiting and approving athletes.
The panel was then asked about what skills they apply daily in their career, and the specific areas that current students should begin to focus on. Rafferty spoke of the importance of time management skills, since her field involves handling the day-to-day workings of a team and communicating with clients frequently. Martinez spoke more directly to the finance students, making it clear that marketing knowledge and jargon that is reviewed in class is used daily in the field. Furthermore, knowing how to use Excel, how to manage invoices, reading financial statements, and being good with math are all large aspects of marketing and advertising.
For those who are interested in pursuing a career similar to Sconiers’, being well-versed in popular social media platforms is beneficial, especially considering that a substantial portion of recruiting athletes also includes reviewing their social media profiles to ensure that they are compatible with the company and their image. While there are many career avenues that student athletes can pursue, there is clearly a connection between the various skills commonly needed for these marketing and recruitment positions.
After the event, we interviewed the Sports Marketing Association’s Vice-President, Skyler Flynn, about the event and SMA as a club.
How did SMA go about planning this event?
Flynn: A lot of it was through Professor Klein and Starla (SMA’s President), they did most of it. Finding the people, connecting with them through LinkedIn or the connections [Professor Klein] had, and through Pace Alumni. And then it was just finding a date that would work.
How was it to collaborate with Pace Athletics for such a big event?
Flynn: It was good. It was helpful because I think it really drew a lot of publicity from the sports teams and helped spread the word stronger than if we were to just do it on our own. It was our first event of this semester, so I feel like it was a good one to start with to kick things off.
Why was it important to SMA to have this event, especially from a networking perspective?
Flynn: Everyone I’ve talked to in the sports industry has always said they’ve got their job from someone they knew, so establishing these connections in these various fields to get your foot in the door is important. Everything is kind of word of mouth, so getting these connections, knowing who to connect with, and what other people did kind of helps.
How did you feel about the event and its success during and after?
Flynn: I actually came like a half hour in because I had soccer practice, so I remember walking in and being like, “whoa, this is so many more people than I expected to show up.” That’s a great problem to have, we love that problem. I remember after, as an E-board, we were talking like “this is great,” and we did not expect this many people to show up. We’re trying to build [the club] up because this is the sports campus, and there is an interest in sports.
If you enjoyed the panel or are interested in the Sports Marketing Association’s upcoming events, there are a few to look forward to. A Sports Trivia night is in the works, and SMA is set to lead the Careers and Marketing event on November 12 during common hour, hopefully with more guest speakers.
Authored by: Danielle Lugashi and Marissa Lane
Photo credit: Keira Coyne
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