Forty-one Sport Management students in Mike Puillandre’s BUSN1301 Media and Sport course have been learning courtside over the fall term, thanks to funding from Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL) and CEWIL’s iHub.
For the second year in a row, CEWIL has provided the College with funding to operate a Sport Communications Lab, where students complete sport communications tasks during Knights home games for more hands-on learning.
Last year, CEWIL provided $38,000 in funding to cover technology for the lab, plus a stipend for each of the students for the time they spent covering two Knights games over the course of the term–including writing media releases, game previews, post-game recaps, interviews with coaches and players and creating content for the Sport Communication Lab’s social media accounts.
This year, CEWIL has supplied another $31,600 to continue the lab. Since the middle of October, students–working in pairs–have taken turns covering Knights sporting events.
“If I were to describe the experience of working at the Knights game in one word, it would be ‘fun,'” said Sport Management student Kaitlin Saxton. “The experience offered opportunities to engage with game day staff, tour the broadcasting truck, watch fellow classmates and friends compete, and most importantly see what it was like to run a media account for a team. The game we worked was a part of the ReuKnighted community weekend, which also gave us the chance to interact with alumni.”
Saxton, who originally hails from Oakville, was paired with fellow student Laura Guiot, who said working in the gym “was truly a great hands-on experience. Personally, it gave me the confidence of knowing that I am working towards that fun and thrilling atmosphere which sport can create.
“The theory explained in class would never help a student understand [why] the preparation before the game is truly necessary,” Guiot added. “Our professor did an excellent job explaining how to prepare for it–and what to prepare. When you get to experience the lab, you feel the intensity and how fast-paced the game goes. You get to put what has been taught into action, and it is a surreal and exciting moment.”
In order to be eligible for CEWIL grant funding, the Sport Management program had to work with a community partner, explained Puillandre. Since NC Athletics is considered a student service, it qualified as a community partner.
The students first do an orientation session to learn what’s expected of them and what their responsibilities will be. Then they choose a date to work at the lab.
Laura Guiot listens to Knights men’s basketball assistant coach Lequan Hylton.
“They all basically sign up for a double-header of our home games during the semester,” he said. “They serve in the communications role, so they do pre-game media releases, they do post-game media releases, they interview coaches, they interview players for their media releases, their media advisories. They do infographics. They do social media, Instagram and Twitter, and they run those as if they were working in the sport athletics department for the college as a sport communications professional.”
Each student commits about 20 hours of time to completing all the requirements of the lab, he said. Since they’re paid an industry hourly rate, the amount they earn essentially covers the cost of the course.
They’re also given a free one-year subscription to Canva Pro, a web-based graphic design tool, and a subscription to the sports journalism website The Athletic.
And, Puillandre said, as an extra incentive there’s a financial prize for the team that earns the top grade on the lab project, which is worth 35 per cent of their overall grade.
April Tyrrell, Associate Dean, School of Business & Management Studies, said the CEWIL grant has provided NC’s Sport Management students with more than financial support.
“It strengthened an existing partnership with our Niagara College Athletics and Recreation department, which led to empowering students to thrive in real-world challenges,” she said. “Through this initiative, the students applied theoretical knowledge through a meaningful practical experience that mimics a career in the sport communications industry. We are grateful to CEWIL for funding this incredible experiential learning opportunity.”
Adapting to a changing landscape
Puillandre said the Media and Sport course was overhauled in the last few years to be more practical and hands-on for students, who are seeking to enter a field that’s seen a noticeable drop.
“There [are] declining media professionals, there [are] fewer reporters and sport has been particularly hit by this. So unless you’re a heavily mediated sport organization like the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Toronto Raptors, you’re struggling for a media presence.”
As a result, he noted, more and more sport organizations are adding sport communications professionals to their staff to fill the gap where natural coverage used to be.
“Sport organizations are better positioned than ever to create their own content and distribute that to users and consumers. So even professional organizations rely on content creation. They’re partnering with podcasters. They’re partnering with blogs and websites and things like that because it’s just a more efficient way.”
The Sport Management program also used a portion of the CEWIL funding to partner with École Secondaire Catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf in Welland to introduce senior students in the sport and IT and communications Specialist High Skills Major (SMSH) programs to the world of media and sport.
The students travelled to NC on November 23 for a tour of the college and to sit in on Puillandre’s student lecture on how to write a sport article. They were also invited to listen to a guest presentation from TSN’s NBA analyst and colour commentator Jevohn Shepherd.
Kaitlin Saxton takes photographs that will be shared on social media.
On December 1, the high school students returned to NC to participate in the same orientation session the Sport Management students participate in.
“The highlight was the follow-up activity where students were able to take part in the media relations aspects for the Niagara College basketball game versus St. Clair College,” said École Secondaire Catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf principal Philippe Desjardins. “The experiential learning opportunity allowed students to apply classroom concepts and all the information from their earlier lecture in a live setting. Students were given a taste of the fast-paced and challenging nature of this business.
“This project was a great asset to our SHSM program and we are 100% invested in continuing this partnership with Niagara College,” he added.
Among the things the students did with Puillandre was learn about types of photos to take and how to create engaging tweets. They saw the broadcasting department in the gym and watched as Sport Management students worked in the gym on that day.
“There’s a little bit of a mentorship lead there, so it’s a cool program overall,” Puillandre said.
Saxton agreed. Her goal is to work as an athletic director at either the collegiate or university level, and she said the lab gave her a chance to develop real-world skills she’ll need in that role, such as seeing how a game day is run, how important social media is to a varsity event, strong communication and professionalism.
“The assignments in this lab have provided hands-on, real-life experiences that have given us the opportunity to see what working in the world of sports could be like,” she said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the lab experience. It is a great way to develop skills that will be used in our future careers.”
For Guiot, who said she hasn’t yet settled on an area of sport management she’d like to pursue professionally, the lab opened her eyes to more opportunities.
“I really enjoyed making the graphics and running a social media account,” she said. “This opportunity gave me guidance on what skills I have, what skills I need to improve and what skills I need to develop to build myself up for success.”
