Thirteen University of Tennessee at Martin students, along with Dr. Dexter Davis, associate professor of sport business, will experience the largest single day sporting event in the United States firsthand as they assist NFL staff Feb. 7 at Super Bowl LV.
The group left Wednesday, Jan. 27, to work with the Host Committee at the NFL Experience and other events to help enforce COVID-19 safety guidelines, especially social distancing and mask regulations. They will also be working inside Raymond James Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, providing operational support to supplement the stadium staff throughout the event.
“We’re going to be helping do things like mask patrols and handing out hand sanitizer and doing what the NFL needs us to do to make sure this is a safe environment. Our responsibilities this year are focused on making sure we’re doing everything we can to stop the spread of the pandemic,” explained Davis. “This will not be the Super Bowl of the past. This event is still going to go on; there are still going to be 20,000 people in the stadium. They still need staffing to make sure the event runs smoothly, and that’s our role, to help the local organizing committee put on the best possible event.”
The students also will have the opportunity to tour other sites, including IMG Academy, where UT Martin alumnus Dan Kerwin works as a Team Training Advisor. Kerwin provided them with insights into how IMG functions and discussed some of the challenges the sport industry has faced as a result of the COVID -19 pandemic. Kerwin graduated from UT Martin in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in sport management.
Students attending this year are Logan Alfano-Webb, of Counce; Timothy Dye, of Murfreesboro; Jackson Hopper, of Tiptonville; Lauren Hutchinson, of McEwen; Lucas Istre, of Centerville; Parker Kendall, of Hornbeak; William Oglesby, of Toney, Alabama; Quinn Reed, of Batavia, Ohio; Kristen Rice, of Lebanon; John Sullivan, of Lexington; Wes Sutherland, of Mt. Juliet; Jennifer Vesey, of Bartlett; and Peyton Wolfe, of Ramer. Hutchinson, Istre and Wolfe have all attended the event in previous years.
For more information on the trip or the UT Martin sport business program, housed in the College of Business and Global Affairs, contact Davis at ddavis78@utm.edu.
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