At George Mason basketball game, students ran the show

Most students at Division 1 universities like George Mason can say they’ve been to at least one sport event. A sold-out football game, a baseball no-hitter, or a Cinderella run at the NCAA Final Four: these games bring the campus together and make core memories for future alumni. 

But while many can say they’ve cheered in the stands, only a handful can say they’ve run the show.

In fall 2024, Donald G. Costello College of Business students had that unique opportunity, leading the marketing and management of the Ferrum vs. George Mason basketball game on November 23.

Mentored by marketing professor Niki Vlastara, assistant director of fan engagement Lily Plizga, and senior marketing and communications director of Costello College of Business Duane Bailey, five students took responsibility for various aspects of the game: from marketing ticket sales to managing check-in to developing a creative timeout game.

For Plizga, the experience was an opportunity to show students the breadth of career possibilities in sports management and marketing. “I found this career because I was a student wage worker with Athletics; I wouldn’t have known about all the opportunities here otherwise,” she said. “So for me, this experience helps showcase all the different paths available to them.”

For Vlastara, it was an opportunity to give students hands-on experience to practice theories and concepts from their coursework. “In event marketing, once the event is done, it’s done; you can’t resell. So, it’s important for the students to have that experience of having one chance to get it right and fill the seats,” Vlastara explained.

George Mason is nationally ranked for internships/co-ops and its graduates report high job success related to their career goals, which underscores its prioritization of experiential learning opportunities like this one.

“I think this experiential part of education is what students are looking for. Projects like this help them really understand where the concepts I’m teaching in class apply,” said Vlastara. “It’s very holistic.”

Melissa Quinteros, a senior in Costello, said that this hands-on opportunity challenged her to improve the skills she was developing in her classes and extracurriculars. “Having interpersonal skills and collaborating on projects have always stood out as necessary skills in my marketing and business classes,” she said. “For this, I needed to take those skills and learn what worked when trying to promote an event to attendees. I had to figure out how to be brief while emphasizing what parts of the event would be most interesting to the person I’m talking to. That was a challenge, but I learned so much.”

The students, Bailey said, “jumped in with both feet and smiled the whole way.” They brought ideas not just from the classroom, but also from their own experiences: winter 2024 graduate Cody Salenga, for example, pitched the idea of the timeout game based on a game he saw at an NBA game. According to Plizga, the game was really successful.

Athletics also saw increases in their social media engagement when the students had taken over; Plizga’s data showed more comments and higher views.

“We want students to feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves, that extends beyond graduation,” said Bailey, “We want them to invest in George Mason, and experiences like these plant that seed early.”

The team hopes to continue this collaboration next season. “Athletics and the fans were excited by the collaboration. So we hope to keep it going in the fall, maybe make it a big event each year that becomes tradition,” said Plizga. “And I hope that other departments, schools, and colleges see what we did as a baseline for opportunities in the future.”