It’s an exciting feeling to be part of something that you know has the potential to grow and accomplish big things. During winter term of freshman year I joined the Oregon’s men lacrosse team with a student marketing internship. Thanks to the Warsaw Sports Business Club, I found out about an opening to work with the team through one of the bi-weekly meetings we had throughout the term. I immediately capitalized on the opportunity, emailed the coach, and was set up as one of the marketing directors.

Lacrosse Growth, Nationwide

Having played a couple years of lacrosse in high school, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to compliment my knowledge for lacrosse with my passion for sports business. My high school lacrosse team in Sacramento started out as club, and only one season later we became a varsity sport. Teams, leagues, and skills camps were being formed all over the Sacramento area, and continue to grow today. It is certainly hard to deny that lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in America. The sport grew over 12% last year.

Lacrosse at the University of Oregon

We saw the lacrosse team at the U of O grow considerably this season when they made nationals and finished top 25 in the nation for the seventh time in seven seasons.  My role with the team was to develop a marketing proposal that could lead to a greater fan awareness of the team and bring in more revenue to the program. On the road a lot with not too many home games, we picked our top two home games that we thought we could draw the most fans.

For our games against Washington and nationally ranked Simon-Fraser, we set up a table next to the stands at the field and provided information on how to order team apparel and had packets available for those who were interested in donating to the team. Before the season, I also compiled a contact database of over twenty local and statewide athletic companies that could possibly sponsor the team. In addition, I stayed in contact with the school newspaper to provide game stories and recaps.

The Ducks played their 2009 home games next to the historic Hayward Field.

Challenges and the Future of UO Lax

The biggest problem the lacrosse team faces is the fact that it’s a club team. Limited on funding and resources, the players have to pay team dues and the team has to abide by the University’s club sports regulations. Not being officially recognized as a varsity collegiate team, it seems that the team should have a bigger fan base than it does now.

However, not all things can change over one season. Like one of the team’s coaches told me, anything you do in business cannot simply happen overnight. We just have to continue to stick to the game plan and persist with our marketing and team operations in order to build the team’s brand its full potential.

Where is our program heading? My goal over the next three years is to continue growing the fan base and seeking revenue from sponsorships. Also, in the back of my head, I have the dream of helping put this program on track to become a varsity collegiate sport at the U of O. We would be one of the first on the west coast, and this step up would lead to a major shift in the west. My high school team went varsity in one season. Can it happen here? Time and hard work can only tell.

In the Next Post:

Stay tuned for my next post on the sports industry guest speakers that visited campus this year; including Andy Dolich of the San Francisco 49ers and Howard “H” White of the Nike Jordan Brand. 

-AG

Let me tell you a little about myself. I recently completed my freshman year at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. I am currently a pre-major in business administration and plan to concentrate in a degree for sports business with a minor in communications. I decided to attend the U of O for a few reasons:

One of the factors that drew me here was the school’s location and ties to Nike. A very athletic minded campus, the U of O draws a lot of funding from Nike and former CEO and UO alum Phil Knight (aka sugar daddy). Having this tie allows for sports business students at the school to literally live on a campus full of sports experience and job opportunities.

Another factor that brought me here was the Lundquist College of Business and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. Being a public school, the U of O seems very underrated in its business department. After spending a year on campus, I have found out that our program here is as strong as any other on the west coast. In addition, the Lillis Business building is one of the nicest and state-of-the-art business complexes in the country. 

The Lillis Business Complex is rated as one of the best in the country (photo courtesy of uoregon.edu).

The biggest influence for me this year was getting involved early with the Warsaw Sports Business Club. Headed by two powerful and knowledgeable business women and a strong executive council, the club allowed for me to listen to guest speakers of the sports industry, showed me how to put together a professional resume and cover letter, and provided internship and volunteer experience that could help down the road.

My ultimate goal after college is to reach the top of a professional sports franchise front office or start up my own sports agency. In term’s of an agency, I could see my business as a large one, but with a much more personal feel.

I started this blog for three reasons. One, I don’t have a job yet this summer so I thought this would be something to keep me busy until I do find one. Second, having an online piece of work seems like a necessity nowadays to put my name out there and sell my brand. Lastly, I wanted to build my own place that discussed the business of sports and how to making a living in the industry.

Thanks for reading my first post and hope you check out my next one about my internship with the Oregon men’s club lacrosse team.

-AG