Live from New York, it's S3!

Baylor in New York

Thanks to the inspiration of Dinn Mann, EVP at MLBAM (BU '87) and the support of Derek Blake (VP, La Quinta Inns & Suites; BU '86) and Kelly Roddy (President, Schlotzsky's), we began the annual S3 in NYC Senior Trip in 2015. Each year it gets better, as more partners give back to support the bright futures of S3 seniors in the business of sports.

Since 2015, New York has become a hotbed for S3, with graduates going to the New York Yankees (2), New York Mets (3), Madison Square Garden, New Jersey Devils and KORE software. MLBAM, the Mets and SAP recruit S3 juniors for summer internships. Thanks to partners like these, placement for interns and careers continues to go well from coast-to-coast. (Click here to see recent placements.)

S3 takes Manhattan

This year the S3 trip began at Lombardi's pizza with our friends at MLBAM, including Kirstin Hettinger, Dani Wexelman and Shaun Kippins. We enjoyed some of the best pizza in NYC, although an admitted close second to Sbarro's, where I like to stop when I'm in the City to get a slice of New York pizza.

We began Thursday at the NBA offices, hosted by Matt Goodman, Matt Wolf and Mallory Barber, followed by lunch hosted by our friends at BAV Consulting, Anne Rivers, Christina Lu (pictured below) and Ryan Johnson.

The goal of each meeting is to prepare S3 seniors to lean into the first year of their careers. Oriented toward reality, students learn to manage career expectations and more fully understand the integrity and initiative it takes to succeed. At MLBAM, students learned about the sports media business with insights from the successful careers of Barbara McHugh, Mark Plutzer, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Patterson, and Will Edmondson. They wouldn't let us into the official replay room for some reason, so we posed nearby instead.

Thanks to Marc Jackson, Matt Schulman, Curran Raclin, Deia Nassar, Leo Parsons, Dave Decina, German Montero, Ben Pincus, Dylan Rice, Brendan Long and S3's own Darolyn Pierce, we not only played The Garden, but learned from them the importance of perseverance and passion to make it in the Big Apple.

We kicked off Friday morning at Yankee Stadium, thanks to our friends Mario Oliveri, Mike Robbins, Scott Jeffer, and another S3 alum in the City, Victoria Ham. Like most of our visits, students met with managers to pick their brains about do's and don'ts to succeed in the first year of their selected career paths of sales (tickets and partnerships) or CRM & Analytics.

SAP's Dan Fleetwood (BU '94) and Alycia De Avila (BU '02) collaborated with Momentum Worldwide's Sarah Ax, Aaron Alamo, Elena Klau, Allie Bingham and Donna Meredith to host us for more great pizza, mixed with analytical insights into what truly engages fans in the brand experience. (The lead-in photo to this article was taken by Momentum's offices in lower Manhattan.)

Erin Leigh, Reece Fischer, Mike Levine and Rob Mulhall offered insights into the revenue analytics of NHL franchises. We will integrate some concepts into our textbook at www.teamsportsmarketing.com, along with examples of experiential sponsorship activation demonstrated by Momentum.

Adam Vogel, Kenny Koperda, John Morris, Jake Winowich, and Tim Whang (BU '02; '05), among others--including S3 alumni Nick Suriani and Grant McLaughlin--made us feel right at home at the Mets...as did our Baylor-green-wearing-friend joining us in the pic below at Citi Field.

We completed the week in New York in New Jersey, thanks to Brian Norman, Ted Glick and S3 graduate, Katlyn Muller. Brian is an excellent example of how a determined spirit in service to others leads to success in the wide world of sports. Brian (U of New Hampshire '11) was recently named as Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service at the New Jersey Devils.

Final thanks: Thanks to all of our partners who hosted us. Fantastic! Again, this trip would not be possible without the support of Kelly Roddy and Derek Blake. The students loved the newly renovated La Quinta in Downtown Brooklyn! Thanks for joining us for the trip, Derek. Thanks to Stephanie Rocco, Learfield, for providing her leadership, support and occasional photography for the group! And thanks to S3 alum Matt Burke for hanging out with us in the City!