Two Linfield College students will secure invaluable work experience at one of the largest sporting events in the world when they attend the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship game in Santa Clara, Calif.
Taylor Cole ’20 and Brooke Snyder ’20 will go behind the scenes with Shenandoah University students to work several events in the days leading up to the championship game. They will observe and learn from organizers of the event, which in 2018 had 28.4 million viewers, an all-time record, and drew more than 77,000 attendees.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity,” said Denise Farag, associate professor of business at Linfield, of the program.
The chance to be championship game insiders came from incoming Linfield president Miles K. Davis, currently dean of the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business at Shenandoah University. Davis connected Farag, who teaches in the Linfield major in Sport Management, with Fritz Polite, assistant dean of student affairs and professor of sports management at Shenandoah University.
Polite regularly sends students to events such as the Super Bowl and the 2018 Winter Olympics. Polite quickly offered two student spots to Linfield for the championship game. Linfield will provide logistical support to Shenandoah University on the West Coast for the championship game. Farag will also be attending as the faculty coordinator of the Sport Management program.
Six Linfield students applied for the chance to be ‘on the job’ with professionals at the College Football Playoff game and went through a rigorous screening process. Cole and Snyder will also be enrolled in the popular January Term career exploration course in Sport Management as part of the experience.
Farag and Polite both look forward to working together on this and future projects.
“It’s an extreme honor to work with Linfield College and their growing Sport Management program,” said Polite. “The ability to partner with their leadership team on a national level is exciting and both of our students will gain tremendously from our partnership.”
Davis, who brought the two programs together, couldn’t be more pleased.
“Having the opportunity to work at this prestigious event is a result of Dr. Farag collaborating with Dr. Polite to bring this outstanding opportunity to Linfield students,” he said. “There are very few colleges that get invited to participate in the College Football Playoff and Linfield’s participation reflects the growing respect of its Sport Management program.”
He continued, “It also demonstrates Linfield’s commitment to a quality educational experience, inside and outside of the classroom.”
