Now more than ever, Americans are investing in experiences. Consumer spending on travel and live events, including sporting events, increased by nearly 30% in 2023, according to a Washington Post analysis. A 2024 report from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association found more people were participating in sports, fitness, and outdoor activities, too.

People are drawn to sports because they want to connect with others and be part of a team, according to David Rolfe, undergraduate program coordinator for CWU Sport Management.

Sport management professionals like the ones being trained at CWU are motivated to make those experiences as memorable as they can for the fans.

“Being part of an experience is powerful, it’s meaningful, it’s exciting, it’s really fun,” Rolfe said. “I think that working in a field where the true idea of it, at its core, is enjoyment and fun and excitement is appealing to people.”

The CWU Department of Sport and Movement Studies launched the Sport Management program in 2017, and it continues to evolve. As of 2024, students can choose from six specializations. The program also partners with the College of Business for a sport business minor.

This level of variety opens the door to a wide range of careers. Program graduates might train athletes, engage fans on social media, coordinate merchandise licensing, plan activities at a summer camp, analyze player statistics, or ensure everything runs smoothly on gameday.

“The industry is so much wider than you probably would ever imagine,” Rolfe said.

Wealth of Opportunities

For many in the profession, it’s an amazing feeling to say your office is a football stadium, basketball arena, or NASCAR track, said Sean Dahlin, who coordinates the Sport and Athletic Administration master’s program at Central. But these jobs are gratifying in deeper ways, too.

“If you’re working with the athletes directly, you’re helping them grow and build all these character-building values that they’re going to use for the rest of their lives,” Dahlin said. “On the office side, you’re wanting to build experiences that the fans are never going to forget.”

While the industry is growing, it’s also highly competitive, Dahlin explained. CWU faculty members are invested in preparing students for the spectrum of career possibilities ahead of them.

Beyond-the-classroom experiences are what set CWU’s program apart, Rolfe added. Offering an incredible education to students is especially meaningful to him as a Central alum (he earned his bachelor’s in recreation management in 2005).

“We have to do good work because it’s the right thing to do. We demand excellence of our students, and because of that, they produce,” he said. “We consistently have students getting jobs, getting internships, getting opportunities. The track record is pretty exciting.”

Quyncie Tucker, a senior from Yakima and president of the Sport Management Association student club, said the program has made her excited about her education and her future. She has interned with the CWU volleyball team and the athletic department’s compliance director, coached a club team, and visited professionals in Seattle and Las Vegas.

“We have so many opportunities to be hands-on,” she said.

Building Skills, Networks

The program requires undergraduates to complete 320 internship hours with CWU Athletics, in the Ellensburg community, or across the country.

“That’s going to go on your résumé, and it’s going to give you those skills and that experience that you’ll need to be a high-level candidate for jobs or graduate school,” Dahlin said, noting that many sport management undergrads continue on to the master’s program.

Students also have abundant opportunities to build their professional networks.

“The connections that our professors have, as well as where our alumni have gone, have opened up doors for us to talk to those people and have immediate connections as soon as we graduate,” Tucker said.

A program-sponsored trip every winter alternates between the Pacific Northwest and other locales. In January, a group of students traveled to Phoenix, where they met with Central alumni who work for pro sports teams, college programs, and even a Marriott resort.

The program partners with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA to host an annual spring career fair where students connect with regional employers for job and internship opportunities — then enjoy a basketball game from a luxury suite in Climate Pledge Arena.

Every November, Central’s Northwest Center for Sport brings industry representatives to campus with the Northwest Sport Management Summit, where alumni and other professionals discuss their careers and what’s going in their respective fields during a panel-style forum. They also take time to meet with students, who get to ask questions and gather insights about the profession.

Beyond building a professional network, connecting with alumni inspires students to dream big for their futures in an industry that is constantly growing and evolving.

“When they see that our alums are thriving in different places, that’s the biggest difference-maker for us,” Dahlin said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, I can do that too, and I know that I can thrive as well.’”

Finding Their Footing

Recent CWU Sport Management program graduates have gone on to build successful careers doing what they love to do.

Leading By Example

As an early leader in CWU’s Sport Management Association (SMA) student club, Linae Myhand left a legacy at her alma mater.

Myhand (’21) transferred to Central in 2018 from Highline College, where she played basketball. She started as a marketing major and sport business minor, then decided to continue her studies as an economics major.

That extra year on campus allowed Myhand to invest in SMA.

The club was new, and she’d served as director of communications during her second year, before becoming president during her third year. She had previously gained professional experience working with the Seattle Storm of the WNBA, and she was eager to help her peers expand their experiences and networks.

“I was blessed with great professors and advisors who have always supported me and encouraged my career aspirations. They continuously challenged me to step out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I learned I could be another person that’s encouraging my classmates to never remain complacent, and I could also lead by example.”

In 2020, she helped organize a club trip to Indianapolis, where students attended the Sport Management Worldwide Football Career Conference and met professionals from the Indiana Pacers and NCAA. They returned to Ellensburg invigorated about the sport management field.

When the pandemic interrupted normal operations in 2020, Myhand helped the SMA bring in monthly virtual guest speakers to keep students engaged.

She now works for the San Francisco 49ers in season-ticket member services. She’s also become one of the many program alumni who regularly network with Central students, including an appearance at the 2023 Northwest Sport Management Summit.

As the third of eight siblings, Myhand values leaving a legacy for others: “I always want to try to give back. I want things to be better for the group coming after me than it was for myself.”

From Mentee to Mentor

A devastating knee injury ended Kevin Bodle’s high school football career during his senior season in Orting, Washington.

But his coach and athletic director, Marty Parkhurst, pointed him in another direction.

“He sat me down and said, ‘Kevin, look, your life’s not over. It’s really just starting,’” Bodle said.

Bodle (’20, ’22) became Parkhurst’s teaching assistant, which inspired him to pursue a career in sports beyond the field.

He was drawn to Central’s small-town environment, and he initially minored in sport business. After he finished his core classes, he was excited to learn the university was launching a sport management major.

As one of the program’s first enrollees, Bodle sought opportunities to gain experience and build connections, co-founding the Sport Management Association and interning with the Wildcat football team.

When he decided to focus on helping student-athletes, his advisor connected him with the assistant athletic director for academic success. Bodle interned as a tutor and academic coach as an undergraduate, then continued as a graduate assistant for academic success while earning his master’s.

His mentors encouraged him throughout his job search, and he has since found a perfect fit as an athletics academic advisor at Fresno State University.

“The biggest thing I love about the job is the amount of impact that you have on the students’ lives,” Bodle said. “My primary purpose is making sure that our student-athletes are eligible to compete with the NCAA. But the second component, which is equally important, is helping our student-athletes figure out what they want to do with their life and their career.”

The job has been a full-circle experience for Bodle. Like the mentors who have guided him throughout his life, he now helps today’s student-athletes have life-changing moments of their own.

Living the Dream

Growing up in Sammamish, Braden Castro (’23) swam and played baseball, golf, soccer, and basketball — but he wasn’t sure how to turn his love of sports into a career.

As a sophomore at CWU, he took Sport Management 101 and found the path he had been dreaming of.

“Taking that class opened my eyes to exactly how possible it actually is,” Castro said.

He switched his major to sport management and chose the sport business specialization after learning about the multitude of job options that exist behind the scenes of sports organizations.

When he joined the team of students working with the CWU Alumni Association to sell tickets for CWU Night at the Mariners, he discovered he had a knack for sales. He made over 800 calls, which was the most that year. When Central students toured T-Mobile Park before the game, he had the chance to meet people on the Mariners’ sales team.

Castro’s talent and enthusiasm made him a fierce competitor in the National Collegiate Sports Sales Competition, in which students are rated on their skills in role-play sales calls. He was one of 64 students from around the country invited to attend the 2023 finals in Atlanta. Along the way, he met fellow sport management students and networked with professionals from dozens of sports organizations.

After graduation, Castro applied for a job on the Mariners sales team and kicked off his dream of a sport business career in February 2024. As a sales consultant, he primarily works with K-12 schools to set up ticket-sales fundraisers, plan community outings, and schedule activities like singing the national anthem at a game.

“This past year, I’ve learned so much, I’ve grown in so many different ways — in selling, in professional maturity,” he said. “I’ve loved every second.”