Ithaca College Happens in Vegas

By Patrick Bohn, February 5, 2024
Sport management majors and Roy H. Park students at the Super Bowl.

Students

Students in the sport management department work long hours leading up to, and during, the Super Bowl.

As a worldwide audience eagerly awaits the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 11, a dozen sport management majors and four student broadcasters are already in Las Vegas, getting professional experience during the week leading up to the preeminent sporting event in the United States.

Students in the School of Business’s Sport Management program have been working the Super Bowl for several years, serving as runners and event management hosts in the events leading up to the game, as well as during the game itself.

Historically, because the reputation of the program’s students is so high, they have not merely been volunteers, but paid and contracted by the league and its partners. The hours are long, particularly on game day, when a 12- to 15-hour workday is common. But it provides the students with invaluable professional experiences that sets them apart from their peers in the industry.

This year, Annemarie Farrell, associate professor of Sport Management, will be joined by Matthew Andersen ’26, Drew Taylor ’25, Kaiden Malpasso ’26, Nina Singh ’24, Ben Magnotta ’27, Ari Jesselson ’25, Zachary Fogelman ’26, Bailey Fisher ’25, Jonah Feldstein ’25, Paige Davis ’26, Hudson Grumieaux ’24, and Annabella Yorio ’25.

While the sport management students will ensure those lucky enough to be taking part in official Super Bowl events during the week have what they need, a quartet of students from the Roy H. Park School of Communications will be informing and entertaining fans from around the globe as they report from Radio Row.

Tune in

If you want to listen to Ithaca College students reporting from the Super Bowl, tune in to WICB and ICTV at these times.

"Big Game Update" sportscasts on WICB
Monday, February 5, through Friday, February 9, at 9:46 a.m. and 2:46 p.m.

"Radio Row Review" show on WICB
Monday, February 5, through Friday, February 9, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

"Big Game Update" sportscast on ICTV's social media accounts
Monday, February 5, through Friday, February 9, during the noon hour

Josh Hobbs ’25, Eli Fishman ’25, Cam Manna ’25, and Rheanna DeCrow ’25 will be covering the hoopla surrounding the game and creating content for WICB, ICTV, and the Park School social media accounts. In addition, they will be producing and anchoring two daily sportscasts to air on WICB, plus a one-hour nightly radio show featuring analysis and interviews with players, coaches, and sports media personalities. They will also be producing a daily video sportscast exclusively for ICTV's social media.

"I'm very excited for Josh, Rheanna, Cam, and Eli to attend Super Bowl Media Week in Las Vegas and work alongside the biggest names in sports media,” said Jeremy Menard, radio and television operations manager in the Park School. “Radio Row is the ‘Super Bowl’ of sports broadcasting. Their experiences contributing to WICB and ICTV the last few years has prepared them for this moment. I can't wait to see the content they produce.

This is the second consecutive year that the Park School has had a group of four students selected by the NFL to participate in Radio Row. Just nine schools were among the 170 media organizations selected to take part in Radio Row this year.

“We are in elite company here, being just one of nine universities across the country with a college presence on Radio Row, one of the biggest stages in the ramp-up to the Super Bowl” said Amy Falkner, dean of the Park School. “I am so proud of our four students. They have all worked incredibly hard since the day they got here to earn this very select honor."

Falkner also attributed the successful selection to these students immediately taking advantage of the Park Schools’ promise of “Day One, You’re On.” All students are highly encouraged to join student media organizations the first semester of their first year, with a guarantee they will get a chance to participate. 

“We have an amazing curriculum for students interested in sports media and sports broadcasting, and our faculty are experts in these fields,” Falkner said. “Couple that with thriving co-curricular activities with two radio stations and ICTV, and these students have tons of opportunity to hone their skills under the mentorship of Jeremy Menard as well as numerous alumni.”

Falkner noted the Park School TechOps staff also play a significant part in student success. “The dedication of our staff to helping our students in the studio, in the production van and wherever the students are broadcasting is paramount to our success," she said.

“WICB and ICTV are very thankful of the support received from Dean Falkner, the Park School, and its alumni for making this trip possible for the students,” Menard added. “I'm sure they will create memories that will last a lifetime.”