Sport Management students savor NHL experience from suite level
Gathering for a group photo in KeyBank Center are (from left): Brent Knaisch, Dr. Sung Ick Min, Anthony Coughlin and Jaivon Eggleston.
Valuable insight into the all-important fan experience – and not the Buffalo Sabres’ slim 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild – was the more valuable takeaway for students studying Sport Management.
That’s because their view of the Nov. 10 game was out-of-the-ordinary – from an executive suite at KeyBank Center.
Associate Professor Sung Ick Min wanted the students – Brent Knaisch, Anthony Coughlin and Jaivon Eggleston – to experience what it’s like to watch a professional sporting event from the lofty executive level and recognize the contributions that the perks – catered food, preferred parking and a big-screen television monitor in each suite – make to enhancing the overall fan experience.
The first-year students, who have majors or minors in Sport Management, are enrolled in SPMG 100: Pathway to Success or SPMG 210: Principles of Sports Management. Both courses are taught by Dr. Min.
“This provided a fantastic venue to experience the action of NHL hockey for our students. With all the added amenities provided with an executive suite, we spent more time enjoying the game,” Min noted. He took care of all the arrangements for the students to see the game at KeyBank Center, the region’s largest multipurpose indoor arena that seats almost 20,000.
It’s important for students – even during their first year in the program – to begin to have practical experiences in various phases of sport management, and that includes absorbing the fan experience. To be hired to work in the sport management field, students must have these varied experiences and know the theory behind them, according to Min.
