Students savor, learn from VIP experience NBA style

For students aspiring to work in professional sports industry, there may be no better place to appreciate all that a career in that field may entail than sitting a few feet away from courtside at an NBA game.

That’s where students who have majors in Sport Management or minors in Athletic Coaching, and Sport Management Associate Professor Sungick Min, who is also internship coordinator, hung out at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH.

They were among nearly 20,000 fans who were treated to a nail-biter between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers in late March.

The SUNY Fredonia contingent savored on all the perks – an all-you-can-eat buffet that changed between the game’s two halves, seats just a few rows behind coveted courtside seats, access to a lounge, a special gate pass and preferred parking – that club-level or VIP seating deliver.

“I want my students to experience the club-level seating so they know what the function of the VIP level is and what the benefits are,” Dr. Min explained. “I think it’s really important that they watch (a game) at the club level.” It also supplements classroom learning, he added.

“The purpose of this trip is also to make students actively participate and be interested in the major. These types of opportunities are what set Fredonia's Sport Management program apart from others," Min said.

The fan experience was especially meaningful for Robert Casiano III. The up-close connection to the court enabled the students to soak up the game atmosphere – starting with pre-game festivities that set the stage for player introductions that were accompanied by pyrotechnics and fireworks, he explained. “I thought that really stood out,” added Mr. Casiano, a junior Exercise Science major with a minor in Athletic Coaching.

And don’t discount cheerleaders. They were also close by, so the students saw how they built team spirit throughout the arena, Casiano added.

“I also enjoyed how close we were to the actual game itself; we were seated a few rows behind the court, behind one of the game rims; it was really close,” said Casiano. They also were ideally positioned – under the basket – to see Evan Mobley drain a 3-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds left to play to give the lead back to the Cavs.

Casiano, who’s from Brooklyn, NY, has been to Barclays Center a few times to see his hometown Nets play, so taking in an NBA game wasn’t an entirely new experience. Here, the key words were: location, location, location.

Students taking in that distinctive game experience at the game included Jaivon Eggleston, sophomore, Theatre Arts major, Sports Management minor, from Irving, NY; Josephine Swift, first-year, Business Administration and Exercise Science majors, Athletic Coaching minor, Niagara Falls, NY; Brent Knaisch, sophomore, Sport Management major, Addison, NY, and Casiano.

Working in the NBA is “the ultimate goal for me,” Casiano said, most likely on the medical side, perhaps as one of the team doctors. “I saw how close I can be to an NBA courtside in the moment (and that) helped to really fantasize what it would be like in a regular, day-to-day basis,” he explained.

“And if I don’t end up becoming a doctor, I’d like to be a coach for a team in the NBA.”