Huskers enrolled in the Introduction to Sports Management (MNGT 342) course at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln made a real-world impact on professional sports this spring. Collaborating with the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball Federation, they developed and pitched fan engagement strategies directly to the team's leadership.

“We partnered with Husker students because they represent both the future of our community and an emerging market as they launch their careers and adult lives,” said Diane Mendenhall, president of the Supernovas. “Our goal was to give them a behind-the-scenes look at the sports industry through a business lens, and in turn, invite their fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to help shape our fan engagement strategies.”

First piloted last spring, the course is taught by Amy Bartels, associate professor of management, each semester, and guest speakers help the students learn more about the business side of sports. This semester Matt Davidson, senior associate athletic director at Nebraska; Chris Aumueller, ‘13 & '15 MBA, CEO of FanWord, and Kristen Blankey, professor of law at Nebraska, shared their insights with the class. Last semester Dan Crumb, chief financial officer of the Kansas City Chiefs spoke to the class and the students partnered on a project with Kristine Fowler, senior deputy athletics director & chief operating officer at Dartmouth College, and her team on a project.

“Many of our students have a passion for sports and want to build careers in the industry. This class—and especially this project—helps them explore those possibilities in a hands-on way, learning from those who work in the sports industry,” said Bartels.

In the spring, the students toured Supernovas' facilities, learned about the inner workings of a professional team and attended a game before they started their group project. Bartels challenged the students to analyze fan psychology and propose actionable strategies to deepen Supernovas' connections with their growing fan base.

“We experienced everything going on behind the scenes to create a fun and exciting game-time experience for the fans,” said Riley Lyons, senior management major from Holdrege, Nebraska. “The Supernovas staff shared the process from setting up the arena, locker room, pre-game fan experiences and media room prep. The fan experience has so much to do with the staff and how they set it up for fans to enjoy.”

Each student team explored different facets of fan engagement, ranging from in-arena experience and social media marketing to community connections and multi-team identification.

“What I love about this project is that it gives students a chance to see the sports industry beyond the fan perspective,” Bartels said. “Rather than just thinking like a fan, they created innovative proposals that incorporated key business concepts from marketing, strategic management, organizational behavior and more.”

For Levi Fox, a junior management major from Elk River, Minnesota, the experience was eye-opening and empowering.

“Getting to work directly with a professional team gave us a chance to apply what we’ve learned in a meaningful way,” Fox said. “It’s not just theory. We pitched ideas that the leaders of the Supernovas could use.”

The student proposals included interactive mobile app features, cross-promotions with other sports teams, in-game prediction contests and short-form documentary content for social media. Each concept was designed to appeal to specific demographics.

Mendenhall along with Grant Gallo, vice president of organizational development, Nick Bowlby, director of digital strategy and content creation, and Geoff Exstrom, director of communication and media relations, selected the best proposal from the eight teams in each of the two classes. Winners in the 9:30 a.m. course proposed a program that would create keepsakes for fans and collect data on fan engagement. The team included: Cayden Brumbaugh, senior management major; Cole Kluver, junior marketing major; Dawson Loomis, junior finance major; and Peyton Peterson, senior marketing and management major. Winners in the 11 a.m. course developed a digital fan game, providing merchandise and recognition for fans during live matches. The student team included: Rebekah Allick, senior management major; Caden Jenkinson, junior business administration major; Audrey Krieger, senior management major; and Sam Weber, senior management major.

"We played into the science and had something of substance. A lot of people love risk, so we were able to play into that adrenaline factor," said Allick who presented for the 11 a.m. winning team. "Overall, it was something very easy to implement that they said they could make happen tomorrow and would get fans to stick around for the fourth and fifth sets."

The Supernovas leaders noted how the timing for the student presentations worked as they just started the offseason and so had time to discuss the ideas and decide which ones they plan to implement in the near future.

"All the topics discussed are important focal points for our organization. We will take these ideas and insights and go back to our teams to possibly implement for future seasons," said Gallo.

For Bartels, the success of the partnership with the Supernovas and students reinforces why she plans to create additional sports management opportunities at Nebraska. To do that, she needs more sports industry professionals to partner for projects and speak to students. The College of Business offers many ways to partner so business professionals interested should complete this form.

“This is about more than volleyball or any one sport,” Bartels said. “It’s about preparing the next generation of professionals to make an impact in the competitive and rapidly growing field.”