William Filler, 2026
I was tasked with creating a sponsorship plan for Athletes in Action and the John Wooden fieldhouse. The project was hands on and allowed me to learn a lot about sponsorship and everything that entails. I created a sales deck that allows for athletes in action to present to potential partners to fill empty spots within the fieldhouse.
Words of Wisdom
Matt Wyatt Tucker, 2025
My Culminating experience was nothing short of amazing. I was able to meet with an amazing team every week and go over team retreat information for Athletes in Action. I was assigned a few tasks that involved doing research in multiple areas to find activities, food, and venues for future team retreat. Everyone on my team and that I spoke to within the organization was very accepting and willing to help me in my personal journey. I gained a lot of very useful information and couldn't have been more blessed to have been paired up with a great organization.
Words of Wisdom
- Just stay the course! No matter how overwhelming school can seem, it will all be worth it in the end!
Charley Taupin, 2027
For my Capstone Experience – Business Project, I partnered with Athletes In Action (AIA), a faith-based sports ministry dedicated to developing the “total athlete" physically, mentally, and spiritually. My primary role focused on enhancing the organization’s marketing efforts through the creation of comprehensive promotional strategies for seven key events. I developed detailed marketing plans that included email campaigns, social media graphics, caption templates, posting schedules, and content guidelines tailored to each event's unique audience. These plans were designed to be reusable tools for AIA’s marketing team, streamlining their efforts for future programming. In addition to promotional planning, I completed a SWOT analysis on AIA’s Youth Flag Football League to identify ways to better compete with a dominant local league. This analysis revealed critical insights into competitor strengths and areas where AIA could grow. Overall, this experience gave me real-world exposure to sports marketing, helped me build practical tools for a professional organization, and confirmed my passion for pursuing a career in this field.
Words of Wisdom
- Always ask questions and don't be afraid to do things on your own!
Savannah Trotter, 2025
For my Capstone Experience, I worked with the National Scouting Combine (NSC) to help run their social media and alongside their marketing team. I created a four-week content plan to help more people learn about NSC and get athletes excited about the Combine. I made videos, athlete spotlights, and behind-the-scenes posts. I also helped keep everything organized with weekly updates and feedback from the team. This project helped me learn what it’s like to work in sports marketing in the real world. I got better at making content, working with others, and managing deadlines. It showed me how important social media is for building connections between athletes, teams, and fans, and it gave me good experience for my future career.
Words of Wisdom
- Stay Organized
- Ask Questions
- Do not be afraid to put your own ideas out there
Salomon Cisneros, 2026
Throughout my culminating experience with Dave Campbell's Texas Football we worked with Rudy on various assignments. We helped evalute prospect companies that would potentially be a good fit for the brand. Additionally, we got to develop our cold call and sales skills byreaching out to companies. Overall, this was a fun business project to work with. It helped me better my sales skills and gave me insight into what life might look like after school. It was also nice because this business project had me working in the same kind of sales and sponsorship workforce I want to work in one day.
Words of Wisdom
- Embrace being uncomfortable
Edgar Hernandez, 2026
I had the amazing opportunity to work as the ticket sales and operations student assistant for The Astros Foundation for the 2025 Astros College Classic that took place during the Spring 2025 semester. My job included making cold calls/emails individuals and organizations, marketing the event, assistance with on-site operations during the tournament, and much more! It was an eye-opening experience working with the Astros as it allowed me to gain excellent hands-on experience as well as solidifying my dream of working with a professional baseball team!
Words of Wisdom
- Make the most of your opportunity at hand, whether it's through a large or community-based organization!
- Network and put yourself out there as much as possible!
Erroll Daniels, 2026
During my time at Hyphenated Athletics, I served as the lead for athlete relations, where I was responsible for managing and enhancing our interactions with incoming and prospective athletes. I played a key role in shaping the onboarding experience by developing clear, professional onboarding statements that introduced athletes to our company’s values and services. To ensure seamless communication and follow-up, I also created and maintained a centralized database that tracked all athlete interactions, helping the team stay organized and informed throughout each athlete’s journey with us. In addition to streamlining internal processes, I contributed directly to the company’s growth and strategic outreach. I developed a comprehensive target list of athletes who aligned with our mission and values, enabling more focused recruitment efforts. Most importantly, I created a detailed brand marketing playbook designed to help athletes grow their personal brand and maximize their NIL opportunities. This guide provided actionable strategies for social media, personal storytelling, and partnership development, equipping athletes with the tools to take control of their image and future. Overall, my role combined relationship-building, strategy, and operational execution to support both the athletes and the organization.
Words of Wisdom
- Take everything in stride; every challenge is an opportunity to grow
Drum Harrison, 2025
My culminating experience with HYPHENATED ATHLETICS has been both strategic and creative, offering me the opportunity to lead a comprehensive digital audit and develop foundational marketing strategies for a growing NIL-focused brand. From the outset, I conducted an in-depth analysis of the brand’s visual identity, evaluating the HYPHENATED ATHLETICS logo for adaptability and resonance across platforms using multiple AI design tools. I assessed all existing social media platforms and determined Instagram to be the most promising channel for growth, particularly in the areas of storytelling, lifestyle branding, and athlete-centered content. In tandem, I benchmarked key competitors such as Opendorse, MarketPlace, and Teamworks to identify differentiators and found critical opportunities in content strategy and digital presence that HYPHENATED ATHLETICS could leverage. In addition, I developed an actionable roadmap to elevate brand awareness, which included best practices for athlete integration, partnership content, NIL education, and storytelling. I curated educational and motivational content aligned with the brand's mission and gathered podcast clips featuring Jamie Wood to support thought leadership and build trust with our audience. Lastly, I created an outline for an NIL-focused content series and drafted a flexible content calendar, laying the groundwork for ongoing digital engagement. This experience has not only deepened my understanding of brand strategy and athlete marketing in the NIL era but also empowered me to contribute meaningfully to the voice and vision of HYPHENATED ATHLETICS.
Words of Wisdom
- Be proactive
- Be confident
- Be adaptable
Ben Swift, 2025
Over a few action-packed days, I got to dive into all sides of event operations working with the West Coast Conference— stocking coolers and water stations for the athletes, setting up courts, taking scores, organizing practice areas, helping direct fans, managing signage and gear marketing, delegating tasks, monitoring volunteers, and jumping in wherever needed, all the way through event teardown. I’m truly grateful for the chance to get hands-on experience and see what it takes to run a successful sporting event from the ground up. Huge shoutout to Hank Przelenski from LMU and Austin England from the WCC for their guidance and leadership. Through out this semester my project Partner, Ashton Almond, and I dove into social media and website marketing research for LMU Athletics! Ashton and I analyzed the Instagram accounts and websites of mid-major conferences, gathering intel on fan engagement strategies, content styles, branding, posting frequency, and key performance metrics. We put together a full proposal with our findings, presenting actionable ideas to help LMU strengthen its social media presence, drive fan engagement, and boost attendance at sporting events. As this semester comes to wraps and we put our final finishing touches on our proposal for LMU, I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to share our final proposal in the next few days with LMU. This project gave me valuable insight into how digital marketing directly impacts the success of athletic programs. It was an awesome experience blending research, creativity, and strategy — and I’m grateful for the chance to contribute to the future of LMU Athletics! This experience made me even more excited to continue my journey in the world of sports operations! Thank you again Hank Przelenski & Ashley Armstrong at Loyola Marymount University!
Words of Wisdom
- Engage with whoever you are working for
- Ask for more tasks
- Embrace the down time to build connections, trust, and a strong work ethic.
Seth Weitzel, 2025
This semester, my culminating experience with Hyphenated Athletics centered around developing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for student-athletes at Texas A&M. I worked directly with the Hyphenated Athletics team to build a pipeline of local businesses and community stakeholders in the Bryan-College Station area who could potentially engage in NIL partnerships. This included researching and identifying target businesses, analyzing their fit for NIL engagement, and crafting tailored outreach strategies that emphasized the mutual value of supporting local student-athletes. I also developed communication skills, addressed common business objections, and conducted direct outreach to business owners, including initial conversations with four local companies. To support long-term growth, I created a NIL Business Target List, a BCS Partnership Landscape Report, and a messaging framework to streamline future outreach. One of the highlights of the project was preparing and delivering a NIL education presentation for the head of marketing at Century Square, helping demystify NIL and showcasing how it can align with their marketing goals. Overall, the experience deepened my understanding of the NIL landscape and strengthened my skills in research, relationship-building, and strategic communication.
Words of Wisdom
- I would say to take full advantage of your experience and take as much away from it as possible.