Isabella Grogman, 2026
For my Capstone Experience - Business Project, I worked with the Mavs Academy. The Mavs Academy is a branch of the Dallas Mavericks organization that brings together basketball, dance, and gaming opportunities for the next generation of Dallas Mavericks fans. My role in this partnership has been to help research new projects and initiatives, collaborate with the Mavs Academy staff through biweekly meetings, and shadow the Ball Kid program on selected game days. The goal for my Capstone Project is to prepare me for a job in the professional basketball industry by compiling informative research and understanding game day operations for the Mavs Academy. Throughout the experience, I met with Mr. Ben Hunt, the Director of the Mavs Academy, on a biweekly basis to review new research projects and discuss what was next for the team. I had the opportunity to shadow Mr. Hunt and other members of the Mavs Academy staff during two game days. Overall, the goal of this project was achieved and will be demonstrated throughout this proposal.
Words of Wisdom
- Network with everyone you meet!
- Never leave without asking if there is anything else they need help with
- Say yes to every opportunity
Noah Villarreal, 2025
For my Culminating Experience, I completed my Capstone project with the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC). During this time, I was responsible for organizing and collecting data to create a centralized database for the All-State teams. This involved coordinating with high school coaches across Texas, verifying player information, and ensuring accuracy across records. This project gave me valuable experience in data management, communication, and operational efficiency within a sports organization. It also deepened my appreciation for the work that goes into supporting athletes and coaches behind the scenes and reinforced my passion for contributing to the sports industry at a meaningful level.
Words of Wisdom
- Be open to learning – Every task, big or small, is an opportunity to grow.
Corwyn Hansen, 2025
Over the summer, I worked with Ecsell Sports and Education in various capacities. Mainly, inputting data from the coaching data board, from which they gather data from high schools and colleges across the country, working also with contacts in Canada to improve the transfer of data into the Ecsell Sports dashboard. Contacting school boards and athletic directors to maintain consistent relationships was also part of my summer activities. Finally, working with my team to learn how to incorporate Amazon Quicksight into their organizational goals and needs.
Words of Wisdom
- The people surrounding you in these programs want to help you personally and professionally.
Hannah Brown, 2025
For my culminating experience, I was given the opportunity to create and execute events for TexAgs. Some of these events include a fundraising night/kick-off party for the Aggie soccer team, tailgates for Texas A&M football games, and hosting a movie premiere for TexAgs partner company Texas Filmswork's newest movie-Breaking Tradition. Throughout my semester working for TexAgs, I gained so much experience in event management, and I now have the tools and foundation needed to succeed after college.
Words of Wisdom
- Imposter syndrome happens to everyone. Realize that you were chosen to do a job for a reason.
- Time Management is of the utmost importance
Cameron Tackett, 2026
This semester has been an extraordinary learning experience, thanks to my Capstone Experience -Business Project with Hyphenated Athletics. I was privileged to contribute to a dynamic and evolving organization that aims to redefine Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for athletes. From crafting resources to designing outreach tools and strategic documents, each task deepened my understanding of the NIL landscape and Hyphenated's mission to empower athletes. Throughout the project, I witnessed Hyphenated's growth and the unwavering dedication of its founder, Jamie Wood, whose passion for helping athletes realize their potential inspired me greatly. This experience was more than just fulfilling work. It was a chance to grow personally and professionally, leaving me excited for the bright future I know lies ahead for Hyphenated Athletics.
Words of Wisdom
- Embrace the process and manage your time wisely.
Cody McLerran, 2025
Throughout the fall of 2024, I worked on a Capstone experience, College Sports: Follow the Money. My group and I were tasked with finding ways to boost viewership, social media presence, and sponsorship sales to grow the business overall. We made progress by giving the podcast the basis for posts and collecting data on how social media was something we essentially pushed to complete. The experience helped with time management, communication, and other professional skills with everyone in TexAgs and the podcast team. Being able to work with Follow the Money, I have also gained production experience behind the scenes and everything that went into it. I have grown as a person and in my career as a skill for future jobs.
Words of Wisdom
- Maintain consistency
- Prioritize communication with others
- Be open to new experiences
Jai Shah, 2026
We were given the unique opportunity to work on and grow a podcast. Because of my group's unique situation, we were allowed to work in sales, production, and social media. This experience was an example of how a real-world organization works. Fortunately, we worked with some of the most experienced people in the field. They allowed us to bring in a vision and see it to fruition.
Words of Wisdom
- Take full advantage of the opportunity! There is so much you can learn, make the best of it.
Luke Anthony Triola, 2025
My business project experience was with Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. I was tasked with contacting and prospecting potential sponsors. I was to prospect and contact 10 new companies a week to land them as a new hopeful sponsor. My role was to become a salesman for their new project, the Aggie War Pod. The new podcast under Dave Campbell follows the Texas A&M Aggies Football team. I learned a lot from this experience, primarily about sales. I researched and conducted a marketing plan in another part of my project. I want to highlight some of the key information I have found and recommendations to help grow the Aggie War Pod.
Words of Wisdom
- Communication is key to success in life, work, and relationships.
Grayson Baker, 2025
For my Capstone Experience - Business Project, I was tasked with working with Rivalmaker. Rivalmaker is a free platform that enables a quick and easy scheduling process of out-of-conference games for NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball coaches and staff. My role in this project was to develop and offer an expansion proposal for volleyball with user retention and advertising monetization plans.
Words of Wisdom
Sarah Boriskie, 2025
Working for Jon Heditke on his podcast, College Sports: Follow the Money, was an incredible opportunity. Within my group, my peers and I learned about a few different sides of what went into this podcast: production, sales, and marketing. We each had the opportunity to sit in on the recording of a few podcasts and watch and learn how to produce each incredible episode. We also learned how to create sales decks and how to effectively pitch to different companies around town about potentially sponsoring the podcast. My main focus over the year was social media. I did a lot of research on how to utilize social media marketing to expand our target audience. Throughout the year, I worked on creating graphics, short video clips, and posts that we soon uploaded and saw outstanding analytics. This experience was a big confidence boost and inspired our team to keep working hard and learning as we went on. This project was one that I will never forget; each aspect and turn brought us something new to learn, and I am very grateful for that. The things I learned from this project are things I would have never learned if it weren’t for this opportunity. Taking a leap and jumping right into a project I was nervous about really paid off in the end. I had never worked on a podcast before and was not sure if I would excel at it, but with the help of my team and our mentors, it opened a door and showed me something that I ended up loving and would have never known if it weren’t for this experience!
Words of Wisdom
- Take a leap and try something new!
- There is always something to learn, so be open-minded!