OU SBA completes 2nd annual Sports Business Week
Just a few weeks ago, SBA hosted its 2nd annual Sports Business Week, an opportunity for all Oklahoma students to network, do hands-on work, and learn about the sports industry alongside their peers.
For our marquee event of the week, we hosted a day-long series of events titled "Global Games on a Local Stage: LA28 in OKC" on Friday, April 3. Since Oklahoma City will be hosting softball and canoe slalom for the LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games, we wanted to create an opportunity for students to learn about how the largest events in international sports will impact our community.
In the afternoon, we welcomed Trenton Brown, STS (Director, Norman Sports Commission) and Mark Stevens (Director of Destination Sales, VisitNorman) to speak to our students about how VisitNorman drives tourism to the the City of Norman while providing insight on the satellite events that will be hosted in our city leading up to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
In the evening, we welcomed Michael Byrnes (President, Team OKC), Sue Hollenbeck (Special Projects Manager, City of OKC) and Captain Audrea George (Head of Security, OKC Special Events) to the LNC Courtside Club for a speaker panel and banquet. OU students, Price College faculty, and various representatives from OU Athletics joined us for an exciting discussion about the logistics of OKC hosting events for LA28. Attendees learned about the city’s plans to manage the influx of hundreds of thousands of people into the OKC metro, as well as how Olympic events will be run in OKC’s local venues.
Throughout the earlier part of the week, our students also got the chance to participate in:
- A sports analytics workshop led by Aaron Feazelle, MBA (Director of Finance, OU Football).
- A networking event at the Paycom Center with Benayah Sitorus (Corporate Partnerships Associate, OKC Thunder), Jake Martin (Partnership Activation Account Manager, OKC Thunder), Taylor Tinsley (Corporate Partnership Sales, OKC Thunder), and Paulina Panduro (Recruiter, OKC Thunder).
- A media strategy workshop with Rachel Orland (Media Strategist, OKC Thunder).
- A tour of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, courtesy of the Sooner Club.
- A "Students Helping Students" sales script workshop with Tim Sullivan (President, OU SBA).
- A student-alumni social with special guests Sofia Quintanar and Noah Garver.
“We want to sincerely thank our faculty in Price College, all of our guest speakers, and our executive board for providing crucial support in coordinating these events. Many thanks as well to our amazing students in the SBA for showing up and showing out at our different events throughout last week. Our community is special, and the future of sports business in Oklahoma is bright!” - Tim Sullivan, former SBA President, 2025-2026