SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University has always been about extending the classroom. Its sports management program extended it all the way across the country recently.

Eight SRU sports management majors — along with department professors Brian Crow and Robertha Abney — traveled to Santa Clara, Calif., to serve as volunteer workers at Super Bowl LX. Many colleges across the country send students to the Super Bowl to assist the event through On Location, an organization that supports such major sports happenings.

“This is the third year we’ve done this,” Crow said. “We’ve also sent students to work the College Football Playoff championship game and the NCAA (basketball) Final Four. There’s some things you can’t teach.

“There comes a time when students have to go out and actually experience an event like this.”

SRU’s sports management program took 12 students to last year’s Super Bowl. That number was slightly reduced this year.

Crow said there were likely “750 students or more” helping in some capacity to work the game.

“Students in the program can apply for this trip and we received 25 to 30 applicants this year,” Crow said. “We choose who goes based on the hours of experience they have in the sports industry, number of credit hours earned... We try to reward seniors especially.”

The eight students making the Super Bowl trip were Carley Dinsmore, Delaney Ruth, Haley Dunlap, Jonathan Weiss, Josh Tedrick, Kaylee Smith, Kylee Copley and Calvin Tate.

Lodging and airfare were paid for through the SRU Student Government Association, which the students pay into during the year. The students paid for their own meals.

The trip wasn’t all work. The students received a tour of Pebble Beach, courtesy of SRU alumnus Brett Rubash, who works for the PGA Tour. They also got to see the sights of San Francisco.

But come game day, it was all business.

Working as part of the NFL Experience, the SRU students assisted fans as they arrived on site, directing them to their respective gate entrances or special pregame activities which some fans had tickets to attend.

“On Location is a premium hospitality group,” Dunlap said. “The Champion Club, the Touchdown Club, Club 67... There were a lot of things going on.”

The students’ shift ran from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. They never entered the stadium, but had plenty to do outside of it.

“We had a lot of training before our shift,” Smith said. “We had to be there by 6:30 a.m. to go through two hours of preparation, plus there was online training. By the time fans began showing up, we knew where to direct them.”

Tate said he worked the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four in Cleveland a few years ago.

“Our alumni database enables us to do a lot of things,” he said. “We’ve done local national championship tournaments, the Atlantic 10 tournament, things like that. We weren’t overwhelmed.

“It was cool to be in that atmosphere, but we were there to help.”

Crow said the SRU students assisted more than 2,500 media members at the Super Bowl. This year, it was all about helping the fans.

“There were five or six event tents set up, an NFL theme park, so much going on,” Crow said. “We left the hotel at 4:45 a.m. to get our working credentials and a shuttle bus took us to the location.”

The students enjoyed a brief encounter with sports talk celebrity Pat McAfee, who they recognized walking down a street. He paused to allow a selfie photo to be taken with him and the group. They saw NFL greats Jason Kelce and Darren Waller as well.

“Everything ran smoothly and the students got a good look at what can be involved working in the sports industry,” Crow said. “It’s not all glamour. Just because you’re working an event doesn’t mean you get to see the event.”

In this case, students working outside the gate were treated to an outdoor tailgate party once the game started. They watched the first half the Super Bowl on a big-screen TV set up outside. They returned to their hotel rooms to watch the second half.

“We were kept busy in the hours leading up to the game, that’s for sure,” Dunlap said. “It wasn’t about the game for us. It was about making sure fans had an enjoyable experience without being confused or stressed as to where to go.

“I love the event management operation side of sports. Helping to create memorable experiences for fans is what I want to do.”

Smith said she enjoyed answering fans’ questions.

“I learned and practiced a lot of skills in customer service,” she said. “There’s so many different sides to the sports industry. I saw that firsthand.”

Tate was among other SRU students helping to work on-field security at last year’s college football national championship game.

“I helped with the ropes while they were setting up the postgame stage,” he recalled. “Just being out there when confetti was falling everywhere, the bedlam of celebration, I felt a part of it.”

Tate said it was a privilege to experience such a large-scale event as a college student.

“This (sports management) program here is unique in that I’ve been able to experience major events from different angles. The on-site training we receive is priceless. It will only benefit us moving forward,” he said. “Through the help of our peers, we’re being set up for great careers in the future.”

Smith agreed.

“Some things you can’t teach in a classroom,” she said. “There’s so many moving parts surrounding a major sporting event. Sometimes you have to learn through experience.

“This is one I’ll never forget.”