NFL draft a perfect opportunity for SRU sport management majors
The NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh was a celebration for many people. For others, it was a few long work days, but they were the kind of work days some looked forward to.
About 20 sport management students from Slippery Rock University got the “once in a lifetime” opportunity to take their classwork and lessons to a professional environment that, for a few days, was the center of the world of professional sports.
Calvin Tate, a senior sport management major at SRU, said he worked the draft from 8:30 a.m. to at least 9 p.m. Thursday, April 23 — a long day, but one that he expected to make a lot of memories during.
“To put my city on the front stage, whether I'm working for one hour or 12, it's amazing,” Tate said.
Tate was one of about 20 sport management majors from SRU who worked at the draft, mainly with a company called Allied Universal, a security and facility services provider that works with Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park. Brian Crow, coordinator of the sport management program at SRU, said Allied provides opportunities to students and graduates of the university and the NFL Draft provided a hands-on demo for potential future jobs for the students.
“It's very representative of what they could be doing in their full-time jobs,” Crow said. “We call them ‘fan-facing positions,’ where they get to interact with guests and learn those service skills and make those experiences memorable.”
Some of the students had overnight shifts, they could work 7 p.m. To 7 a.m. Some of them were there Thursday morning, Crow said. He said many of the students would work the draft and through some of the weekend.
On Thursday morning, Tate was stationed inside PNC Park, helping people get where they needed to go. He said even with the first draft pick being nearly 10 hours away, the field and the North Side of Pittsburgh was crowded with people, but from PNC Park, he could see the draft stage.
Tate would spend all three of his days working the draft escorting people around, working with broadcasters and even working with some “national personalities.”
He said the crowd was growing and, aside from the sea of black and yellow, he also saw many people sporting the colors of football teams from around the nation. Even though the draft is of national interest, Tate said he was surprised by the team representation he saw.
“Still more people than you can expect,” Tate said. “I see Raiders fans, Jets fans. I've seen jerseys from most teams here.”
On Thursday morning, Tate added the day ahead of him was likely going to be in his head for a long time.
“I got here at 8:30 today and will be here until 9 at night,” Tate said. “All memories have been made on long days like this.”
Dakharee Mann, a sophomore at SRU, also worked all three days of the draft, but had already been employed by Acrisure Stadium. Throughout the event, Mann was stationed at Stage AE, the “South Zone,” working in guest services. He said the event may have been overwhelming if not for his experience working “cold Monday nights and cold Sunday games,” referring to University of Pittsburgh and Steelers games at which he already saw large crowds.
“It wasn't too bad. The area I was in was more a private area,” Mann said. “I was there all three days helping out mainly around that area. We got to meet a lot of people: the team running that event and professionals and security.”
Mann also said he was looking forward to having the draft come to Pittsburgh, because it offered an opportunity to be a part of a huge national event, and one just an hour south of his college.
“I was very excited to be able to work it. I've never been to the draft before,” he said. “I was able to get shifts that didn't interfere with my classes. I ran into several alumni from school. It was a great experience.”
Another sophomore sport management major, Jamie Blum, also said Pittsburgh being home to the draft while she was in college was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one that she was actually thankful to work because it gave her some early access to the events. She worked Friday and Saturday, each day doing a different part of the fan experience.
On Friday, she worked with the trophy photo opportunities at Point State Park.
“The fans would come through, see every trophy. There were six of them and I was in charge of the NFL phone and scanned their QR code and the picture would be sent to their email,” Blum said.
On Saturday, she worked from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. inside Acrisure Stadium, also working to manage some photo opportunities and games that offered prizes.
Blum said her activity didn’t end once her shift ended though. She remained around the action after quitting time.
“I had fun. I was working it but I was doing the thing that every fan got to experience,” she said. “I went to the different stands... The Steelers had their own section at Point (State) Park, so they had big statues of the ring they won and a display of Terrible Towels in the shape of their symbols.”
According to Crow, the NFL Draft would be another notch in the belt of some of his students. Some of them previously traveled to Santa Clara, Calif., to serve as volunteer workers at Super Bowl LX and some worked the College Football Playoff championship game and NCAA basketball’s Final Four.
In February, Crow said this year’s Super Bowl was the third he sent students to work. And while this year was the first time his students worked at the NFL Draft, some of them had been able to get experience with the Steelers already. The NFL Draft was enough to get most of Crow’s students excited.
“Some of them have already worked for Allied at Steelers and Pitt games, so they know what to expect,” Crow said. “I've noticed that some of the underclassmen have been excited.”
It’s because the NFL Draft only comes to one city each year. The students who just happened to be majoring in sport management in April 2026 had a golden opportunity and it was one Crow said none of his pupils wanted to miss out on.
“It’s a once in a lifetime chance for them to do something so close,” Crow said. “We discussed going to the Super Bowl and NBA. With this being so close, the students were excited about it.”
