The Crew Academy

Sports Marketing, Event Management & Partnership Sales

We are not teaching "Sports Marketing."  We are teaching how sports marketing actually gets done.

Most Universities teach:

  • Marketing theory

  • Consumer behavior

  • Sports law

  • Finance

But they rarely teach:

✔ How to sell a sponsorship.

✔ How to build a prospect list.

✔ How to run a client meeting.

✔ How to activate a sponsorship.

✔ How to build a recap report.

✔ How to negotiate.

✔ How to work a charity golf event.

✔ How to represent a Fortune 500 client.

✔ How to dress at an event.

✔ How to network.

✔ How to send follow-up emails.

✔ How to use AI in sponsorship sales.

*This is what employers are actually looking for in entry-level hires.

Launch Your Career Before You Graduate

Apply to join your university Crew Activation Team and gain experience, skills, and professional connections that will help you out in today’s competitive job market

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In the Classroom with The Crew

  • Topics:

    Overview of the sports industry

    Professional vs. collegiate sports

    Rights holders

    Agencies

    Brands

    Career Opportunities

    Assignment:

    Research the sports ecosystem in your local market

  • Topics:

    Why companies sponsor sports

    Sponsorship objectives

    Brand partnerships

    Naming Rights

    Measuring ROI

    Assignment:

    Identify five companies sponsoring sports in your city.

    Guest speaker:

    VP of Partnerships

  • Topics:

    Brand positioning

    Target audiences

    Customer journey

    Consumer behavior

    Luxury vs. consumer brands

    Assignment:

    Analyze one sponsorship activation and explain why it worked

    Guest Speaker:

    Professional Sports President

  • Topics:

    Brand activations

    Fan engagement

    Sampling

    Hospitality

    Event experiences

    Assignment:

    Design an activation concept for a charity golf tournament

    Guest speaker:

    Marketing Director

  • Topics:

    Planning

    Logistics

    Staffing

    Risk management

    Budgets

    Timelines

    Assignments:
    Build a run-of-show for an event

    Guest speaker:

    Brand Manager

  • Topics:

    Premium seating

    Client entertainment

    Luxury hospitality

    Relationship marketing

    Assignment:
    Create a hospitality experience for a corporate partner

    Guest speaker:

    Athletic Director

  • Topics:

    • Content creation

    • Email marketing

    • LinkedIn

    • Event promotion

    • Analytics

    Assignment:

    • Build a social media campaign for an activation.

    Guest speaker:

    Event Producer

  • Topics:

    • Prompt engineering

    • Research

    • Proposal writing

    • Presentation development

    • CRM automation

    Assignment:

    • Use AI to create a sponsorship proposal.

    Guest speaker:

    Account Executive

  • Topics:

    • Finding prospects

    • Research

    • Cold outreach

    • CRM management

    • Sales pipeline

    Assignment:

    • Build a list of 25 qualified prospects.

    Guest speaker:

    Agency Executive

  • Topics:

    • Discovery meetings

    • Proposal development

    • Objection handling

    • Negotiation

    • Closing

    Assignment:

    • Conduct a mock sales presentation.

    Guest speaker:

    Fortune 500 Sponsorship Director

  • Topics:

    • Charity golf tournaments

    • Nonprofits

    • Universities

    • Municipal partnerships

    • Professional sports organizations

    Assignment:

    • Secure a meeting with a local nonprofit or event organizer.

    Guest speaker:

    TBD

  • Topics:

    • LinkedIn

    • Networking

    • Resume

    • Interviewing

    • Executive presence

    Assignment:

    • Update LinkedIn profile and elevator pitch.

    Guest speaker:

    TBD

  • Topics:

    • Managing volunteers

    • Team leadership

    • Accountability

    • KPIs

    • Reporting

    Assignment:

    • Build a KPI dashboard for your activation.

    Guest speaker:

    TBD

  • Students prepare their final presentation.

    Deliverables include:

    • Sponsorship strategy

    • Activation plan

    • Budget

    • Marketing plan

    • ROI measurements