During the Fall 2013 semester, sport management major/marketing studies minor, Steve Kozar, completed his 12-credit Sport Management Senior Capstone working for the NY/NJ Host Super Bowl Company Marketing Department for Super Bowl XLVIII, which will be held Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He was selected for a prestigious internship with the Super Bowl Host Company Executive Department earlier in the summer. From project management of multiple fan experiences in the “Join the Huddle Tour,” to numerous detail-oriented logistics for Super Bowl Boulevard, including contests and sweepstakes, Steve put his classroom skills and leadership experience as a member of the Sport Management Club to work. Through his impressive, hands-on work in multiple facets of the organization’s operations, including ticketing, marketing, community relations and educational outreach, Steve was asked to remain with the organization through Super Bowl XLVIII.
His assignments during Super Bowl Week include being a team captain at the Social Media Communication Center, which is focused on listening to questions, comments and concerns regarding the Super Bowl. In this role, he will respond to the fans’ tweets regarding the Super Bowl, managing anywhere from one to four listeners. He’ll additionally be at work on Super Bowl Boulevard between 35th and 36th Streets where the “Join the Huddle Tour” presented by P.C. Richard & Son will be located. He has been in charge of creating five different stage activities to provide family fun to all the fans and will also manage the ceremony that will take place on Super Bowl Boulevard for P.C. Richard & Son’s Touchdown Dance Sweepstakes Ceremony. Throughout previous tour stops, fans had a chance to enter in our Touchdown Dance Sweepstakes where they could win a $500 gift card.
“The true purpose of the Join the Huddle Tour is to give fans a taste of the Super Bowl even if they are not going to MetLife Stadium Feb. 2,” notes Kozar. To date, thanks to Kozar’s teamwork and leadership, the mobile tour has made stops at military bases, Boys & Girls Clubs, Special Olympics New Jersey, family festivals and high school football games. Its mission is extended by giving back to the New York-New Jersey region while providing towns the opportunity to be a part of the Super Bowl.
While at SU, Steve has been active on campus, holding leadership positions in the SPM Club that, since its inception nine years ago, has raised more than $212,000 to benefit local charities. During the year that Steven was the chair of the Charity Sports Auction, the total monies raised for Special Olympics New York was $35,239. “After seeing Steven shine in this environment, it reaffirmed for me his passion for engaging himself in the world,” notes associate professor of sport management, Gina Pauline, who also serves as undergraduate director for the SPM program. “I could not be any prouder of what Steven has accomplished,” concludes Pauline.