Sport Management Graduate Discovers Her Dream at U of A

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One of the internships that Evelyn White, third from right, worked was with NFL Flag, a youth program in Indianapolis.

Editor's Note: This is one of a series of Colleague magazine profiles about alumni of the College of Education and Health Professions.

Evelyn White comes from a fourth-generation farming family in Jonesboro. Her favorite childhood memories revolve around playing sports and going to Razorback games. Although her grandpa played football at Arkansas, he left school to enlist in the military, so White is the first person in her family to become a college graduate.

She remembers feeling like the experience was not for herself alone.

"My family, we were all die-hard fans, and I know my brothers would have loved to go to the University of Arkansas but they were set with the family business so I feel like I went for the family," White said. "I was able to experience it so I could tell my brothers and my dad all about it and they could be a part of it."

In 2007, White began her undergraduate studies at the University of Arkansas in biochemistry and then switched to pre-nursing. It was only after she signed up for an elective class in recreation management that she discovered a new program in which she could major. So in her junior year, she changed her major one last time to recreation and sport management. She was ecstatic to find out she could study something that allowed her to talk sports all day, every day. Small classes and excellent professors are two things White appreciated in the program.

Steve Dittmore, associate professor of recreation and sport management, connected White with Chris Pohl in the university's athletic department, which resulted in a two-year internship and included work in football, gymnastics, track and field, and volleyball. White shadowed Pohl every home football game and was given more responsibility each time. She gained a greater understanding of what happens behind the scenes in sporting events and discovered she enjoyed handling logistics. Orchestrating the timeline of a game day broken down minute by minute, and dealing with risk management, security, student sections, ticketing and credentials was fascinating work.

White's other undergraduate internships included a season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals baseball team doing game day on-field promotions, and a summer with Foxwood Sports where she got a glimpse of sports marketing. Learning about a variety of careers helped her figure out the direction she wanted to go.

Another discovery occurred en route to earning her degree. Although she had never considered going to graduate school, her time with Dittmore had a lasting impact.

"He believed in me and saw how passionate I was about sports and knew I wanted to work in it," she said. "When you have an advisor or professor like that, it makes all the difference in the world. It motivated me more than I thought was possible — and I ended up in a graduate program."

Now White holds an additional "first" in her successful farming family — the first person to attend graduate school. She earned a Master of Science in sport administration from the University of Louisville in May 2013.

Internships were an important part of White's graduate program as well. While in Louisville, she worked for a sports marketing firm and learned about partnerships with universities, proposals, presenting to big sponsors, and how to "make the deal." She landed a temporary staff position at the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis with NFL Experience, an interactive convention with games and performances during the two weeks leading up to the event. White and seven other Louisville grad students were zone managers covering 340,000 square feet of fun, wearing through multiple pairs of shoes for 13 exhausting days through the Super Bowl.

It was a great opportunity and led directly to another, as her boss for the next three years was the person running the Play60 Clinics that White worked with during the NFL Experience. After finishing that first year of grad school in Louisville, she was given an internship with NFL Flag, a youth program (along with NFL Punt, Pass and Kick) based out of the nonprofit USA Football offices in Indianapolis. White relocated to Indiana for the summer months, but she was able to continue as an intern from Louisville during the last semester of her graduate program, working from home for NFL Flag during the day and going to class every evening.

Upon graduation, White was hired full time to be a coordinator for NFL Punt, Pass and Kick. Boys and girls, ages 6-15, participate free of charge in over 3,000 local competitions throughout the summertime, narrowing to 32 team championships that take place at each NFL stadium in November and December. The top winners (20 boys and 20 girls) make it to nationals at an NFL playoff game in January to do a passing exhibition and be honored on field in team jerseys. White speaks highly of the organization and enjoyed her years in Indianapolis. It was a long way from her beloved state of Arkansas and three nephews, however.

So when a friend from White's U of A and NWA Naturals days contacted her about a position with the Arkansas Travelers, she decided to jump on it. In May of 2015, White relocated to Little Rock to be director of luxury suites at the ballpark for the minor league baseball team. She is responsible for sales of 22 suites and catering to those clients. Little Rock businesses use the suites for their families and for entertaining their clients, and White provides the excellent customer service they expect. In the off season, she works to renew lease agreements and sells corporate sponsorships for the ballpark, such as promo nights and signage.

It is a big switch from working with inner-city kids to corporate executives. But for White, the pleasure is found in the similarities.

She looks at it this way, "When you grow up playing sports, they are probably the happiest moments in your life. I got to create those moments for kids in NFL Flag and now I help a major company get a new client just by being here at the ballpark experiencing a walk-off homer together, and recreating those good feelings. It's a great work environment."

Another similarity is the camaraderie. White explained that, when you work in the sports industry, the fit in an organization is extremely important because you spend long hours with your co-workers. USA Football and Travelers organizations are both made up of great people. Furthermore, she believes the Travs serve an important purpose for the Little Rock community and all of central Arkansas, as the only professional sports team.

Earning a bachelor's degree in recreation and sport management has proven to be an excellent starting point for the career White did not know existed when she began her university journey. She admits to being a bit jealous of the fact that the program is now more established, with additional class offerings and opportunities.

"It seems like it has exploded and is only going to get better for the students coming to Arkansas wanting to work in sports."

She recommends adding a minor in business, even specializing in marketing, accounting, or management from the U of A's Sam M. Walton College of Business. White thinks having both a sports degree and a business minor will set one candidate apart from others vying for the same job.

The outcomes of her choices have far exceeded her expectations, "and I'm only 26!" she said. "I'm a complete sports fanatic and just from internships and then networking, I have been able to experience two World Series, four Super Bowls, three NCAA final fours and a championship game."

She clearly enjoys the perks of her work.