Immersive experience puts SDSU students at the center of The Summit League basketball championship

This paid piece is sponsored by South Dakota State University.

For the third consecutive year, SDSU junior Hunter Beving is playing a key role in The Summit League basketball championships from behind the scenes.

The sport and recreation management major began volunteering before the tournament even started this year, helping with setup, and is spending every day until the titles are awarded helping do whatever it takes to make the event a success.

“For me, it’s about the experience. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing; I’m there to learn as much as possible,” he said.

His freshman year, that meant helping with promotional-based activities around the facility and on the court. Last year, he stepped up to help with the tournament’s app and social media presence, which also supports his minor in marketing.

“It was amazing,” he said. “They were great with helping me figure everything out, and then I ran the entire Summit League app.”

Beving and his fellow SDSU sport and recreation management majors are critical to the tournament’s success, said Bryan Miller, associate commissioner of marketing, sponsorships and external affairs for The Summit League.

It’s expected to draw at least 58,000 fans this year.

“I’m a staff of one, so without these students, I don’t get to do what I do,” Miller said. “We’ve grown our base of sponsors, and a lot of that is because of what we can do at the tournament with the help of these students. I appreciate them being part of it, for sure.”

Nine SDSU students are supporting the tournament this year, in addition to a few from other schools. Supporting a major event such as The Summit League basketball championships not only gives real-life career experience but also serves as an excellent resume builder, said Bryan Romsa, coordinator and associate professor at SDSU’s School of Health and Consumer Sciences.

“A lot of this industry is networking and having actual experience outside the classroom,” he said. “At this tournament, the students are helping with all the behind-the-scenes activity, from marketing and promotions to facility management, setting up sponsorship activation and in-game promotions.”

The tournament is one of many opportunities SDSU students have to grow their skills before entering the workforce. Sport and recreation management students support a range of sporting events on campus, as well as regional and national tournaments at the Sanford Pentagon and Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, plus the Sanford International golf tournament.

“Sioux Falls and the surrounding region is a sports hub where our students get to do a lot of things you wouldn’t get to do at other schools,” Romsa said. “It’s crazy how well prepared they are when they graduate.”

The SDSU sport and recreation management program is designed to prepare students for professional positions in sport, recreation, parks and outdoor recreation programming and administration.

Students go on to careers in everything from front office positions with professional or collegiate sports organizations to municipal roles at parks and recreation departments or third-party firms specializing in areas such as sponsorship sales.

“It’s essentially a business management degree, except it’s focused on sports because it’s such a unique product,” Romsa said. “When sports is the product you’re selling, you can’t control things like injuries or whether we win or lose, but you can make it entertaining with a big screen, things like tailgating or entertainment zones and, of course, sports marketing.”

The industry also continues to evolve, making education key.

“In the next five years, there will be something different, whether it’s virtual reality or AI and sports betting in venues and how we manage that,” he said. “So it’s broad and fast-paced and exciting. Plus, your office is an arena or national championship event, which makes it fun.”

For Beving, the career path came out of a childhood spent hosting hockey players in his home in North Sioux City, along with his own involvement in multiple sports. The smaller, close-knit nature of SDSU’s program sold him immediately.

“The professors just seemed like they cared a lot more, so that was the biggest thing for me in coming here, and I love it,” he said. “There are no negatives at all. I knew I would like it right away, and it fully exceeded my expectations.”

Beving’s dream is to work for a Major League Baseball organization – ideally his favorite Boston Red Sox. For now, though, he’s taking on as much volunteer work as he can, helping with everything from track meets to volleyball games and cheering on the Jackrabbits along the way.

“A lot of it has been about interacting with other students and having the opportunity to learn from people and grow my connections,” he said. “I just like being in the atmosphere.”

To learn more about SDSU’s sport and recreation management program, click here.