On February 1, 2020, nine current Rice Sport Management students (Devin Amodio ’22, Ellie Bichelmeyer ’23, Maddie Fowler ’23, Tia Grippo ’22, Jackson Jeffcoat ’23, Sophia Roa ’23, Nick Sorensen ’21, Jen Spell ’22, Owen Wright ’22, and Rice Sport Management alum Ben Schragger ’19) had the memorable experience of serving as talent escorts for athletes and entertainers during the 2020 NFL Honors awards show in Miami.
The NFL Honors show is football’s biggest awards night of the year where the NFL Hall of Fame inductees are formally announced and awards like Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year are presented. Since the Super Bowl last visited Houston in 2017, Rice’s Department of Sport Management has partnered with production companies that facilitate the ESPYs and NFL Honors show. The students help the production process run smoothly by making sure their talent is in the right location from the time the guests arrive at the red carpet until the event is over.
“This speaks well to the competence of our students and their training to work events like this starting their freshman year,” Tom Stallings, Professor in the Practice, said. “Our students are given plenty of responsibility and they are up to the task.”
Spell ‘22 also had the opportunity to work at the 2019 NFL Honors event in Atlanta.
“I worked last year solely as a talent escort for the 2019 Hall of Fame class,” Spell said. “This year, I was actually managing and coordinating a team of escorts for the Hall of Fame class as well as the recently announced NFL Centennials. This experience was so valuable for me in terms of learning how to lead a team, how to handle the VIPs around you professionally, and how to stay calm under the pressure of a live show. The Department of Sport Management has afforded me so many opportunities that I don’t think I would get if I went to school anywhere else.”
This was an unforgettable experience for students as they were not only able to get a behind the scene look at how award shows run, but also the opportunity to escort high-caliber athletes, actors, and musicians like Peyton Manning, Deion Sanders, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Kyler Murray, Darius Rucker, and Jeremy Renner.
Sport management major Sofia Roa ‘23 had the assignment to escort Lamar Jackson who was unanimously voted as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. She is actually the first person to shake Jackson’s hand as he stepped off the stage after receiving his MVP trophy.
“Not only was I assigned to escort the Lamar Jackson, but I enjoyed every minute of the entire night from escorting him and his family to their seats to being able to congratulate him on his huge accomplishment,” Roa said. “I am incredibly grateful to have spent this weekend networking with hundreds of professionals in the field, being an asset to the flow of the event, and for seeing the behind-the-scene workings of the NFL Honors.”
Jack Brockermeyer, a senior from Fort Worth, Texas, is majoring in Economics and minoring in Business.