Scoring Big

Graduates from Indiana Tech’s fast-growing sport management program are thriving in an array of sport industry careers.  

When Professor Craig Dyer arrived at Indiana Tech in 2006, he took over a sport management program that had just 30 students enrolled. Today, sport management is one of the Indiana Tech’s fastest-growing degree programs, comprised of nearly 120 students.

Dyer will tell you the expansion of the university’s athletics program over the past 20 years has driven the increased interest in sport management at Indiana Tech. With the addition of rifle and pistol this year, Indiana Tech has 32 collegiate athletic teams, compared to 10 when Dyer arrived.

“It’s natural that when you bring in more student-athletes, you are bringing in more people who are interested in working in the sport industry,” Dyer said.

But another key reason sport management is turning heads is because it produces quality results. Currently, six sport management graduates are working for major league sports organizations.

• Lukas Brant, a 2019 graduate, is senior manager of season ticket service for FW Cincinnati of Major League Soccer. He’s been with that successful organization for five years after a seven-month stint as an inside sales executive with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers right after graduation.
• Christian Calderon, a XXXX graduate, is a marketing manager, also with FC Cincinnati.
• Javon Sanders, a 2024 graduate, is an account executive for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
• P. Tyler Sinclair, a 2023 graduate, is a group sales executive for the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, which owns the NHL’s Calgary Flames and manages their home arena, the Scotiabank Saddledome.
• Israel Vaides, a 2022 graduate, is producer of original content for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
• Michel Warner, at 2023 graduate, is a new membership sales consultant for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

And beyond our “big-leaguers,” several other Warrior graduates are representing all around the country in an array of impressive industry-related positions like: 

• Victoria (Raffle) Bockstahler (2022): She recently became a membership assistant at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
• Anthony Frank (2018): He has been the University of Idaho’s manager of athletic operations and events since 2023.
• Allie Lane (2014): She is the director of development for Purdue Fort Wayne athletics after a long front-office stint with the NBA G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
• Chauntel Smith-Jones (2015): She started her Capture Sports Agency in 2015 and represents players within the WNBA and FIBA.
• Kaylee Swanson (2007): Most recently, she was a senior director of business development with University of Maryland Sports Properties after a three-year stint as manager of ticket partnerships with the Baltimore Orioles.

So why is it that our sport management program is churning out such prolific graduates?

“It has a lot to do with the hands-on experience that our program provides students,” Dyer said. “We require at bare minimum a field experience, and we also provide an internship in our program, as well. So, a lot of our students are getting more than just one experience. They’re getting two, if not three internships and opportunities to get that experience prior to graduating. I think that lends itself to having some better opportunities once they do hit the job market.”

Indiana Tech’s hometown of Fort Wayne has a wealth of opportunities for its sport management majors to get that hands-on experience. The city is home to minor league teams like the Komets (ECHL), the TinCaps (Midwest League Single A baseball) and FC Fort Wayne (United Soccer League Two), and non-profits like Turnstone Center for Children and Adults with Disabilities, the World Baseball Academy, the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club of Fort Wayne. Those organizations frequently request Indiana Tech sport management students, and for good reason.

“Indiana Tech does a fabulous job preparing their students for hands-on experiences and for them to thrive in their environment,” said Mitch Meinholz, director of sales and events for the Fort Wayne Komets. “We have a couple students who do off-ice officials work, which is important for the game to go off without a hitch. Then, we have a number of students who we see daily here at the office or on game nights. They’re doing everything from trying their hand at sales to working game nights and going through the entirety of what it looks like to run a game from start to finish with extreme detail.”

“There are so many opportunities here, and all a student has to do is say, ‘yeah, I want some experience with that,’ and we can get them connected. We also have local golf courses and local high schools—if a kid wants to be an athletic director, like senior Alex Light, we’ve got those connections, too.”

Light, a Warsaw, Indiana, native, interns in the athletics department of  his alma mater, Warsaw High School. He is learning the ins and outs of high school athletics, including game-day operations, media relations and facility upkeep.

“For the profession I choose to enter upon graduation, hands-on experience is absolutely vital,” Light said. “Getting an understanding of everyday life in high school athletics is an eye-opener, and you really get a feel of what the future is like—fast-paced and long hours. I kind of like that style though; it’s about showing up, getting work done and enriching the lives of the athletes around me.”

Indiana Tech’s small-staffed athletic department bodes well for our experience-seeking sport management majors, too.

“You can go to any home game and there are students working that game and they’re getting a wide range of experience with both our indoor sports and our outdoor sports,” said Dr. Robert Turick, who joined the sport management department in July 2024. “They’re able to work the gate, they’re able to work the concession stand, they’re able to do all those things that maybe they wouldn’t get a chance to do if they were at a larger college.”

Sophomore Fiona Quinn performs multiple duties as an intern for Indiana Tech’s women’s hockey team, including statistician and equipment manager. She also streams play-by-play broadcasts of the team’s road games which, according to head coach Sommer Ross, is an immeasurable contribution to the team.

“The ability to bring our athletes’ away games to family and friends all across the States and Canada—that’s something most teams are not equipped to do,” Ross said. “Fiona’s desire to gain experience in broadcasting allowed us to provide another level of intrigue to our program and—most importantly—a more memorable experience for the student-athletes, while also allowing her to get valuable training in a field she wants to pursue after college.” 

Readers may remember Quinn from a story in the spring 2024 issue of Indiana Tech Magazine that chronicled her “debut” as play-by-play announcer on Dec. 30, 2023, for the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Working as a press box intern with the Komets, she was thrust into the role when the Komets’ regular announcer, Shane Albahrani, lost his voice and was unable to call that night’s game in Indianapolis.

In addition to her internship with Indiana Tech women’s hockey, Quinn still interns with the Komets, supporting Albahrani during live broadcasts with statistics, research and on-air color commentary. She also handles some media relations for the team. Her dream job is to be general manager of the Komets one day.

“Fiona is my rock, and I can always depend on her,” Albahrani said. “She’s a tremendous help with media relations. She’s created many great relationships with the media and other people in the hockey world. Even at the young age of 20, with the experience she has gained, I can honestly say Fiona could work in any media relations department in minor league hockey.”

With their program experiencing such momentum, Dyer and Turick are finding other ways to supplement learning outside the classroom and improve the program. Recently, the program began offering an MBA in sport management. For the 2025-26 academic year, the professors are developing a sports-related speaker series and planning sports-related field trips. Dyer and Turick see several hands-on opportunities for students beginning in winter 2027 when Fort Wayne hosts the first of two NCAA Division II men’s and women’s basketball championships.

“Those championships represent really cool opportunities for our students to get involved and work some meaningful, high-intensity events,” Turick said. “Even before that, representatives from Visit Fort Wayne are going to come to my class and talk about the bid process they went through to get those championships in our city—another chance for our students to see how things work behind the scenes in our industry.”

It’s all about sending graduates out into the sport world equipped with the skills and experiences to succeed. In fact, Dyer and Turick learned in February that another one of their graduates, Javon Sanders, earned a big-league position.

“Indiana Tech has done so much to prepare me for a career in sports,” said Sanders, a 2024 graduate who recently earned an inside sales position with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. “Professor Dyer has given me the right tools and opportunities I needed to become successful in this industry. I was also able to build a network of people with different backgrounds from myself that gave me a new veil of knowledge. I learned from those who have been in my shoes, so that I know the dos and don’ts that are important in this industry.”

Sport management majors thrive in enhanced learning environment

Indiana Tech’s sport management program unveiled its Sport Management Lab at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

The second-floor classroom in the Cunningham Business Center was enhanced to include new technology, audio and video upgrades, including six 75-inch displays, and a completely modernized student seating arrangement.

The new environment is better equipped for project-based discussions and activities, group-based work and executive-style presentations.

“The newly outfitted classroom is such a welcoming space for students. We use a lot of video and web content in our sport management courses, so the upgraded television and sound system help to enhance the student’s experience,” said Craig Dyer, associate professor and department chair of sport management.

“I really enjoy seeing the sense of community that forms at all the tables. Students are much more talkative with their peers, and the branding of the room as a Sport Management Lab really makes them feel like it is their space,” said Dr. Robert Turick, assistant professor of sport management. 

What Students are Saying

“The classroom welcomes collaborative learning and allows students to discuss all things sport. As someone who needs to talk about new topics with others to fully grasp the concept, the round table offers a great opportunity to hear everyone’s opinions.”

Ryah DiGiacomo, sophomore

“For sports fanatics like us, the ticker outside of the classroom allows everyone to stay informed about the previous day’s sports scores and what games are occurring that day.”

Trevor Robinson, sophomore

“Through the teamwork-focused setup, I feel more connected to my classmates. Working in sports is all about how well you can work with others, and this classroom hones in on that.”

Fiona Quinn, sophomore