Photo by Marisa Padilla
Fox Sports Executive Producer Tom Feuer was the keynote speaker for the first Sports Business Association meeting Tuesday.
Feuer started off by saying, “There’s never been a better time to be in the sports industry.”
Feuer discussed sports marketing, technology in the sports industry and key skills students will need in order to secure internships and future jobs.
In the past, Feuer has worked for Fox Sports Net, NBC Sports, MSNBC, Nike, TNT Sports and ESPN.
The SBA is a student organization dedicated to educating students about the sports business industry.
The meeting, which took place in Plaza Classroom 190, started out with an introduction by SBA President junior JJ Breilh. Then, Associate Vice Chancellor and SBA adviser Sam Lagana stepped in to say, “It’s not my job to drive this thing, I want you to drive.”
After a short introduction to internships within the Pepperdine Athletics department by Creative Services & Game Production Manager Chad Richardson, Feuer took the stage.
He talked about sports marketing, noting that Arnold Palmer and Michael Jordan were the pioneers in the field. After mentioning NFL viewership habits and technology in the sports industry, Feuer dove into the importance of internships for college students.
Feuer said, “Internships are the most valuable thing you can do,” and mentioned that in order for students to succeed in interviews, they should put down their cell phones and work on interpersonal skills. “It’s a face-to-face business,” he said.
Feuer also said one of the best tips he can give students about how to interview for an internship or a job is to research the company they are interviewing as this will give them a head start over “99 percent of the other applicants.”
After the talk was over, Feuer spent about 20 minutes answering questions from students and faculty members in the crowd.
Feuer said the most important thing he has learned while being in the business is the value of interpersonal communication: “It is important to be able to relate to and be able to communicate with all.”
He said the single most important piece of advice he would give to someone who wants to be involved in the sports industry is to, “get an internship. That is absolutely critical.”
After 11 years as a Fox Sports Executive Producer, Feuer is leaving his post Friday to work on the Sochi Olympics.
“You get to a certain point where you feel you’ve done what you can do and I’ve gotten to that point,” he said. “After Friday, I will be moving to that next adventure.” Sochi will mark Feuer’s 10th Olympic games coverage.
Breilh said he was happy with the job Feuer did. “Tom Feuer did a phenomenal job in his entire speech. I’m really happy in the way he communicated with the students and all the potential members of SBA.”
Freshman media production major Logan Beitler said, “It was very informative. They gave you good advice for what you want to do.” She also mentioned that Feuer’s tips regarding internships, researching and getting ready for interviews were very helpful.
“I loved that the guy has a lot of knowledge; he knows what he’s talking about,” said junior PR major Lu Romero.
Romero said she would take home Feuer’s take on internships: “He said it’s not only about the grades but also about your presence.”
Breilh said Feuer’s services were secured in part thanks to Lagana. “We decided that Tom was going to be a great guy for the talk. He did a phenomenal job.” He also said that the event was a great way to kickstart SBA’s semester.
Breilh said that after the organization was started in 2009 it lost some of its footing because a lot of the passion was missing.
“It’s something a few of us [SBA members] were really interested in and thought it was something we want to get started back up,” he said.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Follow Ricardo Avila Alvarez on Twitter: @RAvila27
