Last week I was given the opportunity to take over the UofL SPAD (University of Louisville Sport Administration Program) Instagram account as part of their Alumni Takeover Thursday series. This had me reflecting back to my college days…
I was always destined to be a Cardinal – even before I knew what that truly meant. My dad and I attended virtually every home basketball and football game from right out of the womb until I moved out of town in 2013. Most of my fondest childhood memories took place at Freedom Hall and Cardinal Stadium (old and new). I didn’t realize until I was a little older that the hero athletes I was so fond of were also students. Once I did, however, I knew I would be attending the University of Louisville.
I graduated high school in 2009 with 42 fellow classmates from a very small, private K-12 school in Louisville. As you can imagine, this made my transition to the 22,000+ student campus a little difficult. I quickly fell in love with the school, though, as I begin my studies as a Sport Administration major. While I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, I knew with my playing days ending in high school that I HAD to stay involved in athletics.
With classes like Marketing & Promotions, Event Management and Sport Law I was hooked and knew that I had chosen the right major/career path. Classmates like Teddy Bridgewater and Montrezl Harrell didn’t hurt either.
One of the biggest things my professors hammered home was to get involved with volunteer opportunities and internships early and often during my academic career. I took this to heart (this is still one of the number 1 pieces of advice I offer to high school students and college freshmen) and became a member of the “Kroger Krew” working in game day marketing and promotions for women’s basketball. Not only did this introduce me to some valuable industry contacts but working behind the scenes in the brand-new KFC Yum! Center was truly incredible.
After reaching the national championship game in men’s soccer in 2010, I was fortunate enough to have a community relations internship with the program as soccer was really starting to explode in the city. From here several one-off experiences eventually led to the internship I held my full senior year in the Athletic Ticket Office. I have this opportunity to thank for landing a full-time job upon graduation. I mostly made cold calls, sold bowl game tickets and assisted with seat relocations while gaining confidence and experience.
I graduated from UofL in May 2013 – a year that many dubbed “The Year of the Cardinal”. Men’s basketball won it all (yes, it happened), women’s basketball fell to UConn in the title game, football defeated #3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl and the baseball team made it to Omaha. Not a bad way to spend my senior year what has ultimately been my last year living in the city that means so much to me.
I will forever be thankful to UofL and all involved with shaping my experience there. It’s hard to believe its been 8 years since I have graduated. If you are a high school student interested in Sport Administration, please consider the University of Louisville.
- Scott Peace (@Scott_Peace)
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