Students participating in Joe Cobbs’ sports marketing class are working with NKU Athletics to gain real-world experience and develop solutions for the department.

The Field Application Student Training (F.A.S.T.) project is a two-part project that normally spans across two classes.

They will only be participating in the first part of the project because Bridget Nichols, the professor who generally teaches the second part, is on maternity leave.

The first part of the project takes place in Cobbs’ Sports Marketing class. The students are presented a “client.” This semester’s client is NKU’s athletic department.

The client presents problems and issues facing the organization. The students then collect data and present their findings in class and to the client.

NKU’s Coordinator of Athletic Development Alicia Lawrence, identified four “opportunities for growth” that the students can focus on: Special Events, Alumni Outreach, Season Ticket Holders and Annual Fund/Stewardship/Donations.

“It’s great to work with other entities across campus,” Lawrence said. “It helps to get a fresh perspective.”

Chelsey Lonneman, a senior public relations and marketing major, chose to focus on increasing student attendance.

“When you go to a basketball game you want the students there. If there is not a good energy it affects everything,” Lonneman said.

Cobbs hopes the project provides valuable experience and gets students interested in sports marketing. The F.A.S.T. project gives students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in previous classes.

“Other group projects haven’t been as real world,” Lonneman said. “It’s not just writing a paper. It is much more valuable.”

The project provides NKU athletics with in-depth research that it would not normally get to do, according to Lawrence.

The ten student groups work on the project for nine weeks. The student groups chose to address different opportunities for growth. The final result of the project is an in depth analysis of the student and alumni attitudes regarding the topic.
The F.A.S.T research project will be completed by the week of April 29, according to Cobbs.