April 4, 2024
Ferris State College of Business Students Compete in National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship
Several Ferris State Professional Sales Club members recently participated in the National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship (NCSSC), bringing 160 students from 48 schools. Held at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the competition provided a platform for students to demonstrate their sports sales skills in a highly competitive setting.
The championship adopted a unique seeded bracket role-play format, where students engaged in pitch sessions with recruiters from various sports teams acting as buyers. The participants presented their products to the buyers, and judges scored their performances based on a pre-distributed scenario and rubric. Akin to the excitement of NCAA March Madness, students advanced until a winner emerged.
The initial seeding for the competition was established through a virtual preliminary round held last fall where Ferris secured two spots in ticket sales and one in corporate partnerships. The competition also had speed selling and application-based sports marketing trivia contests.
Ferris State Participants
- Deandre Brown – Ticket Sales field of Sixty-Four
- Autumn Loeffler – Ticket Sales (advanced to the Sweet Sixteen)
- Nolan Collins – Corporate Partnerships (reached the Final Four, finishing third)
- Deandre Brown – Quantum Quiz field of Sixty-Four (advanced to the Final Four
- Jacob Thorold – Speed Sell contestant
- Shimwe Sentya – Speed Sell contestant
The ultimate purpose of NCSSC is for the students to land jobs in sports sales. The event extended into a second day, providing the opportunity to engage in a job fair and interviews to meet with recruiters of sports teams across the NBA, NFL, and NHL. The experience gained and lessons learned, contribute to the student's overall development and success while providing a glimpse into the future leaders in the sports sales industry.