USM Sport Management Students Partner with NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans on Ticket-Selling Project

Wed, 01/17/2024 - 11:49am | By: Van Arnold

Sport Management Marketing students at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) were given a unique opportunity to “work” as ticket sellers for the New Orleans Pelicans NBA basketball team as part of a class project during the fall 2023 semester.

Dr. Sabrina Reed, Assistant Teaching Professor of Sport Management, and her SM410 class partnered with the Pelicans to complete the College Sales Program project, which involved selling tickets to the team’s games.

Throughout the semester students attended training sessions conducted by members of the Pelicans’ staff. Reed notes that students learned how to effectively market the Pelicans’ tickets, which included offering exclusive discounts to potential buyers. Students were rewarded throughout the semester upon hitting specific goals.

At the end of the semester, students who excelled in the program earned a group night to the Pelicans’ Nov. 18 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in New Orleans.

Reed explains that the partnership was first developed between Dr. Chris Croft, Assistant Professor of Sport Management at USM, and a member of the Pelicans’ sales staff. When she joined the USM faculty in fall 2022, Reed took over the program and has worked with Lindsey Stanek, Senior Group Sales Account Executive for the NBA team.

Considered a senior level course, juniors are permitted to take the class. This past fall, 27 seven students participated in the course. In fall 2022, 32 students took the course.

“I am thankful to Dr. Chris Croft for starting this partnership and passing it along to me when I joined USM,” said Reed. “We have worked with the Pels for two seasons and during this time students have sold nearly 500 tickets, totaling over $14,000 in sales. I look forward to continuing this project and similar projects with other professional sports organizations in future courses.”

Jacorey Brown, a student from the fall 2022 class, secured a ticket sales position with the Pelicans after graduation in May 2023. He gave back to USM this fall by serving as a guest speaker to the class. Brown provided helpful tips from his experience with the project and his time since joining the Pelicans’ organization.

Reed points out that her SM395-Sport Sales class will be conducting a similar project with the Biloxi Shuckers baseball team this spring.

To learn more about the Sport Management program at USM, call 601.266.4627.