September Facts & Figures
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Saint Peter, MN
Luke Regner UW Class: 2017 UW Major: Marketing & Risk Management Insurance SBC Position: President (16-17') & Treasurer (15-16') Current Job: Director of Hockey Operations, Minnesota State University |
Q & A
Please describe your journey to Minnesota State and the position you currently reside in?
I was able to spend my time as an Undergrad at UW helping out with the Badger Hockey Team as a Student Assistant as well as working in the Video Department for the Athletic Department. Through that exposure to a college hockey program I knew that the area I wanted to work in full time and was able to make awesome connections that helped teach me what it would take to be successful and help me find a job after school. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to move out to Pittsburgh that following year and work as the Director of Hockey Operations at Robert Morris University while also getting an MBA. I spent two years at RMU learning the ropes before getting the chance to come back closer to home this offseason in the same role at a really good program at Minnesota State.
The Director of Hockey Operations Position basically takes care of everything behind the scenes for a college hockey team. The biggest aspect is probably being the video coordinator, and that involves tagging games, pre scouting opponents, and taking care of any stats/analytics needs. The position also takes care of team travel and scheduling so setting up flights, busses, hotels, and meals, as well as producing weekly team schedules. Outside of those main duties there are always new challenges and tasks that come up on a day to day basis that keep you on your toes. I love the position because it gives me the opportunities to work very closely with and develop great relationships with all of the players and other staff members.
Past the typical of suggestions of "networking and making connections", what is the best advice you can give to aspiring sports business professionals trying to break into the industry?
The biggest thing I would recommend to students is you find your individual niche in the industry. There are so many different unique jobs and opportunities within sports so seek out the one that best fits your skills and interests instead of just following the easiest path to get your foot in the door or the route other people you know have gone. Being in an area that best fits you sets you up so much better for success and make the grind and long hours so much more enjoyable and worth it. Within that it has been eye opening to me that the best jobs are often times never posted. Many people doing the hiring are often so impressed when someone goes out of their way and takes the initiative to contact them to see if they can help out in any way or even gives them an idea of an area you think you could add to the organization. The first job I had at UW was got that way, just sending an email to Coach Eaves asking if there was any way I could help the program out, and ending up getting a position that was never posted on any job board.
Once you are able to get your first job or internship the biggest thing to being successful is bringing something of value to your organization that makes them better. Within that almost all ideas in sports are for the most part copied or brought over from another organization, and there are so many resources out there to learn about what other teams or organizations are doing. Whether its an article about a new analytics method another team is doing, or taking something from watching a all access show on a pro team, there are so many ways to learn what other teams are doing and take a version of that to strengthen your organization.
What is the most fulfilling part of sports in general as well as your role specifically?
As I'm sure everyone working in Sports will tell you, it never really feels like a job, and finding something in life where that is the case for you no matter the industry is something not everyone gets so take every advantage of it when you find it. In my role specifically, being on the team side, the competitiveness of it is so great, as you get almost immediate feedback on your work in the form of a win or a loss. Being able to be part of a year long journey and ride those ups and downs with a group you get really tight with is such a fun experience that really can't be replicated outside of the sports industry. On top of that just seeing how sports has the ability to bring communities together and mean so much to people is pretty rewarding in its own right to be on the inside of that.
If you could go back and attend any sporting event in history what would it be? Why?
I think the easy and obvious answer is the Miracle on Ice Game in 1980. I don’t think you could ever recreate the setting and backdrop of that game, and I highly doubt another sporting event will ever have as much social impact and create the National Pride that that game did. Outside of that game it would be Game 7 of the 1991 World Series where the Twins beat the Braves 1-0 in 10 innings, as a Minnesota sports fan born in '95, I haven't even seen one of our teams in a Championship Series or game so that would be such a fun game to be at with the old Metrodome rocking.
We appreciate all our help and advice as one of our proud alumni....Why do you feel giving back to a club like ours is so important when you aren't necessarily required to do so?
I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been able to have a career in the Sports Industry I have had without the opportunities, experience, and connections this club gave to me, and there’s no one I would rather see have success in the industry than fellow Badgers who started in the same spot that I did, so whatever I can do to help in any little way I am more than happy to do. The opportunity the Club provides to students to give students leadership positions at a school with the resources Wisconsin has is so much more valuable than just a traditional sports management program at a school in my opinion. I also know my experience in the club would not have been near as beneficial without the support and guidance of alumni, so it is pretty cool to be on the other side of those relationships now.
I was able to spend my time as an Undergrad at UW helping out with the Badger Hockey Team as a Student Assistant as well as working in the Video Department for the Athletic Department. Through that exposure to a college hockey program I knew that the area I wanted to work in full time and was able to make awesome connections that helped teach me what it would take to be successful and help me find a job after school. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to move out to Pittsburgh that following year and work as the Director of Hockey Operations at Robert Morris University while also getting an MBA. I spent two years at RMU learning the ropes before getting the chance to come back closer to home this offseason in the same role at a really good program at Minnesota State.
The Director of Hockey Operations Position basically takes care of everything behind the scenes for a college hockey team. The biggest aspect is probably being the video coordinator, and that involves tagging games, pre scouting opponents, and taking care of any stats/analytics needs. The position also takes care of team travel and scheduling so setting up flights, busses, hotels, and meals, as well as producing weekly team schedules. Outside of those main duties there are always new challenges and tasks that come up on a day to day basis that keep you on your toes. I love the position because it gives me the opportunities to work very closely with and develop great relationships with all of the players and other staff members.
Past the typical of suggestions of "networking and making connections", what is the best advice you can give to aspiring sports business professionals trying to break into the industry?
The biggest thing I would recommend to students is you find your individual niche in the industry. There are so many different unique jobs and opportunities within sports so seek out the one that best fits your skills and interests instead of just following the easiest path to get your foot in the door or the route other people you know have gone. Being in an area that best fits you sets you up so much better for success and make the grind and long hours so much more enjoyable and worth it. Within that it has been eye opening to me that the best jobs are often times never posted. Many people doing the hiring are often so impressed when someone goes out of their way and takes the initiative to contact them to see if they can help out in any way or even gives them an idea of an area you think you could add to the organization. The first job I had at UW was got that way, just sending an email to Coach Eaves asking if there was any way I could help the program out, and ending up getting a position that was never posted on any job board.
Once you are able to get your first job or internship the biggest thing to being successful is bringing something of value to your organization that makes them better. Within that almost all ideas in sports are for the most part copied or brought over from another organization, and there are so many resources out there to learn about what other teams or organizations are doing. Whether its an article about a new analytics method another team is doing, or taking something from watching a all access show on a pro team, there are so many ways to learn what other teams are doing and take a version of that to strengthen your organization.
What is the most fulfilling part of sports in general as well as your role specifically?
As I'm sure everyone working in Sports will tell you, it never really feels like a job, and finding something in life where that is the case for you no matter the industry is something not everyone gets so take every advantage of it when you find it. In my role specifically, being on the team side, the competitiveness of it is so great, as you get almost immediate feedback on your work in the form of a win or a loss. Being able to be part of a year long journey and ride those ups and downs with a group you get really tight with is such a fun experience that really can't be replicated outside of the sports industry. On top of that just seeing how sports has the ability to bring communities together and mean so much to people is pretty rewarding in its own right to be on the inside of that.
If you could go back and attend any sporting event in history what would it be? Why?
I think the easy and obvious answer is the Miracle on Ice Game in 1980. I don’t think you could ever recreate the setting and backdrop of that game, and I highly doubt another sporting event will ever have as much social impact and create the National Pride that that game did. Outside of that game it would be Game 7 of the 1991 World Series where the Twins beat the Braves 1-0 in 10 innings, as a Minnesota sports fan born in '95, I haven't even seen one of our teams in a Championship Series or game so that would be such a fun game to be at with the old Metrodome rocking.
We appreciate all our help and advice as one of our proud alumni....Why do you feel giving back to a club like ours is so important when you aren't necessarily required to do so?
I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been able to have a career in the Sports Industry I have had without the opportunities, experience, and connections this club gave to me, and there’s no one I would rather see have success in the industry than fellow Badgers who started in the same spot that I did, so whatever I can do to help in any little way I am more than happy to do. The opportunity the Club provides to students to give students leadership positions at a school with the resources Wisconsin has is so much more valuable than just a traditional sports management program at a school in my opinion. I also know my experience in the club would not have been near as beneficial without the support and guidance of alumni, so it is pretty cool to be on the other side of those relationships now.
SBC Summer Member Spotlight
This summer we featured a handful of members interning in the industry on our social media platforms to provide a view of what our members are doing within sports. Here is a closer look at four members that shared their experiences with us....
Justin Kakuska
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This internship is best for students who are interested in learning about how ticket sales and operations work in a front office, including how to manage tickets during events and games. Greatest Takeaway? My greatest takeaway from working with Forward Madison is learning how a team can function successfully in their inaugural season. Since it is a smaller team, I also had the chance to see how different areas of the team functioned and I have a better understanding in what I would want to do in sports in the future. |
Trevin Kroichick
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This internship is best for students who want to work in the golf industry, especially those who have an interest in finance, accounting or general golf operations. Greatest Takeaway? My biggest takeaway was learning how different golf destinations operate with different business strategies. For example, the main course I worked at could charge more for tee times, apparel, food and services because of its prestige, while another course I worked at focused only on number of customers because it was not as well-known. |
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Madeline Friedman
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This internship is best for students who are interested in social media and graphic design. If you want to gain experience at a smaller company, this is a great opportunity. Since there is only a handle of staff, I was able to take on a lot of responsibility, including being able to run the social media accounts for an entire team, which is unheard of at the intern level. I recommend working for the NWHL if you are interested in working for a league and learning about what goes on during the off season. Greatest Takeaway? My greatest takeaway from this internship was being able to build my portfolio. My goal is to work for a NFL team in social media, so this experience enabled me to learn how to run social media accounts for a sports team. This was a huge stepping stone for me, not only on my resume but for my mentality of working in sports. I was able to learn how to post on social during the off-season, and I am not excited to transfer those skills to working in social media in season. |
Henry Primack
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This internship is best for students who are looking for hands on experience and are interested in seeing how a sports agency runs. Greatest Takeaway? My biggest takeaway was that working for a sports agency is very unique in that there are different tasks to accomplish every day. Since we’re representing athletes instead of a team there are different needs to be met for individual athletes (finding endorsements, making sure they’re satisfied with marketing efforts, spotlighting achievements on social). |
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2019-20 Club Leadership
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In addition to the Executive Board this school year, we have extended our leadership to include committees as well. There are three committees: Marketing, Events, and Fundraising & Development. These committees will allow us to offer more leadership positions within the club and to develop potential projects and events that will make the club better.
September Club Events Recap
September 6th - UISRM Symposium & Case Competition
September 6th - UISRM Symposium & Case Competition
Congrats to Sports Business Club @SBCUW for taking first place in the case competition at the University of Iowa Sport & Recreation Management Symposium earlier this month! □ pic.twitter.com/bV03Xm2RKJ
— Wisconsin School of Business (@UWBusiness) September 17, 2019
September 16th - Fall Kickoff
Good to be back in Grainger Hall for tonight’s @SBCUW Kick-Off Meeting. Looking forward to a great year with the Sports Business Club at @UWMadison! pic.twitter.com/uT37kmYfrx
— Adam Ahearn (@AdamTAhearn) September 16, 2019
September 22nd - Forward Madison FC Club Leadership Trip
A beautiful afternoon for the executive board and committee chairs to go #FullMingo!
— SBC at UW-Madison (@SBCUW) September 23, 2019
Thank you @ForwardMSNFC for having us out tonight and good luck with the rest of the season pic.twitter.com/42S7wVMj8H
September 23rd - Trivia Night
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Winning team on the left and best jersey winners on the right!
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