In its fifth year of operation, the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing is getting ready to host another event for students at Point Park.
On Tuesday, Feb. 16 in room 701 of The Student Center, Terry Kalna will be speaking at an event called “The New World of Sports Sales and Branding.”
“[Kalna] will talk about his journey after college, his career, and how he got where he is today,” said Kelsey Veydt, graduate assistant to the Center and undergraduate alumni.
Kalna was named Senior Vice President of Sales and Broadcasting for the Pittsburgh Penguins last April, and was previously the managing director for NASCAR’s sister company, International Speedway Corporation (ISC) for eight years. Kalna also acts as the Penguin’s primary contact with ROOT Sports.
This event is one of many networking opportunities the Center has hosted. This event will be about an hour long, including a twenty minute Q&A session with Kalna and attending students. Past speakers have included professionals from ESPN, ROOT Sports, Adidas and more.
“We had the announcers from the Pirates, Penguins and Steelers,” Marissa Rayes, junior Student Advisory Board member and public relations and advertising major, said when reflecting on other exciting past guests to the Center’s events.
Casey McGaw, a sophomore sports, arts and entertainment management (SAEM) major, who is also one of 15 members on the Center’s Student Advisory Board, volunteered for all three Center events last semester.
“Those people come in and talk to our students about their jobs and what they do working in the sports industries,” McGaw said.
Events like this are part of the Center’s goal of giving students access to networking with real-world professionals. This networking provides connections that are vital to students’ budding careers in the sports and entertainment industries.
However, Veydt wants students to know that this event is not exclusive to SAEM majors.
“I personally believe marketing is involved in everything,” Veydt, who hopes for a turnout of students with many different majors, said.
Members of the Student Advisory Board for the Center agree. McGaw hopes the Center will continue trying “reaching out to students other than ones within the communication majors.”
Beyond networking, the event is also “a great opportunity for students to learn about and get connected with sports and branding and how that impacts their world today,” said freshman board member and broadcast reporting major Jess Paterchak.
An incentive to all students at this semester’s event will be the exciting door prizes, where students will be automatically entered as they check in for several prizes including a set of Pittsburgh Penguins tickets—a contest “unique to this year,” Veydt said.
The Center was founded by two of Point Park’s alumni, Mike Fetchko and Tom McMillan. McMillan is also involved with the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Vice President of Communications.
“[McMillan] gave us an education session on ticketing trends and different aspects of hockey operations,” Rayes said. “Then we got to go to a game.”
Students like McGaw are appreciative of these efforts from the Center.
“It’s really cool to have those kinds of connections,” McGaw said.
