Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

Falk Student Connects Fans with the Big Game

Monday, February 10, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
Share
Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
photo-83.2

Steven Kozar ’14 gets ready to watch the action with other Super Bowl fans inside the Metlife Stadium after spending his sport management capstone working with the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee.

It took about three hours for the Seahawks to take down the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. The experience for Steven Kozar ’14 will last a lifetime.

As part of his 12-credit sport management capstone in Falk College, Kozar worked as an intern with the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee—an opportunity that had him organizing fan events and connecting with fans over social media, among other responsibilities, up until the big game.

“Whether I’m back at Syracuse or beyond in my professional career, this experience is something that I’m going to hold for the rest of my life,” Kozar says.

Kozar submitted his resume to the organization after speaking with Associate Professor Gina Pauline, who mentioned the opportunity. He began an internship with the host committee’s executive department in the summer of 2013, working within the offices of Chief Executive Officer Alfred Kelly and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Jen Gilke.

“It was a great opportunity to get a broad sense of company,” Kozar says. “I did a small project with marketing and they liked me and knew I had to do a capstone with sports management degrees so they asked me to stay onboard. I was beyond excited and thankful that they did because I was able to stay up until the Super Bowl.”

As the fall kicked in, Kozar worked on the “Join the Huddle Tour,” the first-of-its-kind mobile tour associated with the Super Bowl. The mobile truck—“the Huddle Shuttle”—carried the Vince Lombardi trophy and replicas of memorabilia, such as from Lombardi and Eli Manning, while visiting high schools, college football games, family festivals and philanthropic events at Boys & Girls Clubs and Special Olympics.

The event at the Special Olympics event was an important one for Kozar, who has worked within SU’s Sport Management Club on its annual charity auction. During that year’s event, the club raised more than $35,000 for Special Olympics. “It brought Syracuse full circle, and it was a special moment to work with athletes who have so much excitement and enthusiasm for their sports,” he says.

The tour staff also organized such activities as a football toss, field goal kick, touchdown dance contest and virtual activities. “We went to more than 48 stops in five months,” says Kozar, who was involved in helping coordinate the myriad logistics and marketing to get people to the tour stop.

DSC02276.2

Fans gather for the Touchdown Dance Sweepstakes Ceremony on Super Bowl Boulevard in New York City.

Although his capstone had technically ended, Kozar was asked to stay on up until the Super Bowl, a few weeks into the start of the spring semester.

“I wasn’t sure with school starting how I would be able to do it, but I’m so thankful that the University and sport management were really helpful,” he says.

The last location of the Huddle Shuttle was a stop on Super Bowl Boulevard, a four-day fan experience that shut down a section of Broadway in New York City. The Huddle Shuttle took up half a block and included its activities, along with the touchdown dance ceremony, in which winners were awarded their prizes and three winners tested their dance on stage in front of fans.

Kozar put together stage activities, such as games involving trivia and a spelling bee, to have visitors interact with the tour stop.

“There were over a million and a half people that came to Super Bowl Boulevard,” Kozar says. “It was a great way to end our journey.”

Kozar also worked within the host committee’s Social Media Communications Center during Super Bowl Week. Some team members monitored fans comments and questions; Kozar, as team captain, answered questions, such as what to wear, what was Super Bowl Boulevard and how to get to the game.

Joining the fans

By the day of the Super Bowl, Kozar’s team had basically fulfilled all their duties—all that was left was to enjoy the game at Metlife Stadium. Kozar had upper deck seats but it was his first step in the stadium when he felt the impact of the past nine months.

photo-85

Kozar joins New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford at the Tailgate Party before Super Bowl XLVIII. Kozar tried on Weatherford’s Super Bowl ring for size.

“Once I went through security and into the stadium and saw those huge Roman numerals of the Super Bowl, I saw all the hard work that the entire company, with thousands of people, put together—that was really cool,” he says.

Kozar wasn’t rooting for a particular team, but he was hoping to see a dramatic finish with the best team in offense and their opposition in the best in defense. He also enjoyed the pre-game show with the Syracuse University Marching Band, along with the Rutgers University band, and the half-time show. “It was an unbelievable experience,” he says.

Beyond the game, his time working with the host committee has prepared him for his professional life in many ways.

“I’m a very list, detail-oriented person, but the organization took me to a whole other level of project management and showed me how it touched all these departments,” Kozar says.

After he graduates in May, Kozar wants to work within marketing and sponsorship in the sport industry. “I’m not exactly sure where I’m going yet, but I’m very excited for the future,” Kozar says. “This experience and the experiences I’ve had at Syracuse will lead me in the right direction soon.”

 

  • Author

Kathleen Haley

  • Recent
  • Wellness Initiative Celebrates National Nutrition Month With Faculty and Staff Programs
    Wednesday, March 3, 2021, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University/SUNY-ESF Team Wins ‘JUMP into STEM’ Competition
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Julie Sharkey
  • US Army Awards Meritorious Civilian Service Medal to Professor Mark Glauser
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
  • ‘Is Election Disinformation Free Speech or Defamation? Courts Will Decide’
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Lily Datz
  • University to Guarantee Admission to Eligible Area High School Graduates After Completing Initial Enlistment in US Military
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Brandon Dyer

More In Health & Society

CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes

The Department of Higher Education in the School of Education is expanding their curriculum offerings to prepare current and future higher education professionals (e.g., advisors, administrators and coaches) to learn how to support and advocate for the success of intercollegiate…

Boost Your Immune System With These Expert Tips (and Recipes!)

A healthy immune system is important throughout the year, but even more so during cold and flu season and while we remain at-risk of contracting COVID-19. In honor of National Nutrition Month, celebrated in March, we tapped into campus experts…

Application Deadline Approaching: Five Reasons to Be a Barnes Center at The Arch Peer Educator

The deadline to apply to be a Barnes Center at The Arch Peer Educator for the 2021-22 academic year is Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, and all students are encouraged to submit an application. Students who are interested in applying for…

CRS Professor’s New Book Focuses on the Rhetoric of Antisemitism

Amos Kiewe, a professor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies (CRS), has authored the new book, “The Rhetoric of Antisemitism: From the Origins of Christianity and Islam to the Present” (Lexington Books). It…

Spring 2021: Barnes Center at The Arch Services and Hours; Virtual Recreation Jan. 30–Feb. 4   

As the Spring 2021 semester begins, the Barnes Center at The Arch announces hours, services and more surrounding holistic health and well-being. Visit the Stay Safe: Barnes Center at The Arch webpage for information surrounding how to access services, resources…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.