Sport management class runs fantasy football league as a lesson in media communication

Athletic director, public relations, and event coordinator are some of the common career paths for sport management graduates — each featuring an integral aspect of working with the media.

As is the case for most other likely career choices, such as coaching, sports information, and facility management leading to sports media communication being an impactful course in the curriculum of Commonwealth University’s M.S in Sport Management program.

“Strong writing, public speaking, and social media skills are invaluable,” said Dain TePoel, associate professor of sport management at CU-Lock Haven and graduate program coordinator. “The expectation is that professionals in the field can communicate effectively across a wide range of media platforms; and just by working in sport, they’re likely to do some front-facing work with the public at some point in their career.”

This year, Dain TePoel was ready to try something different with his sports media class.

“In previous semesters, the different assignments were all connected to a different focus,” TePoel said. “I had them write game recaps of on-campus sporting events and provide social media coverage for a local sporting event too, but the press releases and press conferences were more hypothetical.”

He added, “I didn't always get the sense students were as invested in the hypothetical assignments. And as many of them are athletes, having them cover campus sporting events was often difficult with their own practices and games.”

TePoel saw fantasy football as a good equalizer.

“Everyone could create content from the same sources and ideally, they would have a lot more ownership over the material,” TePoel said. “It worked out well, not only in meeting the course objectives but in helping to foster community in the classroom. I particularly thought the quality of the social media campaigns and the press conferences increased substantially from previous semesters.”

Many in the class agreed.

“The entirety of the fantasy football league was very fun and added a different component to the classroom atmosphere that I didn’t believe was possible in college,” said Josh Nichols, a CU-Lock Haven sport management student. “I never thought I would ever be graded and evaluated on something such as fantasy football.”

Even classmates with no prior fantasy football experience enjoyed the semester.

“I thought it was a lot of fun, and it was a cool way to end the course with a press conference,” said Katie Sheeler, a CU-Bloomsburg sport management student. “I learned a lot about what goes on in the media side of sports. I also learned how to write a press release and game recaps, which I thought was a good thing to learn.”

The aspect of running a fantasy football team gave Sheeler a comprehensive look into sports communications and media relations.

“It taught me how to be creative with my writing and my social media posts,” Sheeler says. “I love sports, and I cannot imagine my life without them. That is why I want to pursue a career in the sports field.”

Throughout the semester as their fantasy season progressed, students wrote news releases, game recaps, and feature stories. They also managed team social media profiles. The class capped its semester with a season-ending press conference, which featured Lock Haven faculty, athletics staff, and sports marketing staff in attendance peppering students with questions.

“Running our fantasy football team taught me specifically how to run social media accounts and how often they post,” Nichols said. “I ran our X and TikTok account. I now understand (to a point) the amount of time and effort that goes into being a social media manager for a sports franchise.”

He added, “I also took away key writing techniques with game recaps and press releases that I’ll use for my internship this spring.”

According to TePoel, the course enables students to gain, develop, and enhance their multimedia skills to be successful contributors to sports organizations. Additionally, students investigate the messages attached to sports and how sport media create meanings that carry cultural weight and significance.

“The course is designed to help students become familiar with and develop the problem-solving, planning, organization, and interpersonal skills that are essential for assisting sport organizations in the generation and maintenance of a favorable public image,” TePoel said.

Tori Reichert, a CU-Locl Haven sport management student, says she really enjoyed writing press releases and interacting on social media representing her fantasy team.

“I learned many different aspects of the sport media landscape that I hadn't even thought of before,” Reichert said. “I learned the different writing techniques, as well as how to handle a team and a crisis of a team.”

Reichert eyes a future in sports event management.

“Running a fantasy football team was very beneficial in learning more about the sport media realm,” said Tori Reichert. “We wrote specific and detailed game recaps, press releases, as well as managed a social media platform for a specific team. Having a fantasy football team made these assignments feel more like the real deal. It made them feel like we were actual GMs in charge of a team, and we needed to be on the media side of the organization.”