By Abby Wedemeyer  

The sport and recreation management program in the Department of Health and Human Physiology recognizes there’s more to sports than just playing the game. Providing students with experiential learning opportunities is a priority for the program, ensuring students experience a variety of opportunities within the sports industry.  

This summer, 21 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students enrolled in SRM:4197 Sport and Recreation Field Experience took on the challenge of performing market research for NASCAR's inaugural Iowa Corn 350 Cup Series race at the Iowa Speedway. 

The course was the sport and recreation management program’s fourth experiential learning partnership with NASCAR in the past four years.  

“One of our SRM program alumni, Cole McGinnis, and one of my good friends, Matt Norby, are NASCAR executives and consistent supporters of projects for real-world courses like this at Iowa,” said Dan Matheson, sport and recreation management program director and the professor who taught the summer course. 

“One of the highlights for me was seeing Cole, who had been a student of mine in a similar experiential course that worked with the San Diego Padres, mentoring the current students and providing them feedback on their research and recommendations in the same way he was mentored as an Iowa student by industry executives 10 years ago,” Matheson added.  

Fourth-year communication studies student Alexa Ebeling was one of the 21 students involved in the course. Before taking part in the practicum, Ebeling noted she wasn’t too familiar with NASCAR but found it “awesome to see the ins and outs of it all.”  

“Our class was split into groups, and we were tasked with creating a marketing plan to get more Gen Z audience members to watch and attend the NASCAR Iowa Corn 350 race in Newton, Iowa,” Ebeling said. 

With just under a month to develop a business plan to present to NASCAR executives, Ebeling and her fellow classmates “got straight to work.” 

“My team created a marketing plan in collaboration with the iconic Iowa-based movie, Field of Dreams. Since this race is based in Iowa, we thought it would be beneficial to leverage our connection with the state and sport,” Ebeling said. “Although Field of Dreams is a baseball movie, we used it to our advantage to attract baseball fans as well.”  

Ebeling and her teammates researched and prepared online raffles, exclusive merchandising, and themed NASCAR nights at the Iowa Cubs baseball stadium in Des Moines.  

“We really wanted to make sure our approach was as well-rounded as possible to get Gen Z excited about NASCAR,” Ebeling explained.  

After nearly a month of work, Ebeling and her teammates presented their marketing strategies and outcomes to NASCAR executives.  

“It was super rewarding,” Ebeling said. “We had worked so hard on our campaign and knew the ins and outs of each detail. We loved to hear the positive feedback from the executives after we presented.”  

Matheson noted NASCAR executives appreciated the insights students provided as members of Gen Z. Recommendations presented by students were well received by the executives, who gave constructive feedback to help prepare students for situations they will encounter in their careers.  

“In the past, we’ve seen NASCAR activate some elements of our student recommendations, and I would expect more of that based on the feedback from Matt and Cole this summer,” Matheson added.  

Reflecting on her experience, Ebeling said she “gained a lot from this practicum, but above all, I realized how important it is to be a team player.”  

“Our group was able to mesh together our strengths in order to put together a project that we were all proud of in the end,” Ebeling said. 

The SRM:4197 Sport and Recreation Management Field Experience course works with several industry partners throughout the year. This fall, students enrolled in one section of the course are partnering with the University of Iowa Athletics Department to gain event management experience during Hawkeye football games and other Iowa sporting events. Students in the second section are working in an agency format consulting with a variety of sport and recreation industry partner organizations and business needs.  

“With more than a half dozen industry partners that support the sport and recreation management program to provide experiential learning in SRM:4197, there is an appealing option for every student to build a résumé and become career-ready upon graduation,” Matheson said.  

Learn more about the Sport and Recreation Management program's experiential learning opportunities online.