The athletic department at Portland State University recently launched the V-Team, a group of six students from various disciplines who work together for one common goal: to market PSU athletics to the university and greater Portland communities.
A Division I member of the Big Sky Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the PSU athletic department is home to 17 varsity sports including basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling. Seven of the department’s teams host home games.
The V-Team is an internship program created by the PSU athletic department with the primary purpose of providing participants valuable experience in marketing and promotions based on their interests, while striving to enhance event presence at athletic contests.
“The V-Team is essential for cultivating campus support. The simple fact of having advocates for athletics reaching into the campus community in classrooms, campus housing communities and student social settings make the V-Team a vital cog in the athletics marketing wheel,” Vikings Assistant Marketing Director Shannon Burley said.
Each V-Team member is responsible for attending a weekly meeting, completing a minimum of one office hour per week, reporting to the Assistant Director of Marketing and Promotions, and carrying out the duties of their respective roles (each member is assigned a sport to promote, though all members promote football.)
Burley described the type of individuals that made the V-Team as “High energy students who handle themselves well under pressure and strive to produce results.”
Current members of the V-Team include marketing major Jihad Qutub, who in addition to assisting KFXX-AM (The Fan) with producing PSU football game broadcast elements, is assigned to promoting the men’s basketball team.
Kevin Briggs, who is a current member of the men’s basketball team, is assigned to soccer and has been scheduling youth teams to be ball kids and play at halftime of soccer games. He is present at every soccer game and runs the halftime promotions.
Amanda Espinoza, a current PSU cheerleader, is assigned to promoting the Jr. Victor E. Viking Club and is also primary liaison during games with the cheer squad.
Jamie Sorensen promotes volleyball and has contributed in many ways such as creating the volleyball media guide cover and volleyball/soccer schedule card, assisted on the men’s basketball season ticket brochure, designing the wrestling media guide cover and is presently working on an ad that will run in the Oregonian and Portland Tribune newspapers.
Stephanie Phillips promotes football and also handles graphic designing duties along with Sorensen such as producing the football schedule card, the football season ticket brochure, and a recent ad that ran in the Oregonian and the Portland Tribune newspapers.
Finally, speech communication major Renee Gundolff has duties promoting the football team which include selecting contestants, working with the color guard, honorary captains, cheer squad and running promotions.
For more information about the V-Team, all interested students should contact Shannon Burley at 503-725-8277 or burleys@pdx.edu. Applications for the 2002-03 team will be available this spring.