Sports Sales Force Thrives at Point Park University, Inspires New Sports Management Program
Devon McGee '25 has discovered a passion for sports sales thanks to the Department of Sports, Arts, Entertainment & Music Business at Point Park University. Photo by Ethan Stoner '25.
Devon McGee '25 walked onto the court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse with Point Park University alumna Dana Drewniak and watched in awe as Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors entered the arena to go up against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
McGee had been paired with Drewniak, the Cavaliers' senior group events sales specialist, for a mentorship experience as part of the Introduction to Sports, Arts, Entertainment & Music Business (SAEM) course in Point Park's Rowland School of Business. He spent the day learning about the dynamic world of sports sales.
"I've been into sports my entire life, and I wasn't aware sports sales was a thing, let alone its level of significance in the sports industry," McGee said.
When he watched the NBA stars do their run-out that day, it clicked.
"I could do this," he said. "This seems pretty fun."
McGee is among the students who have thrived in the Department of Sports, Arts, Entertainment & Music Business' Sports Sales Force, through which students gain real-world sales experience generating tens of thousands of dollars in ticket sales for a variety of venues and teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates.
A psychology major with an SAEM minor, McGee has discovered a passion for an exciting career path and has taken advantage of Point Park's opportunities to connect with working professionals and build his resume.
"With Point Park's Downtown Pittsburgh location, you're exposed to everything," he said. "It's big enough to network but small enough to actually form your community and get direct experience."
Well-Connected Faculty
Point Park students can choose to major or minor in SAEM, and a sports management concentration is offered for SAEM majors. The University just launched a B.S. in Sports Management, another option for students pursuing a sports business career. Both degree programs are taught by industry-experienced professors, including Robert Derda, M.S., a former Pittsburgh Pirates sales and marketing executive.
"The only word I can use to describe Professor Derda's impact on me is profound," McGee said. "He's been in this industry longer than I’ve been alive. I can confidently say that without him, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I’m at as far as opportunities or mental and professional development. He’s been a resource every step of the way."
SAEM faculty's reputations and networks in the industry help open doors for Point Park students. Casey Hutson, manager of sales development for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks, first collaborated with Professor Derda and Point Park's students when she worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins. She hired two of his students during her time there and continues to connect with Point Park at sports sales workshops. She credits Professor Derda's experience and nationwide connections with preparing students for the real world.
"You’ll see him in Atlanta and Cleveland at two of the biggest sports sales workshops for students," she said. "Every team knows who he is."
Hutson emphasized that Professor Derda equips students with the knowledge to succeed in sports sales, not just ace an interview.
"He gives students a sneak peek behind the curtain so that once they’re hired by a team, they know what they’re getting into," she said. "He is preparing them for the role itself. Some students know how to kill an interview and say the right thing. He trains them on the right way to be yourself and take initiative."
Relevant Coursework
Point Park's courses are grounded in faculty's real-world experiences. For example, McGee learned about event management and logistics from Assistant Professor Melinda Colaizzi, the founder of Women Who Rock and Pitch Consulting who has been a leader at global companies like Live Nation/Ticketmaster and ShowClix. He learned about "every nook and cranny of the industry" from Associate Professor Paige Beal, who brings decades of entertainment media technology experience to the classroom. Professor Ed Traversari, a live music and entertainment industry veteran, shares his decades' worth of behind-the-scenes stories with students.
"Every single one of them has so much to offer," McGee said. "Developing relationships with them will allow you to see aspects of the industry that you can’t learn in a textbook."
McGee also said his psychology coursework has "100% translated over" to his sports sales skillset.
"At the end of the day, the principle is the same – you have to earn people's trust," he said. "Whether you’re in a counseling setting or in a sales setting, people need to be able to trust you. Developing that trust and using things like intuition and empathy to really understand people and dig deeper into their responses and the emotions behind them – all of those skills have given me a tremendous benefit in selling and interviewing for jobs."
A Campus in the Heart of the Action
Point Park's Downtown Pittsburgh location has made McGee even more excited for a career in sports sales.
"The sports culture is different in Pittsburgh," he said. "A lot of people have family roots here, so you have 4th, 5th-generation fans of the teams. There’s a passion for sports here that is hard to replicate in other areas."
The mile and a half between PNC Park on the North Shore and PPG Paints Arena in Uptown is populated with venues where students can gain experience volunteering or working part-time jobs. Stage AE and Acrisure Stadium frequently connect with Point Park faculty to offer hands-on experience to students.
"It’s easy to access all these different resources without a lot of time spent traveling," he said. "Being downtown right in the center of all that is unique."
Hands-On Experience
Point Park offers students off-campus opportunities to flex their skills beyond the Sports Sales Force. They participate in workshops and competitions around the country, such as the TeamWork Online Sports Sales Workshop & Job Fair in Cleveland.
McGee traveled to Atlanta for the National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship, where he booked 13 back-to-back interviews across three hours with representatives from NFL, NBA, NHL and NASCAR teams, including the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia Flyers.
"Through my classes, I’ve done a lot of mock interviews," he said. "Professor Derda has helped me get very comfortable selling myself and helping me see how I'm unique compared to other people in the industry. I enter each room confidently and show that I’ve done this, I can do this and I'm actively getting better."
To prepare for the sales competition, McGee had one-on-one practice time with Derda and Cassandra Wangler, Point Park alumna and Pittsburgh Penguins member service representative. She excelled in the competition as a student and shared her insights with McGee.
"The role she played in my preparation was really important, and it makes me excited to do that for other students in the coming years," he said.
Career-Ready Skillset
Wangler is among many SAEM alumni who have landed careers in the sports industry in Pittsburgh and beyond.
Kaelyn Adams '24 landed a role as an inside sales representative for BSE Global, the umbrella company of the Brooklyn Nets. After nurturing connections she made at the TeamWork Online Sports Sales Workshop & Job Fair, she received six job offers before graduation.
As a student, she participated in the Penguins Events Team and sales teams for the Cavaliers, Penguins and Pirates. She interned and worked part-time for the Pirates. She also helped lead the University's Sports Business Camp.
"At Point Park, you are getting the real-world experience in your classes," she said. "You’re getting your hands dirty and doing it. When I told sports professionals how many tickets I had sold on our sales teams, they were impressed that I had already done it. Point Park is not just tests and classes that have nothing to do with your degree."
Olivia Stawovy
Olivia Stawovy '21 '23, who completed the SAEM and MBA programs, is an account executive for group sales at the Pittsburgh Penguins. She participated in the Penguins sales team and events team.
"I’ve always known I wanted to work in sports, but I wasn’t entirely sure which path to take," she said. "During my final semester of grad school, I had the opportunity to intern with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ events department. The timing was perfect, as I was able to learn about their inside sales program while finishing up my internship. After gaining more insight into the program, I realized it was an area that really excited me, and I knew it would be the perfect next step in my career."
Like McGee, Stawovy appreciated that her professors were experts in the field.
"We didn’t just learn from textbooks but from real-world examples and experiences," she said. "One class that stands out to me is Personal Branding & Business Development with Professor Derda. It was in this class that I first learned about sales and even had the opportunity to make cold calls for the Pittsburgh Playhouse."
Point Park played a crucial role in preparing Stawovy for her position.
"They offered numerous opportunities to get involved both on and off campus, allowing me to build valuable relationships with professionals in the industry," she said. "This experience was incredibly important, as relationship-building is a key aspect of my role today, particularly when connecting with prospective clients."