An internship with the Tasmania Devils has a group of business students dreaming of a career in the state’s booming sports industry.
Eight Bachelor of Business students spent a day each week throughout semester two working with the Devils on projects including match-day operations, mascot engagement, social impact and even how to pick the right team song.
The students completed diplomas at the Tasmania Academy of Leadership and Sport (TALS), meaning they could then go on to the University of Tasmania and complete a Bachelor of Business in a further 18 months.
Blake Sutton has already secured a part-time job with Cricket Tasmania out of the TALS program and worked on running a match-day with his Devils mentor.
“We all get to see the end result and get to live that experience of being in the grandstand,” he said.
“But what goes into it is several weeks of back-and-forth with stakeholders, budgeting and making sure everyone's in the right place at the right time.”
The former Claremont College student said the program had given him the change he needed after 10 years in the food industry, and he was now aiming for a career in sport and even a Master of Business Administration.
“I took the leap and signed up to the University, had some friends through TALS that I was able to rely on and get support from and give support to,” he said.
“I’ve nearly finished my second semester and I’m thriving with grades and feeling really good about it.”
Grace Wells spent her 11 weeks at the Devils looking into AFL and international mascots and what makes them successful.
“There's actually a few mascots whose social media accounts have a bigger following than the team’s,” she said.
“So people are actually learning about the mascots before they're learning about the teams.”
Among the other placements, Jordan Christopher looked at women in sport, First Nations representation and raising awareness of mental health issues.
“I coach basketball and seeing how coaching impacts participation and how the education of coaches can help was really interesting,” he said.
TALS is an education program led by Tasmania Football Club in partnership with Tasmania JackJumpers, Hobart Hurricanes, Netball Tasmania and TasTAFE.
The first-of-its-kind partnership with the University creates an accelerated 2.5-year university degree pathway for budding sports administrators.
Learn more about Business courses at the University of Tasmania.