Written by Sean Hanrahan

I have been a sports fanatic my entire life. Throughout middle and high school, I played football, basketball, baseball and ran track and field. My favorite sport has always been football and I used to dream about becoming a professional athlete and playing in the NFL in front of thousands of fans. I am extremely passionate about sports and spend most of my free time watching live games or watching highlights on social media. In high school, I took every marketing course that my school offered. I was enrolled in Marketing I during my sophomore year, and since then I have been in love with marketing. I was fortunate enough to be able to take a Sports and Entertainment Marketing course during high school; it was easily the best class I have ever taken. Since then, I have always envisioned myself working in some type of marketing role within the professional sports industry.  

When I came to The University of New Hampshire in the Fall of 2020 as a student, I felt as if a part of me was missing. I was no longer a student athlete and for the first time in eight years, I was not a part of a football team to start the school year. Eventually, during my sophomore year at UNH, I learned about the Wildcat Internship Program through a connection I had previously made. I was encouraged to apply for the program, and after going through the application and interview process, I was accepted as a Marketing and Promotions Intern for UNH Athletics for the 2022-2023 school year! The following Fall when I returned to campus, I was introduced to the Athletics Staff and began working right away. I was excited to continue to be involved with athletics even if I was not able to be playing sports.  

Beginnings with the Wildcat Internship Program 

During the first home football game of the year, I was tasked with escorting one of UNH’s mascots, Gnarlz, throughout the day, from the tailgates to the stadium. My main responsibilities were to take pictures of fans with Gnarlz for them to post on social media, but I also acted as his bodyguard, just in case a rowdy fan took things too far.  

Over the course of the year, I worked at many different sporting events, completing an array of various tasks. I worked at multiple football, hockey and basketball games, as well as a few gymnastics meets. I had many different jobs. I operated spotlights for player introductions, I escorted mascots around the stadiums, I coordinated and executed in-game fan promotions, I threw T Shirts to fans, I captured content in the form of pictures and videos to create social media posts, I handed out free promotional items to fans such as towels and hats, I operated the audio and music during sporting events, I cleaned teddy bears off the ice rink during UNH’s holiday teddy bear toss and gift drive, I even got to pick up the fish off the ice after the first goal of a UNH Hockey game, per tradition. Marketing Interns for UNH Athletics wear a lot of different hats and it was certainly stressful at first, but as the year went on, I was able to handle the stress better.  

Switching Tracks 

I returned as a Marketing and Promotions Intern for UNH Athletics for the 2023-2024 school year, however I switched to Communications Intern halfway through the year to learn new skills. My favorite moment of my Wildcat Internship Program experience came during the fall of the ’23-24 year. During the Family Weekend Football Game, I was working in the video production booth in the top of Wildcat Stadium and was in charge of playing all music and audio for the stadium. It was a daunting task; I was nervous at first and scared to make any mistake. As the game progressed, I found my groove and it ended up being one of the most fun days of my life. It was so rewarding to press ‘play’ on a song and look out over a stadium jam packed with over 10,000 people all jumping and getting hyped to the song of your choice.  

Later in the year, after the football season, I switched to a Communications intern to take on new responsibilities and try some new things. As a Comms. Intern, I control the social media accounts for all the sports teams, as well as UNH Athletics. During my time as a Comms. Intern, I have made graphics to post on socials, recorded and entered game stats during hockey games, captured and uploaded game clips to social media, written game recaps for basketball games, as well as captured crowd energy and game highlights to post on Instagram Stories and interview athletes for local news channels. 

What I Have Learned 

Throughout my time in the Wildcat Internship Program, the most important thing I learned is that there are a lot of moving parts in the production of a DI college gameday experience. Through my experience, I have seen that there is way more going on behind the scenes than fans see. I have learned about video production and seen how the games are recorded and how it is turned into a live broadcast for thousands to see. I have learned how stats are tracked and recorded and how to relay pertinent information with reporters on the sideline and in the press box. I have been able to work closely with athletes and fans to understand what kinds of things excite them about game days and how the atmosphere can be improved for a better experience. Some of the more tangible takeaways have been new skills in Microsoft Office applications and in Adobe Photoshop. I have learned effective ways to write press releases and game recaps. I now know how to use import visuals into Photoshop and how to edit them to create eye catching graphics.  

It has been a big responsibility being a Marketing Intern for UNH Athletics. The marketing team is often the first and last people that fans interact with when they attend a sporting event at the University of New Hampshire. This means we are responsible for helping fans, answering any questions they may have, all while creating the most exciting and engaging gameday experience as possible. As the face of UNH Athletics, the Wildcat Internship Program has tremendously developed my professional abilities and improved professional confidence.  

If you are interested in working in sports at the University of New Hampshire, click here to learn more about working with UNH Athletics through the Wildcat Internship Program.