Nick Schimminger

RPTM 101

March 27, 2024

Career Report

For this assignment, I interviewed Jessica Sallurday, an events manager for the 2024

Men’s Final Four Phoenix Local Organizing Committee. I talked to Jessica through a Zoom call

on February 26, 2024. I wanted to learn more about what Jessica does because I am a big fan of

NCAA basketball and March Madness, and I want to work in the sports industry. Since March

Madness is one of the biggest weeks of the year in sports, I was curious as to what an events

manager does to prepare. Jessica Sallurday attended Penn State, where she majored in

Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM) and minored in photography. She started

her current role with the Final Four in July of 2023, and, as it is a contract job, it will end in May

2024. Previously, Jessica worked a seasonal role with the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, for which she

was a game and event operations coordinator. While a student at Penn State, Jessica was an

operational intern for the football program. Jessica went into the RPTM program wanting a

cross between hospitality, athletics, and event management, and she has found opportunities to

work in that crossover through her recent jobs.

I thought it was particularly interesting that Jessica is employed by a local organization,

but it works closely with the NCAA in planning this year’s Final Four. Jessica’s employer is the

Arizona Major Event Host Committee. This organization has changed names, as it aligns its

name with the ongoing major event. Jessica said when the Super Bowl was in Arizona, the

organization was called the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. This contract job ends shortly
after the NCAA Tournament is completely over, and the workers move on to whatever is next,

which I thought was an interesting part about being an event manager: there needs to be big

events where you live/work. Until the women’s Final Four comes to Phoenix in 2026, Jessica’s

role and employer are dormant. The three guiding principles of the Phoenix Local Organizing

Committee are to showcase Arizona on a global platform, fuel the economic engine for the

region, and leave a lasting legacy in Arizona. The local organization does not have its own

mission statement, but the NCAA does have one. The NCAA’s mission is to “provide a world-

class athletics and academic experience for student-athletes that fosters lifelong well-being”

(National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2024, para. 1). While the local organization’s

principles are more focused on showcasing Arizona, the NCAA wants to set student-athletes up

for success.

In terms of clientele at the events Jessica manages, much of her work deals with partners

and stakeholders. She caters to CEOs of local companies, their guests, and employees who are

receiving ticket packages from the local committee’s program. Jessica does not work as much

with the public, as most of her involvement is catered towards the internal stakeholders and the

board of directors. There are different tiers that stakeholders buy into, like sponsorship of an

event. Other times, they want to be more directly involved and help bring an event to life. They

give money and, in return, they get tickets to specialty events, such as major golf events. Jessica

said those that contribute the higher dollar value end up with more tickets or higher-premium

experiences. All the partners that the local committee deals with are geographically local to

Arizona. For the NCAA’s Final Four events, the local committee has national partners that help

them put on those major events. Since fans are coming from all over the country to watch the

final games of the NCAA Tournament, Fan Fest is hosted by the NCAA and its partners at the
Phoenix Convention Center. This event is open to the public and is centered around all things

basketball. It is a chance to be involved without going to the games, which are very expensive,

since they are the final games of the national tournament.

The local organizing committee wants to put on a good show for the city and all its

stakeholders so they will continue to invest in big events in Arizona. Beyond sports but still

within the realm of RPTM, the local organizing committee hosts a music festival that takes place

at a public park. They work with facilities around Arizona where events can be held. Major

sporting events are held at professional sports stadiums to maximize the number of people that

can attend. This year’s Final Four is at State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL's Arizona

Cardinals.

There are 25 people on the staff at the local committee, including some full-time workers

and 8 interns. Jessica said there are lots of volunteers, and those volunteers are the reason these

events can happen. With a staff of around 25 at the local level, it can be hard to split people up

at different locations to manage everything that is going on. There are around 1,500-2,000

volunteers slated for the Final Four this year.

The 2024 Men’s Final Four Phoenix Local Organizing Committee is a 501(c)3 nonprofit

organization. Local partnerships are the reason this committee is able to make money to pay

staff and maintain programs. Jessica said the committee has a very invested board of directors

and local partners that love to have major events in Arizona and continue to buy into them. This

is the first time in a while that Arizona has gone back-to-back with major events, hosting Super

Bowl LVII last year and now the Final Four.

Jessica gets to host major parties for big names in the state of Arizona. Some of the

opportunities include golf tournaments at premiere courses, thank-you parties at top venues, and
networking events with elaborate food spreads and gifts. Jessica said it can be challenging to

balance the expectations of partners. They pay a lot of money and invest in one’s company, so

they expect great events in return. Jessica discussed how these partners have a fresh set of eyes

following the Super Bowl being held in Arizona in 2023. She says it can be hard to live up to the

Super Bowl expectations with not quite the budget of the Super Bowl.

Jessica said there are so many challenging and exciting aspects of working in the field of

RPTM. She said working with city partners can have its ups and downs. Jessica had an

operational seminar and had to think about what would happen in a disaster scenario. She

listened to the police and fire departments explain how employees and entities should handle

certain situations. I think it is interesting to think about what you would do if disaster struck at a

major event, especially if you are working the event. Nobody wants to plan for these types of

scenarios, but RPTM professionals must be ready for anything.

I learned a lot from Jessica, whose role has exposed her to so many diverse and high-

stakes work experiences so early in her career. As I think more about my career aspirations, I

will consider optimal locations for event management opportunities, the difference between

working with internal stakeholders vs. fans/attendees, and the type of forethought that is required

to safely host massive crowds.

 References

National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2024). Mission and Priorities.

https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2021/6/28/mission-and-priorities.aspx