I interviewed Nick Baril from the University of Tulsa on March 15, 2024.

He is the head

equipment manager for Olympic sports at the school. I chose him because he has NFL

experience and has worked with many pro athletes. He has a fascinating insight because he has

worked in collegiate and professional fields. Once my playing career is over, I would also like to

work with athletes, and I think equipment could be a tremendous fit years later. Nick has been at

The University of Tulsa since 2021 when he started as the assistant director of athletic

equipment. He began his career at Oklahoma State University as a student assistant. Eventually,

he worked his way up to being employed by the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys as an

associate equipment manager. He eventually moved on to the University of Tulsa, seeking a

higher position in the field near where he had called home during his college years.

The University of Tulsa's mission statement is "To surround the collegiate athlete with a

positive, enthusiastic, high-level work environment that fosters a sense of responsibility and

accountability not only to the individual athlete but the betterment of the team, thereby enriching

the overall sports experience" (University of Tulsa 2024). The mission statement above is from

the athletic department and their mission statement. I think it is essential to look at the athletics

mission statement over the school in general because it focuses on the school's research aspect

and academics and does not touch or focus on the athletics side.

The clients served by The University of Tulsa Olympic equipment staff are student-

athletes besides football. It is a mix of male and female student-athletes. The Olympic staff will

ultimately service a slightly higher amount of female student-athletes due to the Title XI

regulations that balance scholarships. Since football has 85 scholarships, there has to be an equal

number of opportunities on campus for female students, and football has its equipment manager,
so the Olympic staff has more female athletes. To receive services from the equipment staff, you

must be a student-athlete enrolled at the University of Tulsa and enrolled in at least 12 credits, an

NCAA regulation for all student-athletes. Taking anything below 12 credits, you are considered

part-time and unable to compete in sports unless there is an exception or a waiver for specific

situations. The geographic locations of the student-athletes vary; most come from the Midwest of

Oklahoma but can be from anywhere in the world. As long as student-athletes are at the school,

they can participate in programs and services provided by the University of Tulsa Olympic

Equipment Staff.

Programs and services look different depending on the team Baril is helping out with, but

he typically helps set up practices, brings out equipment for practice, and sets up and helps run

drills for the team. He usually gets to the field or court about an hour before the practices start

and brings out balls for soccer and basketball, bats and balls for softball and other equipment

depending on the sport. He also does the laundry for the teams, and each student-athlete is issued

a loop to put all their clothing from practice or lift on, and then it is returned to them the next

day. The required facility is an equipment room with at least two industrial washers and two

dryers. He leads a team of assistants and students to service all the sports. He also houses

equipment in the equipment room and has a cubby for each student-athlete to lay out gear and

other apparel and equipment to issue to players. His office is also in the back of the equipment

room, where student-athletes can come in and talk to him about issues they are having with their

equipment or practice and game gear. His days are spent running from sport to sport, and he

rarely has much free time. He has learned a lot of time management skills and can manage

people well.
 The University of Tulsa has four full-time equipment managers and two part-time

employees. However, there are two for Olympic sports, one part-time and two full-time, and one

assistant for football equipment. All the total-time equipment managers report to athletic director

Rick Dickson, and the part-time employees report directly to one of the total-time managers.

Each team is allocated a certain amount for apparel, practice, and game equipment. The

equipment managers are then supposed to budget the funds, speak with the individual head

coaches, and determine what each team needs and wants. The equipment room and facilities are

maintained and paid for by the school and not taken from the individual team's budgets.

Nick gave me a lot of great information in the interview and spent a lot of time speaking

with me. This sounds very interesting and something I could see myself doing in the future.

However, the time commitment is something that worries me. Right now, Nick does not have a

wife or kids, and he told me he often works late or has to come in early. One day, I would like to

have a family, and I am not sure the hours are very accommodating for that early on. If I were to

start early like Nick, I could work my way up to a more administrative role with better hours, but

I would like to be hands-on and work with teams directly instead of dealing with paperwork,

purchase orders, HR issues, etc. Overall, I think this could be an excellent opportunity for me,

and I will talk to our equipment managers here and see their perspective on it. I think a lot of

positives came out of this interview, and reopened my eyes as to how much I love sports and

reminded me that I want to be around them for as long as I can.