Six University of Tennessee at Martin students returned Oct. 14 from what may be the best experience they ever have. The group left Oct. 3 for London.
The students and Dr. Dexter Davis, a professor of sport business, traveled to London to work at two National Football League games, helping them gain experience in the business side of sports.
The games were played Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the New York Jets playing the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 6 and the Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the Chicago Bears on Oct. 13.
Those UTM students who took part were Connor Butts, a junior mass media and strategic communication major from Vanleer; Lindsey Cross, a senior management major from Smyrna; Jaden Knott, a senior management major from South Fulton; Haley Olsen, a sophomore management major from Mount Pleasant; Cheyenne Stewart, a senior management major from Centerville; and Bridget Vieau, a graduate student from Syracuse, New York, seeking her Master of Business Administration.
Tottenham Hotspur is the official home of the NFL in the United Kingdom, with a current partnership through the 2029-30 season. It is the only stadium outside of the United States purpose-built for NFL games. It has hosted two games in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, and will host a minimum of two games each season through the end of the current partnership.
The students trained in London with Moonshot, the NFL’s customer-service employee training program. At the stadium, the students were part of the customer-service recognition crew, providing rewards to customer-service workers for outstanding service.
“On game day, when the employees came into the stadium, we gave them gifts from the NFL,” Davis said. “On the first game, we gave a pin that commemorates the game. The pin is in the shape of the NFL shield and says, ‘London 2024’ on it. What is actually pretty cool is seeing pins from the previous year, indicating that they are a collectible.
“(Customer service workers) check in, they come through the door, and we say, ‘Good morning! Have a great game day! Here’s a gift from the NFL.’ Staff had to be in the stadium by 11 a.m., gates open at 12 and the game starts at 2:30. So, between 12 and 2:30, we would walk around inside and outside the stadium with little packets of gifts from the NFL to hand out to people doing a superior job of customer service.”
Davis said that there were two levels of gift recipient: “First Downs,” which were those doing over and above what they were supposed to do, and “Touchdowns,” which were people doing extraordinary work.
“Our work was kind of done by the kickoff,” he said. “We had conversation – there were our six students and six others who were associated directly with Moonshot – and we asked if anyone saw someone who did a really outstanding thing.
“There was a guy in a wheelchair, and his wheelchair was stuck and he couldn’t get across the grate. This steward just literally ran up to him and said, ‘Sir, can I help you?’ and he helped the gentleman get into the stadium and, ultimately, to his spot in the handicapped seating area, so the steward got this miniature commemorative helmet as a gift from the NFL.”
While in London, the students also took in a Premier League soccer game, saw the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and toured other sites, including Wimbledon and Lord’s Cricket Ground. They even stayed in a hotel on the edge of the Olympic Village from the 2012 Olympics.
“The first Friday (Oct. 4), after catching up on some sleep, we did a self-guided tour of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,” Davis said. “The first thing that we encountered was the natatorium where Michael Phelps set a bunch of records. You get to see the diving well at one end, the Olympic-sized competition pool at one end, then there’s a big lobby, and on the other end is the warmup pool. The warmup pool has a moveable wall so you can make it Olympic length or half of an Olympic length or one-third of an Olympic length, which is an interesting feature.
“One of the things that London has done a real good job of is creating a legacy. So, the day that we were there, that warmup pool was packed with school kids. They were doing swimming lessons and free swim and things like that.”
On Oct. 5, the group took in a West Ham United soccer game, marking the first time for all but one of the students to experience a professional soccer competition.
“It was really interesting: The chants, the singing, the passion of Premier League soccer fans,” Davis said. “One of the students didn’t stand up when they got a goal, and she got yelled at for not being ‘a real fan.’ It was a really fun experience.”
The UTM group also toured the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, known informally as Wimbledon, perhaps the most famous site for professional tennis tournaments.
On Oct. 9, the group took “the tube” into London and Buckingham Palace and watched the Changing of the Guard, with all of its pomp and circumstance.
“After that ceremony, we walked to Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square, eventually making our way to Trafalgar Square and dinner in a local restaurant,” Davis said. “One of the most unique aspects of the trip was a tour of the Marylebone Cricket Club, also known as Lord’s Cricket Ground and Museum. None of us, including myself, were familiar with cricket, but the history was amazing, and the international nature of sport made for a very interesting tour.
“On Oct. 11, we wrapped up our ‘tourist’ activities. We took the train to Borough Market, one of the oldest and largest open-air food markets in London. The food choices were endless! From there, we walked across the Tower Bridge, and we went along the river (Thames) and saw the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, and we walked back across the London Bridge and went to a local pub for lunch.”
The students kept journals about their experience and were asked to share their material a couple of times throughout the trip and when the group returned home.
“They all talked about the international experience, their first time out of the country, the different cultures – that kind of thing,” Davis said. “One of the things that stood out from the journal entries was the passion that they saw in the European fans for soccer and for American football. They got to compare Saturday (the West Ham United soccer game) to Sunday (the NFL game) and the passion the fans had: the singing, the chants – all that.
“Then, there was the cultural experience of having to get everywhere with a train, overground or underground. Just the complexity of that type of activity and how the city is laid out so that public transportation can be used – that was an interesting piece of it.”
While this is Davis’ first time to take a group of students overseas to work at a sports venue, it is not his first venture with students into professional sports. He has taken UT Martin students to work at the last 11 Super Bowls.
“Overall, it was a really great experience,” he said. “I think the kids had a good time. I had a good time, especially being with the kids.
“We’ve been invited back. It’s expensive, but quite frankly, it was worth it to provide kids from West Tennessee who don’t get those kinds of opportunities every day. That’s why we’re here. That’s one of the reasons the institution exists: global education. We are a global society.”
PHOTO: UT Martin students working at two NFL games in London pose in front of a telephone booth along Great George Street with Big Ben and Parliament in the background. Shown are (L-R) Jaden Knott, Connor Butts, Haley Olsen, Lindsey Cross, Cheyenne Stewart and Bridget Vieau.
