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Nothing says networking in the sports industry like working at the NFL Draft when it’s hosted by the storied Pittsburgh Steelers franchise.

That’s where a group of six undergraduate students at the ��ɬֱ��'s College of Business went to volunteer among some 800,000 avid fans to learn firsthand about fan engagement, sports marketing, and career tips from the legendary former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert, who met with the UNE group privately.

“He was such a down-to-Earth guy, not like a prized Pittsburgh native. He was talking to us like a dad,” said Keigan Shea (Business Administration, ’26). “The professional networking I did there, I plan to take all of that into my future career and reach out to those people again.”

A number of the UNE College of Business students called the experience “the chance of a lifetime.” And they’re not wrong. Only 14 other colleges or universities from across the country participated as paid workers at the Draft, and UNE was the only school from New England.

The entire experience was orchestrated by UNE Teaching Professor Aimee Vlachos, Ed.D., director of UNE’s Outdoor Business and Innovation program, who is making a career out of helping her students get hands-on sports marketing opportunities with professional sports industry leaders.

In the case of this year’s NFL Draft, Vlachos leveraged her deep ties with the Rooney family, who own the Steelers. The event was a mix of working two days, meeting with high-level sports executives, and taking in a world-class sporting event attended by hundreds of thousands of fans.

“I grew up around sports. So, it’s always interesting to me to see behind the scenes of a professional sports team,” said Hannah Cook (Sport Leadership and Management, ’27), a guard on the UNE women’s basketball team who also participated in a recent UNE trip to Dublin, Ireland, to work at the Steelers’ game against the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL’s first regular-season game in the country.

“We had free time to go walk around during Draft day and at night when they were doing the picks. It was really cool, something not everyone gets to see,” Cook added. “I was able to build a bunch of connections there through networking. 

“I think one of the big things you can do for yourself is networking and getting to know as many people as possible,” Cook offered. 

The UNE students worked at the 40-yard dash and field-goal-kicking station that allowed fans to test their skills on a football field. A highlight was working at the station with the Steelers’ six Vince Lombardi trophies, where fans who waited on an hour-long line could snap photos beside the Super Bowl trophies.

But Vlachos didn’t stop there: She also arranged for a meeting with Colbert, who led the Steelers between 2000 to 2021 to two Super Bowl championship wins and, across town at another sports stadium, with Kris Brown, director of promotions and entertainment for the Riverhounds Football Club, Pittsburgh’s Major League Soccer club.

One piece of advice Colbert offered stuck with Shea: Find something you love.

“He was basically saying you should find something you love because that is what will keep you wanting to show up for work every day. He did it for 22 years; he won two Super Bowls. He was nearly in the NFL for a quarter century, that’s very impressive,” Shea said. “I plan to keep that with me as I look toward my career now.”

Nick Corneau (Sport Leadership and Management, ’27) met a football analyst on the Steelers staff while working at the event, a connection that already showed him another possible option for his future career. It was one of many networking connections Corneau made in Pittsburgh.

He also said building stronger connections with other UNE students interested in careers in sports leadership was another meaningful aspect of the trip.

“It was a huge networking opportunity. We didn’t just work at one activation spot; we were at several," Corneau said. “And being able to work alongside UNE classmates, as well, was phenomenal. It was an honor to work with every single one of them on this trip, to learn their stories.”