By Elijah Mckenzie

The University of Louisville’s Department of Health and Sport Sciences is designed to prepare its students to be leaders in all areas of sports management.
 But are students in the program really getting the chance to prove themselves as leaders?
When it comes to management training, what could be more beneficial than actual hands-on experience?
The Sport Event Management program at U of L has placed full responsibility on its students as they will be hosting their 12th consecutive golf scramble at Polo Field’s Country Club in Louisville. 
The students in the program will be given the liberty to fully take the reins in the event, leading in tasks such as sponsorship, registration, auctions, promotion and publicity.
“We get a real opportunity to test ourselves in a variety of relevant fields in the sports industry,” said Maggie Ray, a graduate student of the Event Management class and event coordinator for the scramble.
But the benefits of the event go beyond experience. The class made the decision this year to donate the proceeds and sports equipment to the Louisville/Southern Indiana Boys and Girls Club.
However, this kind of charity is not a new concept to the Sports Event Management Program.
“Last year, we selected an underprivileged school, Atkinson Elementary, and provided them with a substantial amount of physical education equipment,” said Christopher Greenwell, an associate professor who been at the helm of the Event Management class for almost a decade.
“It is expected that students will develop an appreciation for community service through these
efforts,” Greenwell said. 
Through these ongoing yearly sporting events, students will learn to apply such marketing techniques to their own future careers.
With all the publicity that the golf scramble generates, local and national corporations partner with the program to fund scholarships for the Event Management class.
So far this year, Denny’s, Heavenly Ham, Comedy Caravan, Orthopedic Specialists, Dan-D Signs, Gray’s Bookstore, Sodexo and Coca-Cola have all made contributions to the upcoming event.
But corporate involvement does more than just raise money for the program.
“Each sponsor seeks something different from the partnership,” Greenwell said. “Students have to be creative to design and negotiate sponsorships that are beneficial to the event and to the sponsor.”
This kind of involvement in the promotion and marketing of such a longstanding event is an incredible tutorial for the students in the event management program.
As further proof that the students are truly in charge of all facets of the event, they were given the choice to decide when and where to hold the scramble.
Their decision was Monday, April 13 at Polo Field’s Country Club.
“Last year’s event gave us a lot of momentum, but we hope to do more than just duplicate their success,” said Ray of the group’s goals for their upcoming scramble next week.
The group, Ray says, is dedicated to building upon past events.
“Our intentions,” said Ray, “are to make the scramble as memorable for the participants as possible.”