K-State student takes sixth at National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship
Friday, March 11, 2022
Morgan Waterman, left, and Collin Thompson, right, at the National Sports Sales Championship in Atlanta. They were accompanied by Doug Walker, center, associate professor of marketing. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University marketing student Morgan Waterman, senior, Ottawa, has earned a sixth-place finish at the recent National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship in Atlanta.
Waterman and team members Christian Peak, December 2021 bachelor's graduate in marketing, Lenexa, and Collin Thompson, team coach and senior in marketing, Olathe, qualified for the national competition after earning fifth place in the preliminary round, which was conducted virtually. More than 200 students from 60-plus schools competed.
For the national championship, Waterman and Thompson represented K-State in the event's 64-person bracket. Both went on to make the Sweet 16, with Waterman advancing to the Elite Eight and a sixth-place finish.
The National Collegiate Sports Sales Championship was hosted by the Atlanta Hawks and Baylor University's S3 program. The pair was accompanied to Atlanta by Doug Walker, associate professor of marketing, and their trip was sponsored by the marketing department in the College of Business.
"Morgan and Collin represented us very well in Atlanta," Walker said. "Their training and commitment to preparing for the event certainly paid off. Any sports organization would be fortunate to have them as part of their sales team."
Both Waterman and Thompson are enrolled in the business of sports and entertainment certificate program in K-State's College of Business. The program prepares students for a career in the sports and entertainment industries, as well as in corporations that market through sports and entertainment. This is accomplished with hands-on, real-time experiential learning opportunities and courses such as Sports Marketing, Entertainment Marketing, Sports Economics, Sports Management and Fundamentals of Professional Selling.
While at the national championship, Waterman and Thompson also attended discussion panels, networked with other students, interviewed with professional sports teams such as the Atlanta Hawks, NASCAR, Arizona Coyotes, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Commanders, toured the State Farm Arena, explored Atlanta and attended an Atlanta Hawks game.
