The 2022 NCAA Women’s Final Four culminated Sunday in Minneapolis with the University of South Carolina triumphing over the University of Connecticut. For 30+ sport management MEd students in the School of Kinesiology, the championship game wrapped up an action-packed weekend working various Final Four-related events from Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 3 including Tourney Town, the Coaches Convention, and the youth-focused Bounce parade.
The MEd students are enrolled in Dr. Clint Warren‘s KIN 5115: Event Management in Sport course. At the start of the semester, Warren announced that involvement in the NCAA Women’s Final Four would be central to their coursework. He also invited KIN 5115 students from 2021 to participate.
“This course teaches planning, funding and management of sporting events of all kinds, from the collegiate-level to nonprofit to community-based events,” says Warren. “The NCAA Women’s Final Four taking place locally provided a one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to obtain real boots-on-the ground experience and connect their classroom learnings to a major, national, sports event.”
Minneapolis’ selection as the NCAA Women’s Final Four host site is no coincidence. The city underwent a rigorous vetting process and was ultimately selected by the NCAA for a number of reasons, one of which is the influence of University of Minnesota women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Whalen. As reported in the New York Times, “Whalen’s story is just one of many that explain how Minneapolis, which is hosting the 2022 women’s Final Four, became one of the country’s most fervent women’s basketball communities.”
Every KIN 5115 student worked two (or more!) 4-hour shifts throughout the Women’s Final Four festivities. “I had an amazing weekend working with wonderful volunteers from Minnesota and 22 other states. I learned so much about all of the work that goes into making an event of this magnitude happen,” says MEd student Carmen Middleton. “Working in sports means long days, but getting to watch South Carolina win and the confetti fall is what it is all about!”
“This weekend was a great experience. I had so much fun helping with the Bounce, it was great getting to see 2,000 children have so much fun,” adds MEd student Laura Wagner. “It was great to see what we have been discussing in class in real life. We were lucky enough to get an inside look at the steps needed to host an event as big as the Final Four.”
