Online Round: November 1-15, 2023
School admins, professors, or students without a professor/coach, register here.
Recruiters and Sponsors register here and/or contact Lane_Wakefield@baylor.edu.
In-Person Round: Date TBA (February 2024), State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA, hosted by the Atlanta Hawks
Professionals: Pros in the fields of sports and entertainment play the buyer and judge roles in professional sales role-plays.
Over 90 organizations were involved in the 2022-23 school year including the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Clippers, Legends, New York mets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, NASCAR, New York Islanders, Peak Sports, Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Union, Phoenix Suns, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Antonio Spurs, Taymar, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders, and the Chicago White Sox.
Over 70 colleges and universities from around the country participated last year, including Baylor, Berry, Bethel, Dayton, Florida State, Kansas State, Loras, Massachusetts, Mercer, Miami (OH), Neumann, Northern Illinoi, Point Park, Robert Morris, Samford, Trine, Wilmington and more.
New for 2024: Competitive Research Poster Session: See the Call for Papers
All participants in the role-play tournaments must be graduating in the ’23-’24 school year (December ’23, May/Summer ’24). Grad students are welcome if they have no professional selling experience. Freshman-Juniors are welcome to attend the in-person championship to participate in the Speed Sell Challenge and experience the rest of the program.
There are two divisions in the NCSSC:
- Ticket Sales
- Corporate Partnerships
Download this year’s 2023-24 NCSSC Virtual Study Guide to prepare.
See photos from the 2023 Championship in Atlanta.
How the Virtual Round Works
The Virtual Round is a seeding round for students and a recruiting opportunity for teams and organizations. Up to 4 students from each school may participate in either division. Students should not participate in both divisions.
Student competitors individually play the “seller” role and recruiters/volunteers play the “buyer” role. All details on the role-play scenario are in the Study Guide. All pitches are given by individual students–they do not work as a team to pitch together.
In the virtual round, sellers and buyers are assigned. Sellers (student competitors) must schedule and complete their sales pitch with the buyer anytime between Nov. 1-15.
Here’s an example of a student pitching.
Results (and all pertinent announcements) are posted on LinkedIn in early December.
Seeding in the in-person championship bracket depends on the performance of all student competitors from the same school in each division, respectively. Schools with 2-4 individuals pitching will receive a ranking for their school and will rank higher than schools with only 1 individual competing.
Thanks to the Atlanta Hawks for hosting the in-person championship at State Farm Arena. The Hawks go above and beyond to make an excellent experience for students preparing for their career in sports sales. Go Hawks!
2023 Program (2024 will be similar)
Monday, February 27th
8:30 AM Check-in at State Farm Arena – Gate 1 – CNN Center
9:30 AM Opening Ceremony
Featured Speaker: Steve Koonin, CEO, Atlanta Hawks
10:00 AM Round of 64 (Ticket Sales)
11:15 AM Round of 32 (Ticket Sales) – Veranda and Loft Levels
Speed Selling – Suite Level Event Space
12:00 PM Lunch at State Farm Arena
-1:15 PM
1:30 PM Round of 16 (Ticket Sales) – Veranda Level
Headshot Photos Begin and Speed Selling continues – Suite Level Event Space
Round of 32 begins (Corporate Partnerships) – Loft Level
2:30 PM Round of 8 (Ticket Sales) – Veranda Level
Round of 16 (Corporate Partnerships) – Loft Level
3:00 PM The Importance of Integrity – Suite Level Event Space
- Lane Wakefield, Baylor University
- Jon Adler, Atlanta Hawks
3:30 PM Selling Yourself on Mental Health
- Eric Kussin, SameHere Global
Final 4 (Ticket Sales) – Veranda Level
Elite 8 (Corporate Partnerships) – Loft Level
4:10 PM Women in Sports Panel, presented by BSE Global – Suite Level Event Space
- Courtney Campbell (BSE Global/Brooklyn Nets), Katie Parkins, Rachael Starr, Angela Spence, Britt Obi-Tabot (Hawks)
5:00 PM Championship round (Ticket Sales) – Suite Level Event Space
Final 4 (Corporate Partnerships) – Loft Level
5:45 PM Championship round (Corporate Partnerships) – Suite Level Event Space
6:30 PM State Farm Arena Tours – Starting in Suite Level Event Space
7:00 PM Dinner at Club at State Farm Arena
Featured Speaker: Eric Kussin, “The Best Sellers are Healthy Sellers: Understanding the Minds of Gen Z”
7:30 PM Award Ceremony
Featured Speaker: Andrew Saltzman, CRO, Atlanta Hawks
Tuesday, February 28th
(Day 2)
(State Farm Arena Gate 1 – CNN Center Entrance)
9:00 AM Hawks Interviews – Suite Level
All Other Interviews – Loft Level
*Game ticket pickup table will be located at CNN Entrance at the conclusion of interviews.
12:00 PM Free time: Lunch on your own, offsite interviewing, socials, meetings, and sightseeing
6:15 PM Doors Open
7:30 PM Game: Hawks v Wizards
