Sebastian Martin ’22 Found His Dream Job Working for the NFL
By Judith Kelliher
For Sebastian Martin ’22, a typical day in his job as coordinator, event operations, and accreditation for the NFL is anything but typical. That’s because, whether working in the office or onsite for an event, he is faced with new challenges and opportunities to learn every day.
Since starting the job in September 2023, and moving back home to the metropolitan area, Martin’s main responsibilities are to oversee all accreditation and access control for large-scale NFL events, which include: the Super Bowl, NFL draft, international games, and Scouting Combine. Specifically, he must understand the full operations plan that goes into pulling off each of these major events and what every group and company is doing on game day, along with their responsibilities and roles leading up to each event.
There’s also the bonus of other intangibles.
“For my whole life, I always lived or worked on the East Coast. Since joining the NFL, I have had the opportunity to visit multiple countries in Europe and South America, along with the West Coast and Midwest of the United States. This opportunity to travel the world, work, and experience different cultures is something that has opened my perspective on life,” Martin said.
Through the education and relationships he fostered while at Springfield College in the Sport Management program, Martin has had an internship and full-time role in the MLS, which eventually landed him at the NFL. In particular, the guidance and mentorship he received from two Sport Management faculty members at the time, Robert Accorsi and John Borland, was invaluable.
Each one of them taught Martin life lessons that he uses every day in his career. Borland forced him out of his comfort zone, whether it was in the classroom or personally, and gave him the confidence to excel at his job. Borland taught him the importance of communication and representing oneself in a professional manner at all times. Accorsi changed Martin’s perspective on how valuable first impressions are and how to treat everyone with the same respect.
“Accorsi’s exceptional ability to teach and model effective customer service has been instrumental in providing me with the knowledge and foundation for my professional growth.” Martin said.
As part of the Sport Management program, successfully completing a semester-long internship is a requirement to graduate. Martin’s stint with Sporting Kansas City in the spring of 2022, as a stadium and event operations intern was beneficial in a number of ways. As a junior in college, he was always nervous about interviewing and applying for jobs. Applying for 10-plus internships gave him the confidence to not only improve his interview skills but also develop a professional resume.
“I took a leap of faith and moved out to Kansas City on my own for four months and lived with the Normans who were my host family as I was connected to them through Springfield College alumni. The willingness to pack up my things and drive cross-country gave me the confidence to learn things on my own and become independent,” he said. “Breaking into the sport industry prior to graduation is a massive advantage when applying to full-time jobs post-graduation.”
In looking to the future of the field of Sport Management, Martin sees it diversifying.
“With the current state of sports gambling and name, image, and likeness deals, the sport management field has the opportunity to grow even more; especially, with the growth of women in the sport industry and women’s professional sports. The field of sport management is already multi-purpose, and with new things coming into this world, it will continue to adapt,” he said. “The way the Springfield College Sport Management program continues to adapt to the real-world changes gives me full confidence that all of their students will also thrive and adapt, especially with Dr. Heather Gilmour leading that charge as head of the Sport Management program.”
