By Christina Wright ('10)

Many professionals in the sports industry will tell you that one of the reasons they love their job is because no day is exactly the same. Whether you are part of the Ohio University sports administration family or just curious about the MBA/MSA program, you can join the Center for Sports Administration and follow the not-so-typical days of our graduate students. This edition features MBA/MSA students Phil Carden ('11), Garrett Munro ('10), A.J. Rizzo ('10), and Matt VanSandt ('11).

A Day in the Life of Phil Carden ('11)
6:15 AM Alarm, shower, and shave… get ready for my day.
7:15 AM Breakfast of frozen blueberry waffles, as much coffee as possible, and a glass of milk.
8:00 AM GVS at the Ridges.
12:15 PM Lunch with roommates Ben Jacobs ('11), Matt DeLawder ('11) and Matt VanSandt ('11). 
12:50 PM Catch the bus to Copeland.
1:00 PM Catch up on some e-mails and read articles for Friday’s classes.
3:00 PM Meeting with Executive Director Jim Kahler ('81).
3:45 PM Begin working on response paper for Friday’s class with Dr. Lamb.
6:00 PM Operations with Dr. Bhutta.
8:00 PM Head home and put the finishing touches on my response paper while watching the Razorbacks play the Gators. 
11:00 PM After an upsetting loss, research management journals for my graduate assistantship supervisor.
12:30 AM Lights out and fall asleep to Season 3 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

A Day in the Life of Garrett Munro ('10)
7:15 AM Role out of bed and stumble to the bathroom to take a shower.
7:25 AM Get dressed and brush my teeth.  Poor decision as I spill toothpaste on my shirt.  Always brush your teeth first!
7:35 AM Change my shirt and then eat breakfast and watch Sportscenter.
7:50 AM Leave for work in the athletics department.  Another day at the Bobcat Club.
8:00 AM Arrive at work and get started on the day’s tasks.
10:00 AM Off to my Sports Governance class with Dr. Yiamouyiannis.
11:30 AM Start getting really hungry.
11:35 AM Realize it is Wednesday and that can only mean one thing.  Chipotle!
12:15 PM Chipotle Wednesday with classmates Rob Norris ('10), Ryan Holmes ('10), Aaron Lewis ('10), Taylor Wood ('10) and Sean Phifer ('10).  Keeping the Chipotle on Court in business since June 2008!
1:15 PM Back to the Bobcat Club.
1:50 PM Walk to the back of the office to ask Norris a question.  It is freezing back here! Norris and Jessie Lamb ('10) are both wearing their coats and have a candle lit for heat.  I comment on how warm it is in the front and return to the comfort.
3:00 PM Annual Giving and Benefits meeting with classmates Norris and Lamb, and Jim Harris (’04). 
5:00 PM Finish meeting.  It was long but productive.
5:30 PM Finish things up at the Bobcat Club.
6:00 PM Meet up with classmate Holmes to promote Green Fever to the Sport Business Association (SBA).
6:20 PM Arrive at home after a long day.  Make dinner and relax for a little while.
7:15 PM Leave for my co-ed Intramural basketball game at Ping.
8:15 PM Up 6 with 5 minutes left, Lewis fouls out.  We have no other guys to play tonight…could be a tough finish.
8:22 PM Up 1 with .6 seconds left.  The other team inbounds the ball and hits a buzzer beater to win the game. 
8:30 PM Still in shock!
8:50 PM Arrive back home and speak for the first time since the devastating loss.
9:00 PM Post-up on the couch to watch the end of the Uconn game.  Terrible loss to Providence!
9:30 PM Try to put the defeats behind me.  Work on some homework and put a few things together for the Bobcat Club.
12:00 AM Calling it a day.

A Day in the Life of A.J. Rizzo ('10)
8:00 AM Wake up and take shower
8:30 AM Take Finley (my dog) out for a short walk and eat breakfast
9:00 AM Arrive at ISP Sports in the Convocation Center for work
9:15 AM Make cold calls, go to meetings, follow up on meetings, and create new sponsorship packages for potential sponsors of Ohio Athletics
12:15 PM Make my way home for Lunch and to take Finley out again so he doesn’t go crazy sitting at the house
1:30 PM Work at ISP again doing anything the GM and Account Executive need done
3:00 PM Go to Visual Communication class in which the teacher still believes my name is Tony.  Great class that teaches us valuable computer design skills!
5:00 PM Go home once again to take care of the dog and get a small bite to eat.  Maybe even take a short nap
6:00 PM Attend the legendary Doc Higgins class, and try to take in all the words of wisdom from his teaching. 
9:30 PM Go to Pizza Hut with entire Sports Administration Class, and eat some pizza and salad while enjoying the company of my classmates.  FYI – the salad bar at Pizza Hut is a lot better than you think!
10:45 PM Play basketball with intramural team composed of people in our Sports Administration class. 
12:00 AM Return home, take shower, and get ready for another busy day tomorrow!

A Day in the Life of Matt VanSandt ('11)
6:30 AM Alarm goes off
6:50 AM Grab some coffee with Phil Carden (’11) and Matt DeLawder (’11) while catching up on SportsCenter.
7:30 AM Meet other classmates for the bus ride to campus
8:00 AM Give a 30 minute presentation on corporate financial forecasting
8:45 AM Discuss the importance of inventory turnover, collection period, and payable days during Finance.
10:00 AM Meet with Doc Higgins and Dr. Kreutzer to discuss internship opportunities
11:00 AM Head home to grab a quick lunch with the roommates
12:00 PM Strategy class at The Ridges
2:00 PM Small business consulting work at AREG
5:00 PM Go for a run by the golf course
5:45 PM Back to the apartment for a light dinner
6:45 PM Meet up with Sean O’Hara (’10) and Kyle Daugherty ('10) for the UNC/Wake Forest basketball game
8:00 PM Yell at the TV in anger and disappointment over and over.

8:24 PM Yell some more and go into denial
8:47 PM Enter the acceptance stage
9:15 PM Race home to the apartment to read articles in preparation for tomorrow’s classes
10:30 PM Send some networking emails
11:30 PM Head to bed before doing it all over again!

For more information on our graduate students, please visit the Class of 2010 and 2011 profile pages.