A week and a half into my campaign, I was contacted by Rich Campbell, Professor of Sports Marketing at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. Mind you - and here’s the coolest part - I never studied there. In fact, it’s been so long since I’ve been in a college town that I forgot how slow the drive in would be, competing with thousands of zombie-like coeds shuffling through the crosswalks to get to lecture before the early bell.
Professor Campbell, who ranks in my Top-3 favorite professors without ever having sat in one of his classes, assigned it to his students to apply to the MLB Fan Cave for extra credit. He invited me to speak about my application process, the Fan Cave competition, and to put on my Ad Grad hat and talk shop. After all, gathering support, getting publicity and gaining votes is an excellent lesson in marketing.
As much insight as I was able to give the students, their response to the content I created was twice as valuable. Over a hundred sleepy undergrads on a Monday morning at 8:00 AM is a tough audience, and to hear their chuckles, sense their understanding, and answer their questions was incredibly rewarding.
You can follow Professor Campbell on Twitter at @sprtsmktgprof.