Lepkowski had a credit aired after the NFC Divisional Round game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Detroit Lions in January.
CAL LEPKOWSKI / COURTESY
By Grace Cardinal, Editor-in-Chief
From photographing players and teams to account management, Manhattan College alum are part of the behind-the-scenes backbone that keeps the sports industry standing. The Quadrangle spoke with three recent MC alumni about their experience working in their various positions and their best advice to current students interested in the industry.
Cal Lepkowski, ‘23: Freelance Highlight Production Assistant at NBC Sports In his time at the college, Lepkowski studied communication with a concentration in sports media production, and holds a double minor in Italian and digital arts and humanities. His current position as a freelance highlight production assistant at NBC Sports varies each day.
“Usually I get my schedule at the beginning of every month,” Lepkowski said. “On those days that they need me, I go into our NBC Sports office in Stamford, Connecticut, I work in a tape room, and I get assigned games to watch. While I’m watching those games, I have a little notepad to take down certain plays, replays, shots of players, coaches. Then I work with a replay operator right next to me. With those clips, we compile playlists, and then those playlists get to our on air talent, which then get aired to NBC Sports, Peacock and NBC broadcast for the public to watch.”
Originally, Lepkowski planned on entering college with a concentration in broadcasting.
“When I first started my freshman year, I wanted to get into broadcasting,” Lepkowski said. “COVID happened and then my sophomore year I started taking the production classes at Manhattan and producing the men’s and women’s basketball games with Joe Ruggiero. From there, something just clicked. I thought, ‘I’m enjoying this. It’s fun.’ It’s just this concept of not necessarily me having the spotlight, but more of giving that spotlight to others that really stood out to me.”
Lepkowski’s advice to current Manhattan College students in their undergraduate years is to get involved with everything they can, regardless of the industry they hope to end up in.
“Get involved with whatever clubs [and] reach out to professors to see if they know any opportunities to expand your career field and knowledge in that environment,” Lepkowski said. “I’d say just the concept of exposure therapy can be really beneficial for Manhattan students. Experience things that you’re not necessarily familiar with, dipping your toes in those waters.”
Joshua Sawyer ‘22: Coordinator of Photography at the Brooklyn Nets
Sawyer received his undergraduate degree in communication with a concentration in sports media production. He was one of the first to graduate with the degree, as the concentration at the college has only been offered since 2018.
“Sports media production was a new major when I started there, and I started to notice more social media content, teams and athletes putting out photos and videos, and I was like, ‘seems like it’d be kind of cool to do that’,” Sawyer said. “I always knew I wanted to be around sports, but I just didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do around sports.”
Needless to say, Sawyer found his niche in producing sports content and photography with teams. While Sawyer’s day-to-day projects vary, they all allow him to consistently interact with players and coaches along with other workers associated with the Nets and Barclays Center.
“In season is primarily team focused so we run on the team schedule, as far as practices games, shoot-arounds, and then outside of that, any community event that a player is going to,” Sawyer said. “Covering all of that, photography wise for use on the website, social media platforms for the Nets, and for the players on their own personal platforms.”
When out of season, Sawyer told The Quadrangle that his duties include photography for events at Barclays Center and all departments associated with the Nets, including sponsorships, marketing and sales. Throughout the year his duties include covering other important events, such as summer league and the draft.
Sawyer credits MC with providing him with many connections that influenced his career.
“During my time at Manhattan College, I got to meet a lot of people and network with them and build connections in the sports industry which helped me be able to connect with people in the NBA and with the Nets that got me this position,” Sawyer said. “Being able to study sports at Manhattan College gave me the assurance of ‘okay, this is what I want to do and this is the industry I want to work in after I graduate’, so that was definitely a big help for me.”
Sawyer’s advice to current students echoed Lepkowski. He encouraged students to get involved in all activities, regardless if they are associated with their major.
“I did a bunch of different stuff in school that wasn’t even sports-related,” Sawyer said. “I took journalism classes, I did one semester with The Quad. I knew that being exposed to all this stuff and learning it and building connections with people was always gonna help me down the road…Just do as much as you can at school because it’s a great time to experiment and get as much exposure and experience as you can.”
Maddie Mulkigan ‘23: Account Executive – Group Sales Representative with the New York Mets
Mulkigan, an athlete herself, graduated from Manhattan College with a degree in communication, a concentration in public relations and a minor in English. While in season, Mulkigan’s job is more fan-base than athlete-base, but she gets to work closely with the Mets organization each day regardless.
“I basically spend my nine to five on the phone making cold calls,” Mulkigan said. “Right now I’ve done a lot of focusing on self-prospecting, so reaching out to nonprofits and police departments and just trying to get them to do a group. There’s definitely a lot of different people I’m talking to, and you kind of have to change the way that you’re relating to them and speaking with them and recommending what they should do.”
In her day-to-day life, Mulkigan helps these groups plan their fan experience on and off the field. Whether it’s an education day or a bachelorette party, Mulkigan ensures their experiences run smoothly and are enjoyable.
“My favorite part is just being able to make some of my clients days or months…I’m getting to see them enjoy something that can be so much more than a baseball game,” Mulkigan said. “I can turn tickets into a real experience that people are going to remember.”
Mulkigan said that knowing she wanted to go into sports, she made sure to get involved with many areas surrounding the industry while still in her undergraduate years.
“I knew I always want to work in sports, that’s why I covered the sports side of The Quad and that’s why I was managing the lacrosse team,” Mulkigan said. “I was ready to take on any position that was offered to me in sports…I never really thought of ticketing or even group sales. I was realizing once I got into this position that I had done multiple group outings and didn’t realize it was what I’m selling now.”
Mulkigan’s advice for students is to push themselves out of their comfort zones and network with as many people as possible.
“It’s really putting yourself out of your comfort zones, you’re not going to improve and find your best self if you’re not doing things that make you uncomfortable,” Mulkigan said. “I was going to tons of networking events and introducing myself to people and putting myself out there. It really didn’t boil down to what paper you’re writing or what classes you’re taking, it’s the skills you learn in those classes, in those group projects, in the meetings with your professors, it’s those intangibles that are going to take you to the next level.”