Earlier this month, 19 UMSL students, three alumni and one staff member traveled to New Orleans to volunteer at Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The day before the game, the group volunteered at the Super Bowl Breakfast, which featured past and current NFL coaches, players and owners. (Photos courtesy of Karen Boleska)

Since 2022, Karen Boleska has led a trip to the Super Bowl, where a group representing the University of Missouri–St. Louis volunteers at the biggest sporting event in the country.

Earlier this month, 19 students, three alumni and one staff member traveled to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The group made it to Louisiana without issue, but for a few stressful hours Sunday morning, they weren’t quite sure they would make it to the Caesars Superdome.

“We were staying out in a bayou in Louisiana, on an island, and there was a car accident the night before that took down power lines,” said Boleska, director of the sport management program in the College of Education. “So, we woke up to no power, and we were stuck on the island.”

However, the students, many of whom have event management experience and are used to adapting on the fly, sprang into action to gather information, formulate a plan and keep everyone calm.

Students take a moment to admire the Caesars Superdome after the game.

Angela Ritter, a senior on her second Super Bowl trip, was the first one up on Sunday morning. After realizing the power was out, Ritter alerted Boleska to the issue and then focused on keeping the others positive. Junior Kyle Nichols drove to the scene of the downed power lines obstructing the road to monitor the situation.

“As everyone’s kind of panicking, worrying about getting there on time, I figured it’d be nice to just sit up there and have a line of communication, so everyone knows exactly when it opens up again,” Nichols said.

He was encouraged when a fire truck began moving, only to become concerned as it headed back toward the house. Apparently, the power outage had automatically tripped the security system’s emergency alarm.

“We ended up leaving the house with all the alarms still going off, and we just went off to the Super Bowl,” Boleska said with a laugh.

Despite the setback, the group made it to the stadium, if a bit later than intended. Initially, the plan was to have everyone work on the 100 level of the Superdome in stadium fan services, but due to the delay, the group was split up and worked on different levels and sections. Everyone went through online training in January and in-person training on Friday for their assignments.

While working the entrance for suite ticket holders, Blake Cunningham (right) ran into actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key.

No matter the post, each person worked to provide exceptional customer service, answering questions, giving directions, managing crowds in high-traffic areas, ushering people to their seats and addressing any issues as they arose.

Lauryn Sanders, a senior on her second Super Bowl trip, was positioned inside Gate A near the largest NFL Shop in the stadium. Things were calm at first, but the lines at the store got so long Sanders had to direct fans elsewhere for souvenirs to keep the flow of traffic moving. Likewise, outside of Gate A, things started smoothly for Nichols and sophomore Jordan Williams as they directed people to their sections. But after two hours, it began to pour rain, which made it difficult to communicate.

Through it all, the students took things in stride.

“Those people paid lots of money to come here, and we’re here to serve,” John Mack said of his approach to the day. “It’s not about us being there. It’s about them being there, from the person sitting up in the nosebleeds in 650 to the owner of the Eagles, serving everyone well and treating everyone like VIPs.”

Junior Nathan Schwer and sophomore Blake Cunningham actually did serve attendees with VIP badges near entrances for suite ticket holders and on-field access points. Naturally, there were plenty of celebrity sightings throughout the day, including Flavor Flav, Gordon Ramsey, Keegan-Michael Key, Lady Gaga, Lainey Wilson and Marshawn Lynch.

The UMSL team also had front-row seats to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. Boleska said it looked much different from the stadium, noting that the production is really aimed at viewers watching at home.

“I’m a big Kendrick fan, so I knew all the songs, but I felt like I didn’t put the symbolism together until after,” Sanders said. “That’s the difference in being there in person because you can enjoy the music, but once you watch it after, it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s a serious message here.’”

The trip encompasses much more than the championship game, though. On Friday night, UMSL and two other universities hosted a networking event with 350 college students in attendance.

Schwer particularly enjoyed the event, where he was able to make connections with other students across the country and learn from industry professionals such as Brian Corcoran, the CEO Shamrock Sports & Entertainment; Jaclyn Roh, special event manager at the University of Michigan; and Justin Roh, CEO and co-founder of Blue By Ninety at a panel discussion.

Nathan Schwer (right) met Cristo Fernández, the actor known for portraying Dani Rojas on “Ted Lasso.”

With a nudge from Boleska, senior Andrew Price served as moderator. At first, he was nervous to present in front of that many people, but his practice with public speaking and networking, which is highly emphasized in the sport management program, kicked in.

“That’s a lot of eyeballs on you,” Price said. “But with this whole experience, getting out of your comfort zone is what these trips allow you to do.”

For several students, the Super Bowl Breakfast on Saturday morning was also a highlight. They worked the banquet, which serves up to 2,000 people and features past and current NFL coaches, players and owners. Cunningham worked VIP security with Boleska and got to interact with linebacker-turned-actor Terry Crews and current News Orleans Saint Cam Jordan, who won the 2025 Bart Starr Award. Mack was moved by speakers who emphasized the human element of sports, while Sanders and Williams thought the prayer to open the event was refreshing.

“Seeing them get to talk about their faith openly, a bunch of people around the sports world, was pretty motivating,” Williams said.

For Cunningham, attending the Super Bowl fulfilled a lifelong dream, and after the experience, he advised others to take advantage of the opportunities the sport management program offers.

“There’s nothing like it – the atmosphere, the stadium itself, the people of New Orleans,” he said. “Everybody was so excited to have the Super Bowl there. I’ll also give props to everybody that was in the house. They made it a lot more fun.”

Media coverage:

Hillsboro resident offered super experience