From Student Athletics to the Sports Innovation
As a student of Marketing Management and soccer player for the Ryerson Rams, Josh Kohn dreamed of finding a job that would combine his passion for business with his love of sports. When he graduated from the Ted Rogers School of Business Management in June 2015 he learned of the perfect opportunity: a Sports Innovation internship with NFL Canada.
Josh landed the job, and at the end of August he started the paid internship on the consumer products and marketing side of NFL Canada’s business. He says many people don’t realize the National Football League has an office in Canada, but with a Canadian fan base of 8 million (and growing) the small-but-mighty team handles all of the NFL’s business interests in the country.
In addition to his work as a student athlete and Marketing Management major, Josh worked with Sport Innovation Hub (external link) at the DMZ. Upon starting the job at NFL Canada, he found he was able to hit the ground running. “The skills I learned in my Marketing courses have really helped -- it’s nice to have that background. And the research I did for Scorena (external link) at the Sport Innovation Hub meant I was ready to jump into fantasy football projects I’ve worked on at NFL Canada.”
Josh says the timing “couldn’t be better” for him to be working at NFL Canada, as it’s a banner season for the league -- Super Bowl 50 will be played in February 2016. He’s had opportunities to help run projects related to this historic milestone, including working with NFL Canada’s licensees to create custom Super Bowl 50 branded gifts.
Josh’s Sport Innovation Internship runs until the end of March 2016, at which point he hopes to continue working in a career that combines his passion for sports with opportunities to innovate in business. “Every day, I’m thinking about how I can further involve myself in the business side of sports. This internship has opened my eyes to sponsorship and consumer products, which is a side of the business I hadn’t considered before.”
“If there’s space for me to continue my employment with NFL Canada at the end of my internship, that would be amazing. If not, it’s a great item on my resumé and a great experience.”