Two Bradley Sports Com Students Intern for NBC/Universal at Super Bowl XLVI

02/03/2012 7:49 PM

By Abby Rhodes

Long before the party snacks are prepared, days before the kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium, Super Bowl frenzy began with media coverage fixated night and day on Indianapolis and the New England Patriots – New York Giants matchup. Among the sportswriters, broadcasters and celebrity commentators fueling the media buzz this week are two Bradley University sports communication majors, Zach Keesee and Josh Koebert.

The two seniors are interning for NBC/Universal, assisting NBC Sports with Super Bowl XLVI coverage direct from Indianapolis. Fulfilling a range of public and media relations assignments, Keesee and Koebert have worked side by side with some of NBC’s most recognized personalities: Bob Costas, Al Michels and Tony Dungee, among others.

“One of our jobs is to keep track of all media reports pertaining to the event or to NBC’s coverage of the event,” Keesee said. “It’s very cool to attend press events and hear firsthand what we’ll see reported in papers and broadcasts 12 hours later.”

Working for NBC on America’s greatest sporting event is just one of several opportunities Bradley’s sports communication program is giving students to gain hands-on experience in the highest ranks of professional sports.

Keesee is one of 10 Bradley students who will intern for NBC during the 2012 London Olympics. Last fall, he and seven of his classmates interned for NASCAR at the Chicagoland Speedway Geico 400.

“I’m getting to see how each sport is different from the business perspective,” Keesee said. “As I start my career, I’ll take loyalty, determination and a strong work ethic from job to job, but these experiences are also allowing me to take a unique knowledge of the various functions of a sports organization.”

In his three and a half years at Bradley, Koebert has built an impressive resume stocked top to bottom with professional experience and classroom success. He spent last summer traveling throughout the New England region as a play-by-play analyst and color commentator for the Collegiate Baseball League. Closer to campus, he worked in communications for the Peoria Chiefs, a Class A Minor League Baseball team affiliated with the Chicago Cubs.

“I was planning to attend another university before I learned about Bradley’s sports communication program,” Koebert said. “It was the program that sold me. If I had any inkling as a high school senior that choosing Bradley would mean working at the Super Bowl and getting experience doing exactly what I want to do in my career, my decision would have been made even faster.”

When Super Bowl Sunday arrives and a season’s worth of media predictions prove prescient or otherwise, one bet is sure to pay off: Keesee and Koebert will walk away winners.