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Pictured (from left): Ella Smith, Keeley Reiford, Dr. Tiffany Demiris, Hayden Watt, Thomas Gaughan, James Fitzgerald, Matteo D’andrea and Spencer Ireland.

The Buffalo Bills might not be going to New Orleans next week, but seven �鶹ӳ�� students are headed to the Big Easy to work the big game.

This is the second year in a row that members of SBU’s Sport Management Club are headed to the Super Bowl, accompanied by club adviser Dr. Tiffany Demiris, an assistant professor of sport management in the School of Business. The students were selected based on their level of involvement in the club and their academic record.

Like last year, when the students worked the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, the club raised roughly $20,000 to help pay for the trip by working concession stands at Bills home games this season.

Demiris was able to open that financial door because of her 15 years’ experience in food service management, including as a manager for Delaware North, which runs concessions at Highmark Stadium.

“The students will work NFL Media Day, the NFL Experience, and also on game day, working at guest services on the main 100 level for the game,” Demiris said.

Students making the trip to Super Bowl LVIII are Hayden Watt and Spencer Ireland from Brockport, New York; Keeley Reiford from Hamburg, New York; Matteo D’Andrea from Manalapan, New Jersey; James Fitzgerald from Floral Park, New York; Ella Smith from Hillsboro, Oregon; and Thomas Gaughan from Baldwinsville, New York.

Watt, D’Andrea, Smith and Gaughan were among the nine SBU students who went to Vegas last February for the Chiefs win over San Francisco. They will be in New Orleans from Feb. 2-11.

“This is an immersive experience at the biggest sporting event of the year,” Demiris said. “It allows students to see the logistics of putting on the Super Bowl while working in a fan support role to help attendees have the best experience possible. This is exactly what it’s like to work within the industry and offers valuable insight into the students’ futures as sport managers.”

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�鶹ӳ�� the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, �鶹ӳ�� is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, �鶹ӳ�� was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).