In the second week of January, a few Covenant students, along with Sports Management Professor Michaela Kourmoulis, were able to make a trip to Houston to represent Covenant at the college football playoffs. The trip was filled with many different work experiences along with a lot of fun.
Evangelia Berry '27 and Claire Mellott '27 race at the Vulcan Invite, Covenant's first meet to begin their indoor track season. Photo taken by Michael Wade.
Ethan Goebert, David Perry and Preston Wykoff were the three students that made the trip down to the Lone Star state. The first day in Houston, the group went to a Rockets-Nets basketball game. The Rockets won the game, which made the game that much more enjoyable. Watching this was a way to see how a large-scale sporting event runs.
The second day everyone got to go on a tour of Rice University. They saw all the different athletic facilities along with getting the chance to meet other professionals in the sports industry. The highlight of the tours was seeing the state-of-the-art football facilities and the baseball field with a perfect view of the Houston skyline.
The following day was when the real work started. Everyone helped out at the Playoff Fan Central, which is a big fan festival of sorts. They were in charge of taking photos of fans with all the different college football trophies including the CFP, Sugar Bowl and Hiesman trophies.
After working at Fan Central, everyone relaxed a bit before heading over to Shell Energy Stadium to work as a brand ambassador during the Kidz Bop concert (part of the free concert series put on in Houston). This was quite the experience, and the kids definitely outnumbered the adults in the stadium.
The following morning everyone got up and headed over to the Playoff Fan Central to hand out packets for a “Trophy Trot” 5k that was going on the following day. After helping the runners get ready for the race, everyone walked over to Minute Maid Park to help prepare for the taste of the championship event which was being held the next day. This event was a special meal where restaurants from around the city could set up a stand and have participants taste their food. This was one of the big highlights of the trip because it was being held in the Astros stadium and everyone got to take pictures and even walk on the field.
After finishing the shift early, everyone headed over to the Rockets game to see them play Giannis Antetekumpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Rockets won, so the home crowd was wild. The next morning, the group headed to a local church to worship before going and experiencing the Playoff Fan Central as a fan. After kicking some field goals, everyone drove over to NRG stadium, home of the Texans, to practice for the pinnacle event which would take place the next day. The group would get to be on the field during the National Championship holding banners while “America the Beautiful” and the National Anthem were being played. After rehearsing for what felt like hours, everyone felt prepared enough to head out until the next day.
That Monday, the day of the game, everyone woke up and went to get some authentic Tex-Mex before heading out to NRG stadium. Everyone got their instructions and headed down to the tunnel to wait for what felt like hours. Finally, the time came. Everyone picked up their flag and walked onto the field.
Tens of thousands of screaming fans welcomed them as they got in position. The moment almost didn’t feel real as the first notes of the National Anthem rang out.
In a blur, it was done. The group walked off the field and back into the tunnel before exiting the stadium and heading over to the volunteer headquarters. This was the highlight of everyone’s trip and something no one would ever forget. Overall, everyone had a great time and gained valuable experience to further their career.