Jack Billings, a senior undergraduate student at the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business, was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He applied to UO because he wanted to come to a “big sports school with a lot of school spirit."
Billings isn't your typical undergraduate business student. He's had an internship with NanoMatriX in Hong Kong, worked with IMG College's University of Oregon unit in a sponsorship role, provided leadership to interns at Hoopfest, and has been involved with the Warsaw Sports Business Club.
He has always been a sports fan—a Boston sports fan, to be exact. Both his parents are from the Boston area, and sports have always been a way for him to connect with his family.
“I was watching the Celtics game yesterday and facetiming cousins, aunts, and uncles from the East Coast. That's the thing about sports: it's something we can connect on," Billings said.
That connection to sport has helped him in his experience as a property assistant at IMG, a leading collegiate sports marketing company of which UO is a client.
Through the university's mentorship program, Billings gained his first real exposure to the sports business world. He's one of a few students who has interned at IMG for two full years. This opportunity has given him valuable experience he can take into the competitive sports business job market.
“At first I loved the internship because you get to be on the field during the games, and that's what drew me to it," Billings said. “But then I realized how much I like the personal connections you get to make with sponsors. It gave me a good view of an actual sports business company."
After graduation Billings plans to hit the ground running and pursue a job in sponsorship. After his NanoMatriX internship in Hong Kong, he discovered his passion for working abroad.
“I would love to do a combination of sports sponsorship and international work," he said. “Working in Asia is super interesting to me because it's growing so fast and the love of sport is exploding."
—Colton Schang, MBA Candidate