Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Four Stephen F. Austin State University alumni from the Rusche College of Business sports business program are supporting the Texas Rangers during the team’s World Series run as part of the organization’s business development and ticketing operations staff.
Bryana Novegil ’21 & ’23, Aaron Rangel ’20, Isaiah Schreiber ’20 and Isaiah Yates ’18 hope to see their team take home its first World Series title in its 62-year history.
“Being a part of a World Series-contending team is an awesome accomplishment and experience,” said Novegil, a Houston native, who has been an account executive for new business development with the Rangers for two seasons. “I grew up playing softball and having a passion for a ball and a bat. I always wanted to make it to the big leagues, and I knew my only way to do that would be working in the front office.”
Rangel, a Tyler native, is in his third season of serving as an account executive for season tickets.
“This is what each front office employee dreams of, and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions,” Rangel said. “After coming off losing seasons my first years, it is awesome to witness the turnaround and reap the benefits of a winning team.”
In his third season with the Rangers as a new business development representative, Schreiber said his SFA connections were key to his joining the team right after college.
“The faculty at SFA supported my career path and provided me with the early networking opportunities that helped me enter the Rangers organization shortly after I graduated,” he said.
Yates, another Tyler native, has served the Rangers for five seasons as an account executive in group sales. His team’s journey to the World Series this year is still sinking in.“It is surreal,” Yates said. “This is truly what I dreamed of when I first decided to work in sports.”
He knows that this dream would not be possible without the preparation he received at SFA. “If not for the things that I learned and the connections that I made as in intern with SFA Athletics, I would not be in the position that I am today,” Yates said.
Dr. Jason Reese, associate dean of the Rusche College of Business and an associate professor of sports marketing, said these alumni’s achievements are a testament to the experiential learning opportunities provided by SFA’s sports business program.
“We are so excited to see our former SFA sports business students be successful so soon after graduating,” Reese said. “It makes us very proud.”
He said Novegil, Rangel, Schreiber and Yates all took advantage of the opportunity to engage in real-world sales interactions while at SFA.
“Through our partnership with SFA Athletics and with Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, these students were able to participate in the whole sales process for sporting event tickets before they left SFA,” Reese added. “They learned what it was like to make a sales call, overcome objections and make a sale.”
For more information about SFA’s sports business program, visit the Department of Management and Marketing website.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at the SFA website.