Alumni Highlight
Tyler Levesque
Tyler Levesque
Assistant Director of Club Sports and Esports at Northeastern University
M.Ed. 2019
What is your current position and give a brief overview?
I am currently the Assistant Director of Club Sports and Esports at Northeastern University. I am responsible for the administration and management of 64 club sports and the varsity Esports program. For club sports, I help manage student compliance, facilities scheduling, and operations. I also hire, onboard, supervise and manage department support staff including student employees, Temporary Non-Student Employees, interns, and over 80 club sports coaches. For varsity Esports, I assist with all operational facets of the program. From recruitment of players and coaches to the day-to-day supervision of the program, I help support and strive to continue to build one of the premiere collegiate Esports programs in the country.
Was this career path on your radar since you graduated? If not, speak on how you came across this position.
Upon graduating from the University of Texas, I always knew that I wanted to work in college athletics. Wichita State offered a great program in which I could continue my education and look to start working towards my goal to work in college athletics. College Esports and campus recreation were not necessarily the programs I was looking to be a part of after starting graduate school, but as time progressed, I managed to find opportunities in these industries. I believe in college athletics and what it can provide students during their collegiate experience and having worked in collegiate Esports and campus recreation, I have been exposed to how all different sports have an impact on all students on a college campus.
What information did you take away from your time at WSU that has helped you the most in the professional world?
Wichita State played a pivotal role in my development not only as a student but as a professional as well. Wichita State offered me an opportunity to start the collegiate Esports program at WSU, under the direction of some of the best staff in the sport management industry. WSU requires real world and practical experience from its graduate students before graduating from the program. I had the opportunity to work in WSU athletics in the ticket off and at Butler Community College as an academic athletic student advisor. Those experiences allowed me to find my place in college athletics and helped me figure out what facet of college athletics was best for me and helped me figure out where I thought I could make the biggest impact.
What mistakes have you made in the past that you recommend avoiding making in the sport management field?
Don't be so concerned with the outcome all the time. Allow yourself to fail so you can take those lessons and get better. College athletics can feel difficult to navigate at times and as a program leader within college athletics there can be times where it feels like there are too many obstacles in front of you to accomplish your goal. Solicit the advice from your supervisors and your constituents on how you can best push your program forward and if you continue to work hard, that's all you can do.
What advice would you give to current WSU students who want to pursue a job in sport?
Do a synopsis of the sports industry. Identify something you think the sports industry is lacking and see if there is a way you can fill that need. Everyone wants to work in sports. You need to find a way to separate yourself from everyone else. What is that one thing? What is the one way you can help the dept. and offer something someone else cannot. Once you are able to get your foot in the door, then you can strive to work towards your ultimate goal in sports, the hardest part can be getting in.