NJ university partners with NFL team to give students a unique experience

🏫 Rider University is now a partner of the New York Giants

🏈 The goal gives students hands-on-experience across Giants' business functions

💪 Internships, research and community projects are in the works

LAWRENCEVILLE — Rider University is now “An Official Higher Education Partner of the New York Giants.”

The school and the NFL team have announced a three-year partnership that is driven by unique opportunities for Rider University students to gain hands-on experience across Giants’ business functions.

Rider has been working with the New York Giants for more than a year, said Rider Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communication, Kristine Brown.

There has always been a strong partnership program at the university as a whole. What really sets Rider apart is their commitment to engaged learning.

“As a matter of fact, it is a requirement of our students to graduate from Rider with a certain amount of engaged learning opportunities which are opportunities to take what students are learning inside the classroom, and apply it outside the classroom,” Brown said.

About a year ago, Rider approached the Giants organization saying they wanted to build a relationship with them that gives students the opportunity to take what they’re learning at Rider and benefit both themselves and the Giants organization.

“I give a lot of credit to the Giants. They are an incredible organization and they heard us loud and clear. They said we really want to be able to build a relationship with Rider and see what we can do to benefit our students,” Brown said.

What is the partnership?

There are several different components of the partnership, she said.

One

The first involves internships for the students. This season, there are several students who are working as game-day interns at home Giants’ games. Brown said moving forward, there will be, in addition to game-day internships, both full-time and part-time internships.

To score an internship, she said the Giants provided a job description and Rider students applied by submitting their cover letter and resume. The Giants then conducted interviews and selected the students themselves. Brown said for the spring semester, there will be full and part-time internships available.

Two

The second component of the partnership, which Brown said she’s excited about, is a case study, in which Rider students will have the opportunity to work on a business-related project throughout the year related to the sports industry.

The topic will be selected by the Giants’ administration, Brown said. It will be a business challenge that they have, and the students will research that and work to find solutions for it.

They will then be able to take their research recommendations and solutions and present them to the Giants.

The research project is going to be an out-of-classroom experience, led by academic deans and faculty at Rider, Brown said. An application process is not necessary. It’s more like a volunteer opportunity for interested students.

Three

Third, the Giants have always had a long and well-known commitment to community service, as does Rider, Brown said.

“So, we’re going to work with the Giants’ organization to find the right fit to do a community service project out in the community someplace in New Jersey where our students can serve alongside members of the Giants’ organization to benefit the community. It could be through any sort of non-profit organization. We haven’t determined it yet,” Brown said.

The community service project will be open to everyone, including students, faculty, and staff.

Also, the Giants will provide speakers to come to campus to discuss different topics such as business, leadership, and even life after football. This will be another opportunity for students to have connections with the Giants.

The last piece of the partnership involves branding through the Giants and all of their channels to promote the partnership with Rider and elevate the two organizations together as the partnership forms, Brown said.

“Rider University shares many of our same core values, which is why we are excited to kick off this partnership,” says Jessica Slenker, Giants senior vice president, corporate partnerships.

What is the bottom line?

Brown said this is a unique opportunity for Rider students to get hands-on experience with an amazing organization. They will learn a lot about business, sports, and game day operations. The Giants see the benefit of this partnership in so many different ways.
“I think being able to be a student and say I interned at an NFL team is amazing,” she said.

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