In a time where many electives are being put online and fusing multiple levels into one class, the sports marketing elective is not only growing, but thriving.

Sports marketing teaches about branding and marketing in the sports industry. When it was first introduced in 2022 there was only one level offered, taught exclusively by former soccer coach Timothy Long.

In the two years the class has existed it has managed to grow exponentially. After its first year, the elective became so popular that it was able to get a second level taught by men’s golf coach Tom Jamerson. After Long’s departure, football coach Tucker Warren was also hired as a sports marketing teacher.

When sports marketing ll was first introduced, there were only six students in Jamerson’s class. However in just another year the number of sports ll students has grown to almost 60.

“I’ve always been interested in sports,” senior Austin Cochrane said. “I thought this class might be interesting to take and learn more about the business side of sports.”

What really makes sports marketing stand out is how its classwork is used to promote athletics at East. In sports ll, students take photos and design graphics that get uploaded to the instagram page @eastmeck_sports. They also regularly update the East Meck athletic zone website.

East athletic director Jason Fowler was originally responsible for keeping social media updated, but since sports marketing’s rise to prominence, he’s passed the duties to students so he can focus on other things.

“Having been an athletic director, you have so many things on your plate every day that are very high priority compared to social media posts,” Jamerson said. “I wish every school in North Carolina that has sports marketing would partner with their athletic department to do this, because it’s a perfect fit.”

Helping manage social media means that students get real hands-on experience. In addition to marketing, they also get the chance to develop technical skills in graphic design, photography and editing.

“The students really connect with it, and it actually creates a lot of opportunities for them,” Warren said. “They get real world experience by learning about advertisements and promotions.”

The students taking the class aren’t the only ones benefiting. @eastmeck_sports is the main source of information for all things related to athletics at East. By keeping the community informed they also help to increase the turnout at games and support for student athletes.

“When we create something, it’s not about us,” Jamerson said. ”It’s about students recognizing the accomplishments in sports teams. They’re so tuned in to what excellence looks like and they’re trying to recreate it in class.”

Sports marketing’s growth is showing no signs of stopping. They are currently planning to expand the type of content they produce with hype videos, season previews and pre-game interviews. They also received a grant from the sports media company, PlayOn! Sports to buy live broadcasting equipment.

In the future, if more interest is shown in the class then sports marketing lll may become available. Jamerson and Warren have many things planned for the near future should the elective continue to grow.

“I appreciate the administration and the flexibility to allow us to do this,” Jamerson said. “Coach Fowler who helps promote it and just wonderful students that love doing the stuff that they do. So it makes it easy to push forward.”