Elon students help tip off ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament

Led by Matt Cotton ’18, approximately 40 Elon students volunteered at the conference championship tournament held in Greensboro Feb. 28 through March 4.

In the minutes leading up to the Feb. 28 tip-off of the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, Elon student Matt Cotton ’18 felt both a rush of excitement for what was to come and a sense of pride in what he and a team of fellow students had already accomplished.

Matt Cotton ’18 (left) and Daniel Schiff ’21 pose for a photograph during a break in the action at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Photos by Bryan Baker
Beginning in Winter Term, Cotton served as a tournament intern, assisting the conference office staff and promotional team with preparations for hosting 14 games in five days at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The Elon senior handled everything from regular office work, organizing team ticket allotments and parking passes, to the preparation of promotional giveaways.

Cotton’s two most significant contributions were recruiting nearly 40 Elon students – many of them sport management majors – to volunteer at various tournament events as well as overseeing the tedious task of preparing 40,000 T-shirts for distribution. Yes, 40,000 T-shirts. This involved rolling up thousands upon thousands of shirts to be handed, thrown and launched into the crowd.

The Elon student volunteers were responsible for getting the tournament venue ready as well as handling in-game tasks such as supporting credentialed media members and assisting the conference’s sports communications offices. Additionally, they worked with individual coaches, facilitated the activities of players, coaches, bands and cheerleaders, and assisted the coliseum’s facilities team.

Students also volunteered at the ACC Hoops for Kids event, a free basketball clinic on March 1 that drew hundreds of grade school and middle school students from the Triad region.

Cotton chats with Elon alumna Kelsey Harris ’14, who serves as an assistant director of women’s basketball operations for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I was impressed by all the volunteers and all the effort they put into it,” said Cotton, a business management major minoring in sport management. “They realized the task at hand, and they all did a great job making sure the fans enjoyed the tournament experience. They should be proud of what they accomplished.”

For Cotton, a fan of collegiate athletics, the opportunity to work at the ACC women’s tournament lived up to his expectations.

“I would love to work in college athletics because I’ve grown up being around college athletics,” said the Chapel Hill native. “I saw this as an opportunity to get my foot in the door and get a taste of what college athletics is like. Now that I know what it entails, it is something I could see myself doing in the future. It is something I have a passion and a drive for.”

According to Cotton, his ACC supervisors said his tournament internship could transition into a full internship, and so far the indications have been positive.

“I think they were impressed with my work ethic and my recruitment of the volunteers,” he said. “They’ve also told me they liked my ability to multitask and be a leader.”

Cotton said he appreciated the many opportunities – as well as the mentorship – he received from Brad Hecker, director of women’s basketball operations for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Kelsey Harris ’14, assistant director of women’s basketball operations. The Elon graduate played an instrumental role in connecting Cotton with the conference.

Elon students handled a variety of in-game responsibilities during the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, from assisting sports information offices to supporting the event’s promotional staff. Pictured (from left) are Sydney Busa ’18, Noah Kutner ’20 and Megan Podgorski ’18.
Associate Professor Tony Weaver, chair of the Sport Management Department, said the internship and volunteer opportunities arose following an informal conversation with Harris during a fall visit to campus. Weaver told Harris to keep Elon in mind for any upcoming opportunities for students, and she immediately suggested the ACC women’s tournament.

When Harris later contacted Weaver regarding a possible tournament intern, the professor reached out to Cotton, who had networked with Harris during her campus visit.

 “When Dr. Weaver offered it, it was an automatic yes,” Cotton said.

“I really enjoyed both parts of the internship,” the student added. “I enjoyed the physical part on the court, but I also enjoyed making sure the fans had a great experience – that they were getting the most of their ACC tournament experience.”

Weaver credited Cotton for serving as a strong liaison between the students and the conference. “It is a testament to him and the other students that they were given a lot of responsibilities and they did them on their own,” Weaver said. “They were helpful, attentive and, most importantly, accountable.”

Daniel Tucker ’21 tosses a T-shirt into the crowd.
Weaver also mentioned that Assistant Professor Young Do Kim was integrally involved with the tournament’s events, visiting on site several days to assist the students. He even got involved in the action, throwing T-shirts to the crowd with the promotions staff. 

“Dr. Kim has really embraced the faculty-student interaction element that we enjoy here at Elon,” said Weaver.

For Weaver, this year’s tournament experience builds another level to a “longstanding relationship between Elon and the ACC.”

“Dating back to 2007, the conference and its administrators have treated our students so well, providing them with great attention and mentorship,” Weaver said. “This relationship has provided our students with first-rate opportunities that most, if not all, sport management students would be interested in. The ACC staff and administration have been so great to us.”