Part Time NFL Job Leads to Super Bowl Opportunity for Sam Silber

Sam Silber doesn’t sit back and wait for opportunity to knock. The junior pole vaulter on South Carolina’s track & field team is a prime example of a “go-getter,” who isn’t afraid to make things happen when it comes to preparing for life after college. That confidence and work ethic recently landed her a part time job with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and ultimately led to her having a chance to work next month’s Super Bowl in Miami.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned that I’m capable of a lot more than I thought I was,” said Silber, who is studying sport and entertainment management and previously interned with a minor league baseball team, the Winston-Salem Dash.

“I’ve had other jobs, and it’s fun to work in sports. It’s a cool industry, but this is by far the best organization I’ve ever worked for. The people are incredible. Everybody supports everyone. Something clicked and I think they like me because they’ve given me a lot of responsibility in my first season. I’m very excited about it.”

Silber’s NFL opportunity came about when she was looking for someone to interview in the sports management field as a requirement for a class a year ago. She asked Professor Danny Morrison if he had any contacts in the industry, and he connected her with Scott Paul, the vice president of stadium operations for the Panthers. Following an invitation from Paul for job shadowing, Silber jumped at the chance.

“I went on to shadow last year at a game against the Buccaneers and had a chance to see everything from an operations standpoint; from sponsorships, to marketing, to security, guest relations and everything in between,” Silber recalled. “I had the chance to meet the heads of each department. They invited me back to volunteer for the ACC Championship game that same season.”

Silber stayed in touch with the people she had met and was later invited to be a general guest relations staff member for this season. That quickly led to a bigger opportunity.

“Before the season started, they told me they wanted me to be a manager,” Silber said. “I worked with guest relations and stadium operations on game day. There were a lot of jobs that needed to be filled, and I have a good relationship with a couple of different people, and they were talking about hiring different people for a lot of small jobs. Then my name got brought up, so they basically said, ‘scratch that, let’s just bring Sam Silber in and have her handle all of that.'” 

“If a fulltime position opens or is created that I’m suited for somewhere, I’d like to think I’m doing the right things.”

Among her duties, Silber managed pre- and postgame events for Panthers home games.

“I start at pregame, where they turn the practice facility into a tailgate space,” Silber said. “It’s a big tailgate where you buy a ticket and it’s bottomless food with a cash bar. There are big screens with the NFL Network on. You can play games on the Panther’s practice field, and it is super fun! I run the whole thing from set up to break down. I get into the game by the end of first quarter, and I can help break down gates.

“In the postgame, I managed the ‘Fifth Quarter’ event where all ticket holders are invited to the Club Level. You can come in and watch the later games. Three of the club bars are open, and you can check out the radio show as well. I manage the staffing, the set up and the breakdown for that event as well.”

Silber’s ability to network led to another great opportunity as she was asked by Kreate Events/Primesport to work as a production assistant for hospitality at the Super Bowl in Miami.

“That’s a big responsibility,” Silber said. “The Vice President for that company contracted for hospitality with the Panthers, so I had met her and was making conversation. She called me around three weeks after we had met and offered me the job! It’s normally not a college student thing; it’s normally her fulltime staff. So, I get to build an entire team of students within my major to be my volunteer staff and a couple of other production assistants to work with me. Essentially, she told me to build my team around my needs.”

Not a bad semester for a student-athlete who has to balance class, workouts, practice and competitions along with her part-time NFL work.

“Usually Sunday’s are our off days for track & field, and I’d always get my workouts in, no matter what,” Silber said.  “The only issue that ever came up was when the Panthers played on Thursdays.  My coach (assistant coach Kevin Brown) and I worked things out where I’d do my workouts in the morning before I left for Charlotte. Coach Brown has been incredible about dealing with this because it’s a once in a lifetime thing, well, hopefully not once in a lifetime! It’s a great opportunity.”

Making the most of an opportunity is nothing new for Silber. Growing up in Ohio, she tried many different sports, including soccer, volleyball, and figure skating. She was a cheerleader and sprinter and hurdler on the track team when her high school coach convinced her to try the pole vault.

“He thought that since I could do a back flip and wasn’t scared to be upside down and I wasn’t that slow that I should try it,” Silber said. “I love it! It is the most fun event. It combines the rush of gymnastics and the intensity of track with the speed of a sprinters and the strength of a thrower. It’s wild!

“I started looking for colleges when I was about 14. I wanted a school with a good pole vault program. I wanted some southern warm weather, and I knew I wanted event management. I wanted a school with sport management, and we have the best program in the world!”

Always willing to just go for it, Silber is already looking ahead to her future when her days as a student-athlete are over.

“I would like to work in venue and event management for an NFL team or NFL stadium,” Silber said. “I’m graduating next December. If a fulltime position opens or is created that I’m suited for somewhere, I’d like to think I’m doing the right things. It’s where I’d love to be.”