Pontiac Daily Leader
IOWA CITY, Iowa — With stadiums, arenas and other sports venues filled with cardboard cutouts of fans and prerecorded crowd noise due to COVID-19, television viewership has never been so important in keeping current fans engaged as well as luring in new fans.
During a first-time practicum course in fall 2020, 30 Iowa students, a group that included Hannah Conlisk of Chenoa, worked with executives from NASCAR and Fox Sports to develop promotional campaigns to increase awareness, engagement and viewership of the sport's 2021 opener, the Daytona 500.
At the end of the semester, the students pitched their campaigns to Matt Nordby, NASCAR senior director of broadcast and industry communications, and Erik Arneson, Fox Sports vice president of media relations. Dan Matheson, associate professor of instruction and director of the Iowa sport and recreation management program, who led the course, says the students rose to the occasion.