Feb. 3, 2025
NATCHITOCHES – A group of Northwestern State University students are preparing for the experience of a lifetime as NFL Teammate volunteers at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
Students from the Health and Human Performance and Hospitality Management and Tourism programs were selected for positions that will include helping with guest experience, staff gear distribution and wayfinding, according to Dr. Haley Blount, the HHP professor who helped orchestrate the opportunity.
Twenty-three of the students will work a 3 a.m.-10 a.m. shift on Super Bowl Sunday while a select group of six students were selected as Coaches to work the 4:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. shift during the big game. They are a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students. All completed mandatory safety and security training in advance of participation.
Selected as Captains are Honor Camus of Baton Rouge, Julia Davis of Davenport, Florida, Justin Lee, Madison Brown and Maya Lucas of Natchitoches and Tyler Lewis of Palm Springs, Florida.
Teammates are Aaron Slayter of Colfax, Alyssa Nash, Jordan Nelson, Madeline Conlay-Mayfield, Madison Raymond and Mikhail Hornsby of Natchitoches, Andrew Hendry of Bossier City, Angelisa Dobbins-Taylor of Fort Johnson, Ava Brown and Earonia Smith of Many, Berenice Juarez of Longview, Texas, Chloe Whisonant of Winnfield, Curry King of Lecompte, Dakota Thomas of Dodson, Destiny Theriot of Gheens, Faith Hinds of Pelican, Katriane Creel and Nhan Ngo of Shreveport, Marvanesha Lewis of Winnfield, Ryan Villarreal of San Antonio, Texas, Tallen Earl of Leander and Ty Gary of Elton.
Blount and Dr. Tara Tietjen-Smith, head of the Department of Health and Human Performance, and HMT faculty Rachel Marsh, Ashley Haire, Timothy Bratt and Dr. Valerie Salter, HMT program director, will accompany the students.
When selecting Teammates for Super Bowl week, the NFL looks for individuals who are friendly, reliable and team oriented. Captains provide leadership serving as a point of contact for each shift, assisting media, fans and other jobs as necessary.
The NSU students will be working inside the Superdome on game day. The early morning shift will be the first personnel in the facility, able to witness the revving up of activity that take place as media, tech support and others set up in the building. The Captains group working during the game will experience the big event from an inside perspective.
Thousands of fans are expected to converge in the blocks surrounding Caesars Superdome for fan events, tailgating and people watching. Super Bowl LIX is expected to draw a global audience of over 120 million TV viewers.
Blount said taking part in a massive event like the Super Bowl gives students experience with large scale event management and the opportunity to use skills in communication, professionalism and problem-solving while serving as a positive voice for the NFL and Northwestern State.
In seeking out the opportunity, Blount first reached out to Chuck Bourg, NSU’s former director of Physical Plant and Facilities, who is now director of Operations and Engineering at Caesars Superdome, Smoothie King Center and Champions Square. He connected her with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, which led to a recommendation to participate in the NFL Teammate program.
Camus said she is looking forward to the large game day experience.
“I am a cheerleader here at Northwestern and gameday is kind of my thing,” she said. “I love interacting with fans and am excited to see that on a much larger scale, especially in the Superdome as I am considering auditioning to be a Saints Krewe cheerleader after college. I have experience entertaining fans as an NSU cheerleader at big events such as UCA Nationals and the Southland Conference Tournament, but never an event as large as the Superbowl, so I am super grateful for this opportunity.”
Dobbins-Taylor has worked at the Caveman Music Festival with the HMT Department for the past two years, so she has some experience with executing a large-scale event.
“I hope that I can see a similar process for the Super Bowl. We won’t be staying for the game itself, but we should see a lot of the background work and how a gigantic event like that is managed. Hopefully, we get lots of insight and get to talk to the people who put the show. There will be a lot to learn, I am very excited to go,” she said.
Super Bowl LIX kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9.
