Daktronics has partnered with the American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) as its official video display and control equipment provider to bring education and professional sports together.
“This partnership is mutually beneficial as the teams gain access to a pool of talented, trained students who are ready to jump into a career with their production teams,” said Joey Hulsebus, regional sales for Daktronics. “They are familiar with almost every aspect of the control room, including the software they use, how they use it and what they expect to see on game day.”
As part of the partnership, Daktronics is a part ofthe AAPB’s Preferred Supplier Program and Business Alliance, and students will receive opportunities to learn and launch careers in live event production and sports media, with the ability to support AAPB teams as they grow their talents.
“The American Association is proud to partner with Daktronics to provide the next generation of sports business professionals with real-world experience through work in our league,” said Josh Schaub, Commissioner of the American Association of Professional Baseball. “Daktronics has once again demonstrated its commitment to innovation with the creation of the DakClassroom, and we’re excited to collaborate in expanding this groundbreaking initiative.”
Multiple aspects of this partnership bring direct benefits to both the students and AAPB teams, including furthering education, behind-the-scenes insights and trained, career-ready talent.
Through DakClassroom, students gain hands-on experience with the same technology used in professional sports venues. DakClassroom is a detailed live event and game-day production curriculum that gives educators the tools to help them launch their programs from the ground up and aligns with career and technical education (CTE) standards.
Through Daktronics Crew Connect, students have access to the next level of production with internships, seasonal jobs and the opportunity to build for the future. Crew Connect is a program that brings high school students with event production experience together with jobs at colleges, universities and professional sports venues across the country.
AAPB teams will provide another layer to the curriculum through a look behind the curtain of their event productions with specific content tailored to the students, including “Day In The Life” content. This will share their process for multiple aspects of the team, including game-day operations, videography and photography, and even social media management.
“These students can’t be what they can’t see,” said Kyle Sydow, high school, parks and recreation market manager for Daktronics. “This partnership helps them see real careers in sports and media. And it gives these teams access to trained game-day production talent at the same time. This partnership is really going to give AAPB, DakClassroom and Crew Connect strength in their shared commitment to shaping the next generation of live event professionals.”