The 2029 World University Games and Sports Biz Careers have announced an educational partnership that will offer local college students the opportunity to work with sports organizations across North Carolina’s Triangle area. The inaugural Triangle Sports Business Fellows program will kick off in summer 2025 to celebrate four years to go to the 2029 World University Games. Applications open today and continue through April 10, 2025.
The non-profit organization provides underrepresented college students with fully funded programming that raises their awareness of career opportunities within the sports industry and direct access to employment opportunities. Participating Triangle-area organizations are the Durham Sports Commission; the North Carolina Football Club; global sports, music and entertainment company Wasserman; sports production company Van Wagner; and the North Carolina Organizing Committee (NCOC) for the 2029 World University Games.
“There are three important pillars to the World University Games,” said Hill Carrow, NCOC Chairman & CEO, “sports competition, arts & culture, and education. These programs are typically around or during the time of the Games, which in our case, will be in July of 2029. However, the Games are truly a once-in-a-lifetime event, so we wanted to start some of these programs early to maximize the impact of the Games. We read about the success of the Charlotte program featured in Sports Business Journal, so we reached out to Sports Biz Careers, founders and organizers of the Charlotte program, to gauge their interest in expanding into the Triangle. Fortunately, they were eager to do so. We see the Triangle Sports Business Fellows as an ideal marriage of sports and education, and we are in a premier region for higher education, so this is the perfect opportunity to launch our 2029 World University Games Education Program four years ahead of the Games where we can positively impact the most students.”
The Triangle Sports Business Fellows program expands upon the Charlotte Sports Business Fellowship which was founded by Sports Biz Careers in 2019. Patrick Stack, Co-Founder of the organization, said, “Sports Biz Careers is humbled and excited to partner with the 2029 World University Games and the Triangle sports business community. In doing so, we can build upon the momentum of our Charlotte Sports Business Fellowship, which has supported more than 41 college students over the last three years, 60% of whom have secured part-time or full-time employment in the sports business. There are so many amazing universities and college students aspiring to work in the sports business in the Triangle cities, and we can’t wait to support them in anticipation of the 2029 World University Games.”
Eligible students must be enrolled in a college or university in Wake, Durham, or Orange counties or have permanent residence in one of these counties. Students will be selected by the five participating organizations in April. The inaugural Fellows program will take place from June 2-August 1, 2025, and will include projects at each organization, an enrichment program for all Fellows across all organizations, and skills development coursework provided by Sports Biz Careers. Each Fellow will receive a paid stipend during their participation in the program.
“The Triangle Sports Business Fellows program will continue each year leading up to the World University Games, which will be held in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Elon, Greensboro, and High Point, NC, Wednesday, July 11 through Sunday, July 22, 2029. The program will then continue as a Legacy Program of the World University Games that will support young people who aspire to work in the sports business industry for many years to come,” stated Carrow.
NOTE: A link to the posting and application for this year’s class of Triangle Sports Business Fellows appears below:
Triangle Sports Business Fellows Application
About the North Carolina Organizing Committee: Located in Cary, North Carolina, the North Carolina Organizing Committee (NCOC) is the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2029 FISU World University Games. The LOC has the responsibility for planning, developing, and executing the 2029 Games in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary-Greensboro region of North Carolina. The NCOC is affiliated with, and supported by, the Triangle Sports Commission, which primarily serves Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties, but also hosts events in Guilford and Alamance Counties in North Carolina. The primary goals of the NCOC are to host one of the best World University Games ever, with a great participant experience being the primary barometer; and to showcase North Carolina, and the communities and universities that comprise its central University Hub region, to the world. For more information on NCOC, visit www.ncusa2029wug.com
About Sports Biz Careers: Launched in 2019 and based in Charlotte, NC, Sports Biz Careers aims to support underrepresented populations by creating bridges, where there have historically been gaps, on the pathway to a career in the sports industry. Through the organization’s “starting 5 years” of service, they’ve impacted more than 2,500+ high school and college students. More than 1,000 industry professionals have volunteered to serve students as part of SBC programs, all of which have been provided at no cost thanks to the generosity of more than 30+ industry sponsors, and 700+ individual donors. For more information on Sports Biz Careers, visit www.sportsbizcareers.org
About the 2029 FISU World University Games: The 2029 FISU World University Games will include over 10,000 participants from 150 countries representing more than 600 universities competing in 18 Olympic sports over the course of 12 days during July of 2029 (July 11-22, 2029) at up to 40 venues stretching from Downtown Raleigh, NC, at the Raleigh Convention Center to the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, NC, and beyond. The Games were awarded by FISU to North Carolina USA and will be centered in North Carolina’s University Hub region which includes the host communities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Elon, High Point, and Greensboro; the host counties of Wake, Durham, Orange, Alamance, and Guilford; and the following host institutions: Duke University, Durham Technical Community College, Elon University, High Point University, Meredith College, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, Shaw University, St. Augustine’s University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Wake Technical Community College, and William Peace University. 2029 World University Games Partners include the State of North Carolina, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Wake County, and Duke Health. Official Supporters are Monte Brown, Checkmate Government Relations, Duke University, Durham County, Galloway Ridge at Fearrington, Hannah Sheridan & Cochran, Hummingbird Creative Group, Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, Maynard Nexsen, Nan Hannah, Priam Properties, Research Triangle Park, RTI International, Smedes York Family, Sports & Properties, Inc., Stan & Georgia Campbell, Stuart Law Firm, The Cemala Foundation, Trent Ragland Junior Foundation, Triangle Sports Commission, and Wasserman. The 2029 World University Games will be the largest event ever held in North Carolina and will present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase the state to a worldwide broadcast audience of over 300 million. For more information about the 2029 Games, visit www.ncusa2029wug.com.
About the FISU World University Games: The FISU World University Games are the world’s largest event for student athletes, ages 18-25. The rightsholder for the FISU Games is the International University Sports Federation (FISU), based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The U.S. member of FISU is the United States International University Sports Federation, which is known as UniUSA and is located in Overland Park, Kansas. The World University Games got their formal start with the 1959 Games in Torino, Italy, where 985 athletes from 45 countries competed in 7 sports during a 12-day period. The 15 required sports of the FISU World University Games Summer are Archery, Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics (Track & Field), Badminton, Basketball, Diving, Fencing, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Volleyball, and Water Polo. For the 2029 FISU Games, NCOC has proposed Baseball, Rugby 7s, and Softball as the “local option” sports. Upcoming editions of the FISU World University Games include Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games Summer in Germany (July 16-27, 2025); Chungcheong 2027 FISU World University Games Summer in South Korea; and the North Carolina 2029 FISU World University Games Summer (July 11-22, 2029) in the USA. For more information about the FISU World University Games, FISU, and World University Championships, visit www.fisu.net.
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