Delaney Nicol ’19 hopes to pursue a career in the sports industry after graduation. She's getting a start on that path by interning this summer at Foot Locker's global headquarters in New York City. Here's more about her summer internship, which is supported by a Christie Bell Vilsack ’72 Internship Award.
Where are you interning this summer?
“This summer, I’m taking part in the Manhattan Sports Business Academy, a summer immersion program designed for college students seeking career acceleration in the sports industry. We receive invaluable access and exposure in the industry through the five main components of the program: internship placement, mentorship pairing, a speaker series, office field trips, and career workshops.
“Through this program, I’m interning in the Allocations Department at Foot Locker’s global headquarters in New York City, focusing specifically on all of men’s footwear for Foot Locker, Inc.
Major: Economics
Hometown: Burbank, Calif.
High School: John Burroughs High School
“I still can’t believe that I get to be in the same room and learn from successful individuals at renowned sports brands, teams, agencies, and corporations. It really is a dream come true for anyone who grew up loving sports and hopes to one day live out their dream by working in the industry.”
Can you describe an average day for you on this internship?
“A typical day begins with examining different business intelligence reports for all Foot Locker stores in the nation and analyzing the men’s footwear consumer market on a regional, state, and store level. We use different allocation strategies to choose how many shoes we want to distribute to each Foot Locker store which depends on the consumer we want to target in that market, our forecast and plan for how that shoe will sell, and how a shoe with the same Brand ID performed during a prior launch.”
What do you hope to gain from this internship experience?
“Above all, I hope to build valuable relationships with sports business and retail professionals who were once in my shoes and made a name for themselves in order to climb the ladder and be successful in this ultra-competitive industry. I am learning something new every day at MSBA and Foot Locker, and both of these companies are helping me create my personal brand and will hopefully allow me to make a positive impact in others’ lives like many individuals have done for me this summer.”
Where do you see yourself in the future, career-wise?
“When I was selected to participate in the Manhattan Sports Business Academy, I did not have any idea what career path best fit with my skills and interests, but I completely trusted the process, and I learned a lot about my job options.
“Now I know for sure that I want to pursue a career in the sports industry right after college, preferably working for a brand, agency, team or league. This internship program helped me gain clarity about the different options out there—and now I’ve built an invaluable network of individuals that can take me to the next level of my career.”
