Fielding Dreams: Augustana, Sioux Falls Canaries Building Partnership Through Players, Internships and MBA Program Mentorship

Head to Sioux Falls Stadium - better known as the Birdcage and home of the city's professional baseball team - and you're guaranteed to find Vikings among the Canaries. Along with three Augustana Baseball alumni in Sioux Falls Canaries uniforms, the team employs an alumnus as its sales executive and three students as summer interns. Canaries President Brian Jamros is also a familiar face within the Augustana School of Business and its Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program.

"I've gone in as a guest speaker to a sport management class and talked about where the Canaries are, where we want to go and some of the things we're implementing. It was fun because the students did some projects around how to get (other) students out here (to games) and what excites them," said Jamros, who joined the Canaries in late 2022.

Last academic year, Jamros was asked to take part in the MBA mentoring program - part of the MBA's Leadership Academy, where successful business leaders in the Sioux Falls area are paired with students based on common professional interests.

"I worked with an Augustana Hockey player," Jamros said. "It went really well. I have my MBA, and I've been through a program, so it's just fun to help.

"It's fun to be somebody that they can rely on or ask questions of - not that I know everything, but as somebody who's been there and done it. And, they know they're not an island."

Interns on Deck

Jamros doesn't just mentor Augustana students through the MBA program, but through the many internship opportunities the Canaries offer, as well. Sydney Allen '26, Kaylee Frye '25 and Kenneth Lenger '25 have been interning with the Canaries since May - their responsibilities covering the entire ballpark.

Allen and Frye are game day operations interns. Their duties change, depending on the day, but include guest services, ticketing, will call, ushering, suite attendant and, Allen's personal favorite, wrangling Cagey. Yes, the mascot.

"You're able to get involved with the crowd a lot because you're taking pictures for people and getting kids excited for Cagey," Allen, of Chatfield, Minnesota, said. "It's just a cool experience."

Allen, a marketing and sport management double major, said that having a number of responsibilities has given her important insight into a larger organization.

"I've learned that the small roles matter just as much as the big ones," Allen said. "I get to see and experience it firsthand through all these different roles each game day. I've also learned to just do what is needed. A few weeks ago, they needed servers up in the suites, and I have serving experience. I got to learn a whole new side of how game days work, which was really cool, as well."

Lenger, an art major, is a multimedia intern for the team. He takes photos and video, creates game day graphics and posts on the Canaries' social media channels. His favorite experience so far, he said, has been traveling with the team on one of its away stints. Lenger, who hopes to pursue a similar career in collegiate athletics or professional sports after graduation, said what he's gained the most from this internship hasn't been technical skills.

"I think soft skills are one of the most valuable things you can learn throughout a job or an internship," Lenger said. "The hard skills will come, but the soft skills of learning how to communicate, being flexible - it needs to be a hands-on experience."

For the Canaries and Jamros, the internship program provides real-world experience to students considering a career in the world of professional sports.

"I get talking with them, asking 'What do you enjoy? What do you not enjoy? How can we improve your experience?'" Jamros said. "Beyond that, we want them to learn something, make connections with people that can help them down the road and understand this is what a professional sports organization looks like.

"A lot of the interns get behind the scenes and are here two hours ahead of the game," continued Jamros. "They see when there's nobody in the crowd or there's no baseball going on and all the things that go into it. That's probably the most fun and rewarding aspect."

From Vikings to Canaries

Not only can you see Vikings behind the scenes at the Birdcage, you can see them on the field, too. Augustana alumni Jordan Barth '22, Tanner Brown '21 and Seth Miller '21, who once sported navy and gold, can now be found in royal blue and yellow.

Barth, an infielder from Sioux Falls, is in his second season with the Canaries and was named the 2023 American Association Rookie of the Year. Brown, of Sioux Falls, and Miller, of Blaine, Minnesota, are pitchers in their first and second seasons with the team, respectively.

"Coach (Tim) Huber does a great job with the student-athletes he brings in," Jamros said of Augustana Baseball's head coach. "We would be doing ourselves a disservice if we weren't going after those guys. And, Sioux Falls is such a great place to live, and a lot of these guys are going to play baseball as long as they can, but this is a great place for whatever field they want to go into after."

Batter up, alumni and friends!

A staple of Sioux Falls summers for decades, Augustana has partnered with the Canaries to bring some Viking spirit to the Birdcage, with help from Canaries Sales Executive Jack Lust '23.

On Thursday, Aug. 22, for a discounted rate, AU alumni and friends are invited to the Birdcage as the Canaries take on the Lincoln Saltdogs. Gates open at 5:35 p.m., and the game begins at 6:35 p.m.

Alumni should keep an eye on their email for ticket information.

"The support from Augie from the top on down that has been shown to us has been fantastic," Jamros said. "The relationship that has blossomed has just been phenomenal."

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