For students wanting to work in the sports industry, networking opportunities can be the key to success. A group of University students are aiming to create space for those connections by founding a new chapter of Mu Sigma Lambda.
Mu Sigma Lambda is a national professional fraternity designed to develop professional skills for those interested in the sports industry. MSL was founded in 2021, and its first chapter was launched in 2023 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Since then, the fraternity has expanded to 22 chapters nationwide, with one of the newest being the Psi Chapter at the University. After Ella Shapiro, president of MSL and sophomore in AHS, heard about chapters starting at other Big Ten schools, she decided to bring MSL to the University. Shapiro said she and other like-minded students wanted to create a space on campus where students interested in the sports industry could grow.
“We really just want to make sure that we’re bridging the gap between all the students and the professional sports industry,” Shapiro said. “I feel like it’s really important to have opportunities for students to be able to talk to people that are working professionally.”
MSL follows three guiding pillars: leadership, collaboration and growth. These pillars aim to encourage members to cultivate leadership and mentorship skills in a professional environment.
For Carter Blount, vice president of MSL and junior in AHS, philanthropy is important for building these skills within the community. Blount hopes the fraternity can work alongside other Champaign-Urbana organizations to give back to the community.
“I’m a townie myself, so I really want to see us dive into some (collaboration with) community (groups) and volunteering,” Blount said. “There are great (organizations) on campus, and helping them boost their events, volunteering with those organizations, kind of hits one of those pillars.”
The executive board also hopes to highlight the leadership pillar through national-level resources. According to Shapiro, MSL provides opportunities for chapters to participate in various speaker panels with professionals across the sports industry.
According to Shapiro, the University chapter plans to participate in national MSL events, like the speaker panels, as well as hold weekly meetings. Brian Hunter, marketing director of MSL and junior in LAS, hopes the different events and workshops held in the future will allow members to get first-hand leadership experience.
“(We want) this aspect where people are able to join us and say that they are actively contributing to something,” Hunter said. “We’re about bridging the gap between the classroom and the workplace, so one of those things that we want to do is, of course, have these workshops that aren’t just held by or hosted by professionals, but also the students themselves.”
These opportunities can help members shape their futures. For some, MSL may serve as the first step toward a career in the sports industry.
The resources the fraternity provides can be helpful for underclassmen who are new to the University and haven’t determined their career paths. Julien Moss, club relations chair of MSL and freshman in AHS, hopes that MSL can connect him with great opportunities and mentors.
“Learning the experiences (upperclassmen have) gotten, and how they get them, is interesting because that seems to really be what sets you apart in this field,” Moss said. “There are so many opportunities, it’s kind of scary to know which ones to go for and what to do, but having someone like Carter and all the juniors here, it’s helpful.”
According to Shapiro, an important part of the sports industry is networking and establishing yourself, which the upperclassmen have already done. Having gone through these experiences, the upperclassmen members can help guide younger members through their college and professional careers.
To stimulate these connections between members, the executive board hopes to implement a mentorship program. This would allow underclassmen to learn directly from other students that were once in their position.
Sam Macek, co-treasurer and fundraising chair of MSL and sophomore in AHS, said upperclassmen have helped her build connections over the past two years. In the future, she’s hoping to be a resource in the same way her past mentors were.
“We’re just giving (freshmen) that social medium,” Macek said. “It’s like an icebreaker of sorts, so that they’re able to identify where these various opportunities are on campus. We put just as much emphasis on peer-to-peer connection as peer-to-professional (connection) and I think that’s something that often goes overlooked.”
Because of the opportunities MSL provides, Macek said that joining is an investment in members’ futures. The connections members make during their time at the University can help them develop a large network of professionals that may benefit them after graduation.
Blount also said that the skills members take away from this experience will help them excel in the sports industry.
“We hear a lot from the professionals that we get to talk to about how important those soft skills are in our field,” Blount said. “I really want a lot of our members to make themselves (uncomfortable) and learn some of those skills that can really separate them when they come to graduation. (When) they come five years down the road, to get the job that they’ve always dreamed of, I want Mu Sig to be part of that process.”
The executive board members said they are hopeful that MSL will have a large impact on those who join. While Shapiro has high aspirations for professional development within the organization, she also wants to see a community form.
“We don’t really have a space to come together and talk like this,” Shapiro said. “I’m hoping that everyone will be able to be really close, really tight-knit, and have a community where everybody can work off of each other, grow together and help each other learn.”
