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For Porter Sherman ’27, sports tourism and events intern at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, every day is game day. 

If you ask the sport management and finance double major at UTampa, game day is the best, yet also the most hectic day. 

“We treat every office day like it’s the day of an event,” Sherman said. “We work as hard as we would for any event day.”

Sherman started with the sports commission last fall. The organization’s main job is bidding on major events, like the Super Bowl, to come to the Tampa Bay area, along with hosting youth and amateur events.

“We would be the ones to submit the bid package for the city of Tampa to have the event hosted here, and then also assist in the planning and operation of the event,” he said.

The most exciting event in his time so far, Sherman said, was the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four.

The Tampa Bay Sports Commission hosted ancillary events around the city all week, and Sherman served as a volunteer director, with over 800 volunteers working close to 2,000 shifts at events like the “Party in the Plaza” and “Bounce on the Riverwalk.”  

“We had at least eight activations around the city of Tampa at all times, with numerous occurring at the same time,” he said.

Though the hours aren’t always predictable, Sherman said he thrives working in a high-stress environment.

For “Bounce on the Riverwalk,” a parade where fans could dribble a basketball down the Riverwalk, thousands of basketballs were involved, so  Sherman and others had to manage loading and setting up the station. Check-in was at 4 a.m.

“There’s a lot of late nights and events, right? And it scares some people away when they get into it, but it’s just something I love, and I’m really passionate about working hard always and seeing an event come to fruition,” Sherman said.

Another big part of the job is tracking and calculating the "room nights" for events, which ends up determining the revenue a particular event brought in for the city of Tampa, Sherman explained, which is where his finance studies often come in handy.

 Sherman said he’s always been passionate about finance, but adding that major at UTampa “made sense” for long-term career goals.

“From the multi-altitude tasks he is completing, to the mentors he interacts with at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Porter will be referencing this experience his entire post-graduation career,” said Sport Management Internship Coordinator Michael Flynn.

Following graduation, Sherman is sure he wants to work in sports. He plans to get a master’s degree, with the possibility of also pursuing law school.