The Haslam Sports Group Diversity and Opportunity Fellowship welcomed the 2024 class of fellows this month, who will embark on a year-long opportunity to build their knowledge of professional sports and gain experience working in the field.
Fellows will have the chance to join both the Browns and the Columbus Crew over the course of the year-long program and will work in one or more disciplines – sales, marketing, operations and administration – each containing several different departments.
The Haslam Sports Group (HSG) began the Diversity and Opportunity Fellowship in 2021 and has seen multiple alumni receive full-time offers with the Browns and Crew or elsewhere in the sports industry. Other program alumni have returned to school in pursuit of MBA or Juris Doctor degrees.
Get to know this year's four fellows:
Danika Austin
Danika Austin, who finished her undergraduate degree and her master's degree in sports administration at Northwestern in 2024, is originally from Michigan and was a five-year starter for the Wildcats women's soccer team. Austin interned in the Northwestern athletic department, which is where she came across the fellowship opportunity.
"I was like, this is a perfect opportunity for me to be in two different sports that are two completely different industries and figure out my niche," Austin said. "I'm just so excited to learn so many things that I learned in classes, but now I get to actually implement them in everyday life."
Austin believes that the life lessons she learned while playing collegiate soccer will help her as she transitions to the world of professional sports.
"I feel like it just instilled key values in me," Austin said. "Teamwork, collaboration, communication – all those things directly translate into the workplace and then just being around sports, you already know the grind. You know you're going to have to work weekends and do all of those things […] so I think that lifestyle has prepared me to work in sports."
Austin will be working in both of the legal and administration departments and for each team.
Lianne Rodriguez
Lianne Rodriguez, who graduated from TCU in Dec. 2023, found the fellowship after doing research on the Browns organization for a sports communications class assignment.
"I was doing a project on multicultural marketing and that led me to an article on the Browns and how there are a lot of women that work here within the coaching staff, professional staff and I was like, that looks like a cool place to work," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez was a member of the marching band at TCU as a clarinet player and started the program's social media accounts. In addition to her musical interests, Rodriguez grew up a big soccer fan and credits her fandom with helping her get into sports.
"I am Mexican. I wasn't born there, but that's how I identify; my parents were both born there. And so, watching soccer games was a way to connect with my culture and my heritage and so that kind of initiated it all since I was little," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez will be working in the communications departments for both the Crew and the Browns this year.
Hannah Oliveros
Hannah Oliveros, a Chicago native and Ohio State alumna, appreciated the opportunity the HSG fellowship gave those just out of college to get into the sports industry.
"I had already been working with Ohio State athletics and football, so I was already in that field and wanted to expand that," Oliveros said. "I really liked how [HSG] put an emphasis on getting more diversity into the sports world."
Oliveros interned with Ohio State athletics for two years in addition to spending time with NBC Sports. She launched the athletic program's TikTok account and credits her experience as a college athlete for putting her in a position to succeed off the field.
Oliveros not only worked for Ohio State athletics, but also spent three years on the gymnastics team, earning Academic All-Big Ten and WCHA Scholastic All-American honors in 2022 and 2023.
"I think college athletics is probably one of the hardest things that you could ever put yourself through," Oliveros said. "But it helped me very much so get into everything that I needed to do. I was training preseason while I was working football games and competing while I was posting for Ohio State athletics' TikTok account. I think that it gives you a better sense of how you need to manage your time and how you need to manage your priorities."
Oliveros will be working in the digital and marketing departments for both the Crew and the Browns.
Irfaun Delgado Karim
A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Irfaun Delgado Karim is excited to bring his passion for both soccer and football to the Haslam Sports Group fellowship program. Delgado Karim grew up in St. Louis and worked as an intern for the Los Angeles Football Club in 2023.
Delgado Karim appreciates how sports provide ways for a diverse group of fans to connect over their love of the game.
"It just goes to show how much deeper it is than just sports," Delgado Karim said. "It's awesome to be able to go somewhere and it's people of all different races, of all different backgrounds being able to cheer on the same thing."
Delgado Karim is looking forward to the chance to work with both a professional soccer and professional football team across different departments.
"For me, it was just trying to get a foot in the door in the sports industry," Delgado Karim said. "I think it can be one that's pretty difficult, especially for minorities, to get into. So just seeing this opportunity having that focus and also just being able to do rotations was something that piqued my interest."
Delgado Karim will be working in marketing and business analytics over the course of the one-year program.
