Career Report Essay

Nick Leydig
Professor Emigh
RPTM 101
11 April 2023
When I was exploring future career paths for myself, considering things I love to do was
the biggest factor in deciding what I may want my future career to be. In my life I find joy in
sports, family, friends, and working hard. But I know that solely one of these things won’t fulfill
my needs in life. So when I dug deeper into a career path that can offer me all those things I
came across Taylor Covington the Assistant Athletics Director for WVU (West Virginia). The
reason I chose this person is because their job title is something that interests me and I have a
passion for sports. During our interview, Taylor told me all about his life leading up to his
current job. Taylor pursued his education with a bachelor's degree in economics from BYU
(Brigham Young). After graduating Taylor worked at BYU in the business office as a graduate
assistant for strategy and business development. After this Taylor spent 6 years working at
Deloitte and Pricewatterhousecoopers as a sports business strategy and finance consultant.
WVU and WVU Athletics both have similar yet individual mission statements. WVU
mission statement is ““As a land-grant institution, the faculty, staff and students at West Virginia
University commit to creating a diverse and inclusive culture that advances education, healthcare
and prosperity for all by providing access and opportunity; by advancing high-impact research;
and by leading transformation in West Virginia and the world through local, state and global
engagement.”(WVU) Which is pretty simple and self explanatory. WVU Athletics mission
statement is “The mission of the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate
Athletics is to provide the means to empower student-athletes to develop as leaders and achieve
their full potential academically, athletically and personally. As an integral part of WVU, the
Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to supporting the broader mission of the
University through the integration of athletics in the academic community.”(WVU Athletics) But
they also have an acronym PRIDE, which stands for P-People-We will recognize that the
foundation of WVU Athletics is the people - student-athletes, coaches, staff and the greater
Mountaineer community, R-Respect- We will represent and embrace the importance of
diversity, inclusion, sportsmanship and fairness, I-Integrity- We will operate with commitment
to fiscal integrity, personal accountability, and compliance within the rules, policies and
procedures of respective governing bodies, D-Dedication- We will dedicate resources to
promote growth and development of the academic, physical, emotional and social well-being of
student-athletes and professional development of coaches and staff, E-Excellence- we will
commit to comprehensive excellence by positioning sport programs to compete with distinction
at the highest levels academically and athletically.(WVU Athletics) This encompasses the main
goal of all sports across WVU Athletics making sure everyone involved is held to the highest
standard.
WVU Athletics caters to athletes and coaches across all varsity sports, with all aspects.
The ages range from college freshman all the way to coaches and staff at any age. Something
interesting called the Mountaineer Athletic Club, their goal is to professionally fundraise for the
Athletic Department and help provide resources to make the lives of student athletes better
academically and athletically. Athletes, donors, and coaches/staff come from all over the world.
There is no one location that these people come from, WVU Athletics brings athletes, coaches,
and staff from all over.

WVU Athletics provides 18 Division 1 sports for athletes. The athletes are provided with
everything they need from housing to clothes to food. It allows them to just worry about two
things in their daily lives, school and sports. There are a wide range of facilities across WVU
campus for all sports from Milan Puskar Stadium where the football games are held each fall, to
Athletics Performance Center at the WVU Coliseum Sports Complex for training, to the
Academic Performance Center to help with studying. WVU Athletics provides the student
athletes with all the necessary resources to perform on and off the field. Funding for these
facilities, paying coaches, and other things within athletics are primarily due to fan and visitor
spending. “Of the $302 million WVU athletics is generating on a yearly basis, $246 million of
that is coming from visitor and fan spending.” says John Antonik. The money that WVU
Athletics generates stays in athletics to help fund all sports programs whether the sport makes
money or not.
When discussing the issues of such an important position at WVU such as the Assistant
Athletic Director I was curious about challenges in Taylors daily life. I proposed the question to
Taylor “What challenges do you face regularly in your job profession?”. He hesitated for a
moment then proceeded to answer my question with an honest answer that I wasn’t expecting. “It
“It's the people we work with on a daily basis, from coaches to players anyone can make things
difficult at times. At the end of the day it all comes down to the mood everyone is in. A good day
is rare for everyone.” said Taylor. When I was getting a better understanding of Taylors job I
realized that he is not only on the business side of it but also the people side. He deals with a lot
of people on a daily basis and has to have good communication and people skills to be
successful. I learned a lot through just a few minutes conversing with someone, but through it all
this is still a job field that I am interested in and can’t wait to see where life takes me.
Works Cited
Antonik, J. (2019, June 19). WVU athletics means big business. West Virginia University
Athletics. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://wvusports.com/news/2019/6/19/general-wvu-
athletics-means-big-business.aspx
Mountaineer Athletic Club. West Virginia University - Mountaineer Athletic Club.
(2023). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://mountaineerathleticclub.com/
WVU Athletics Directory . West Virginia University Athletics. (2023). Retrieved April
11, 2023, from https://wvusports.com/staff-directory/taylor-covington/3136
WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Mission. West Virginia University
Athletics. (2023). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://wvusports.com/sports/2017/9/25/mission-statement#:~:text=West%20Virginia
%20University%20Athletics,-Main%20Navigation%20Menu&text=The%20mission%20of
%20the%20West,potential%20academically%2C%20athletically%20and%20personally.
WVU Mission Statement . West Virginia University. (2023). Retrieved April 11, 2023,
from https://www.wvu.edu/about-wvu/mission#:~:text=As%20a%20land%2Dgrant
%20institution,leading%20transformation%20in%20West%20Virginia

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Nick Leydig

Deloitte and Pricewatterhousecoopers as a sports business strategy and finance consultant.

statement is “The mission of the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate

Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is committed to supporting the broader mission of the

Mountaineer community, R-Respect- We will represent and embrace the importance of

procedures of respective governing bodies, D-Dedication- We will dedicate resources to

student-athletes and professional development of coaches and staff, E-Excellence- we will

commit to comprehensive excellence by positioning sport programs to compete with distinction

and staff from all over.

Athletics. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://wvusports.com/news/2019/6/19/general-wvu-

Mountaineer Athletic Club. West Virginia University - Mountaineer Athletic Club.

(2023). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://mountaineerathleticclub.com/

11, 2023, from https://wvusports.com/staff-directory/taylor-covington/3136

WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Mission. West Virginia University

Athletics. (2023). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from

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