What It’s Like to Work a Bowl Game from the Perspective of a Female Staffer

Playing in a bowl game is a prestigious honor for football players, but the privilege and the hard work of being at a bowl game extend to all members of a football team.

GRIT PR sat down with Dylan Burford, a student video assistant for the University of Michigan, to find out exactly what it’s like to work a bowl game as a member of the support staff.

“The only bowl games I worked at have been for the College Football Playoff, which is crazy,” said Burford. “It is an all-hands-on-deck kind of experience. The preparation starts weeks ahead of time.

Burford, the most senior female staffer in the video department, said the responsibilities of staffers expand during the bowl season from the traditional five-hour work day to include more time-consuming tasks like loading all video equipment in the team’s semi-truck to be driven to the host city.

After the team arrives at the host city, the preparation continues, and the schedule of the video team essentially matches the players’  schedule. They work at the cadence of the team, as Burford says. “We don't get to make the decisions. We are told what they are doing, and we have to figure out how to make it work. That's a really valuable skill to have to be able to see what you're up against in a short amount of time.” 

They arrive to practice on the early bus to prepare for the players and coaches. On the first day of practice for a bowl game, that means four hours early, and every other day they leave three hours early to be prepared for any curveballs that might come their way.

Perhaps the most unique part of working a bowl game is that Burford had to receive a license to use a scissor lift for capturing practice film – something that is not in the job description!

Aside from all the hard work that goes into a bowl game, Burford said that the time the team spends together stands out.

“Because the actual hours of what we do all the time is so intense, a lot of times, we are separated by departments. Whereas at a bowl game, everyone’s staying in the hotel, working together. We get more interaction between us, the trainers, managers, equipment staff, and players.”