When alumna Avery Urquhart (’23) was looking for an internship her junior year, she was drawn to a position at A3 Athletics that allowed her to handle client relations, event organizing, and learn the workings of a full-service sports agency. She had prior experience in sports promotions after working with Tennessee Athletics’ Fan Experience team and knew this was the right industry for her future career. Now, she’s thrilled to have a career that meshes her love of sports, communications, and community outreach.
As a senior majoring in communication studies, Urquhart thought being sent to the Super Bowl LVII in Arizona to enjoy the fruits of the work she did for A3 Athletics couldn’t be topped as far as positive outcomes from the internship—but landing a great job post-graduation because of her internship easily took the top spot on that list.
“My boss mentioned some big events coming up post-graduation, and she wanted to get a gauge on what I wanted to do. She said, ‘I can welcome you to the team.’ And I said yes,” Urquhart recalled.
Now, two years after she graduated, Urquhart is feeling even more fulfilled in her role as an account specialist at ABC Sports Foundation, where she assists athletes in managing their philanthropic efforts. ABC Sports Foundation was founded by Urquhart’s supervisor at A3 Athletics in response to the growing number of athletes—particularly those not signed with A3—seeking guidance on how to give back to their communities.
“Many athletes come to us and say, ‘We don’t know how to go about this,’” she explained. “We collaborate directly with professional athletes, including NFL players and their families, who operate or are looking to start nonprofit organizations.”
For the past year and a half, the bulk of Urquhart’s work focused on planning and executing “Football for Change,” an event co-hosted by ABC Sports Foundation and Hidden Pearls, a podcast and studio co-founded by San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, his father Bruce Kittle, and sister Emma Kittle. The organizations wanted to create an event that would be three-fold in its purpose: provide an opportunity for NFL players to focus on their physical and mental well-being, advance the game of football, and uplift a community through a variety of initiatives.
The scope and purpose of the event made it logistically intensive, which Urquhart said is based on four pillars: literacy, wellness, youth sports development, and community. They chose what some may think of as an unlikely destination for nonprofit work: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Despite its reputation as a tourist destination, the city still has plenty of communities in need of the assistance Football for Change was offering, she said.
“According to the Tourism Board, we’re the first to come in and do this type of work. Previously, no one has offered to help schools in Cabo because of its reputation as a tourist attraction,” Urquhart said. “The Tourism Board and government alike said, ‘We’ve never had the opportunity to work with an event on this scale.’ They also never all collaborated on an event like this to bring local parties together to make an impact.”
The choice of a foreign locale was also intentional as the very American sport of football continues to grow in other countries. In Mexico, girl’s tackle football is becoming increasingly popular, and around the world flag football is gaining traction as it is set to debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. One component of the outreach was hosting two football camps—one for girls and boys tackle and another for flag football—with the NFL players running the camps.
Year one of Hidden Pearls and ABC’s Football for Change exceeded all expectations. What was initially envisioned as a small launch with just a handful of NFL players quickly grew into something much larger, drawing 16 members of the 49ers, including Kittle himself, along with several teammates such as Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, and more, all inspired by the mission to give back. In addition to the camps, Football for Change worked with the local government, businesses, and organizations to help three schools get much-needed repairs and equipment.
Urquhart traveled to Mexico ahead of the event to get an idea of the schools’ needs and to find local businesses to act as sponsors to fill those needs. While US-based companies also partnered with Football for Change to meet the schools’ requests, the event’s organizers wanted to ensure the community was involved at every level, she said. They impacted more than 2,000 students and fulfilled urgent infrastructure needs, such as replacing a water cistern that doubled the amount of clean water available at one of the schools.
“The players visited the schools and spent quality time engaging with the students. In addition to interacting with the children, we co-hosted educational programming in partnership with the San Francisco 49ers. Our organization also had the opportunity to present checks to support school initiatives and donate sports equipment from NFL Mexico. At the high school, we were even surprised by a full pep rally; the students had practiced cheers and performed dance routines. The energy was incredible. The players were blown away by the experience, and so was I. It was truly special,” she said.
Urquhart has already started working on the 2026 Football for Change and is aiming to make it bigger, better, and even more impactful for the community. While she had hoped for a communications career in sports, she didn’t think she’d land in an organization or position that was such a good fit for her.
“I really like working on the community side of things and collaborating closely with businesses and players to build those meaningful relationships. I like what we’re doing with athletes in the community, and I could see myself continuing in this space,” she said.
All of this started with Urquhart listening to her instructors at the College of Communication and Information, who pushed students to seek out hands-on opportunities to learn more about what they desire in a career path. Her very first internship in summer 2022, with Insight Global was a result of attending one of the career fairs on campus. That internship, which was in sales and recruiting, led to a job offer she ultimately turned down to pursue a career in sports, but she gained skills from it she still uses today. That experience also helped her get a foot in the door with subsequent internships, each of which led to the next opportunity.
“It’s great to get practice talking to other professionals and interviewing companies rather than just them interviewing you. Put yourself out there as much as possible. No one loves going to career fairs, it’s very intimidating, but it’s worth it” she said.
Perhaps everyone who goes to a career fair won’t result in getting an internship that eventually leads to a job working with famous NFL players, but Urquhart said none of that would have happened if she hadn’t taken the leap. She also said networking with other students and professionals was invaluable throughout her whole career journey.
Urquhart also credits several courses and professors with giving her the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to be where she is now.
“I wouldn’t be doing the job I am in this type of leadership position if it wasn’t for CCI. Dr. Paskewitz and Dr. Bernhold were so invested in my academic career and making sure I was prepared for post-graduation. They taught me so much about organizational communication,” she said. “And being co-president of Lambda Pi Eta helped prepare me for a leadership role.”
If anyone is interested in learning more about, working with, or supporting ABC’s mission, contact Urquhart at [email protected].