Jason Dvorkin

Jason Dvorkin, Syracuse ’04, hardly ever watches a football game on television, because he’s directing everything you see at Gillette Stadium during New England Patriots games and New England Revolution soccer matches. Dvorkin currently serves as the Director of Event Presentation for both teams in Foxborough, Massachusetts and has almost seven years of experience and memories. He also has one Super Bowl ring. As a marketing major at Syracuse University, Dvorkin sought to prepare himself for a potential career in sports. After working in the Marketing Department for Syracuse Athletics, he landed a summer internship with the Patriots. Through continued communication with key individuals within the organization during his senior year, Dvorkin received a phone call about a job opening a few days after graduation. “I really created my own path,” Dvorkin recalls. After initially working in marketing, he soon learned radio production and was promoted to manage the team’s

radio and television shows along with the in-stadium audio-visual experience. NEW ENGLAND Dvorkin manages everything PATRIOTS you hear and see during a game in the stadium. He shared with us, “The average person sitting in the stands would never know how scripted each game really is. I have to be prepared to think on the fly, though. If a bad play for the Patriots happens right before a break, I can’t send the cheerleaders out there to do a routine. The challenge with any live event is that there are no second chances. I have to be very familiar with the rules of the game. Otherwise, I could end up doing something that could get the organization fined. “Ultimately, I work to make sure we’re delivering a product to the fans in the stands that is more authentic than what they can get on television. I also try to give the team that twelfth-man, or home field, advantage,” Dvorkin adds.

What advice would you give to those seeking a career with a professional sports team?

JD: It usually helps most to try to either get an internship doing anything with sports, on campus or with a minor-league team, or to look at your experience in terms of how that would translate to a professional sports franchise. You have to learn the business side of the job, though. Whether your team is 16-0 or 0-16, you still have a job to do. Also, if the only reason you want to go into sports is because you’re a huge sports fan, you may be doing it for the wrong reasons. When your hobby becomes your job, it’s not a hobby anymore. If you can learn the “business” of sports and put aside your affinity for the team when necessary, you can be successful in this business.

Tell us a bit about your Delta Chi experience at Syracuse!

JD: My girlfriend, who is now my wife, told me about these men who came to her sorority’s chapter meeting talking about the opportunity to build a new organization on our campus. She said I should meet with them, as they didn’t seem like typical “frat guys.” I was really impressed. I joined Delta Chi during my sophomore year as a Founding Father of the Colony. I liked the opportunity to build something from the ground up and leave my mark on campus. I was the first “B”; then I served as “A”, AMC, Social Chair, and Recruitment Chairman. I really enjoyed my term as AMC, as I was able to teach our newest members all that I had learned since joining.