Bring the Blue had Vig bursting with excitement

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BROOKINGS – Brianna Vig of Brookings spent her four undergraduate years at State as a cheerleader. For arguably the biggest football game in the school’s history, she was on the sidelines again, but not as a cheerleader.

When SDSU hosted rival North Dakota State Oct. 26, 2019, with the Dakota Marker trophy at stake and ESPN’s GameDay coverage putting the Jackrabbits in the national spotlight, Vig was a first-year graduate student and an employee of Jackrabbit Sports Properties, Learfield IMG College. She joined them in April.

As coordinator of partnership services, Vig was in the southwest corner of the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium field near the SDSU cheerleaders.

When it was time for representatives of the corporate game sponsors to receive on-field recognition, Vig escorted them onto the turf, coordinated with film crews and photographed the recognition. “So, yes, I was working, but it doesn’t feel like work most games because I truly love what I do,” she said.

The majority of her work precedes the kickoff.

She is responsible for aligning online and video board sponsorship recognitions, making sure the radio broadcaster has the correct 30-second spots and setting up padded sideline signage.

She was one of the individuals who learned ESPN GameDay was coming after an Oct. 20 call from her boss letting her know she’d be extra busy as ESPN would be bringing its national crew to campus for two days of telecasts. But she was sworn to secrecy until the public announcement was made later that day. “That was the most exciting call I have ever received. It was unreal to have ESPN come here, come to our campus. Bring the Blue (SDSU’s promotional hashtag for the week) will be remembered forever,” Vig said.

The May 2019 sport and recreation management graduate has some other forever memories from her six years at South Dakota State.

One is an eight-week internship spent in Santiago, Chile, working with Wheel the World on an adaptive cycling program in summer 2018. She did marketing and promotional work for the program that allowed people with disabilities to use handcycles or other adaptive bicycles to navigate closed streets in downtown Santiago Sunday afternoons.

It was a new program that started with 25 users and a few bikes. By the end of the summer, there were more than 50 participants and seven bikes, Vig said.

Also during her time at SDSU, Vig served as a College of Education and Human Sciences ambassador and Sport and Recreation Management Club co-president, played intramural sports and coached the Brookings High School competitive cheerleading team.

After receiving her master’s degree in sport and recreation administration, Vig plans to find a job in collegiate sport sponsorship or marketing. She is the daughter of John Vig and Darla Vig, of Brookings.

Vig will speak at the 10 a.m. Sunday, May 9, ceremony for graduates of the colleges of Education and Human Sciences and the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering.