Two days before SEC Start Up: A Student-Athlete Pitch Competition was scheduled to be taped in the Regions Center Auditorium, the list of participants for the event was slightly different than the five teams who would headline the show.
The eventual winners – The Digital Athlete – didn’t even know they were coming. They weren’t on the original list. In fact, it was a last-minute exit from one of the original student-athlete teams that opened the door for The Digital Athlete to be a part of the competition.
And all they needed was the opportunity. The team hailing from Auburn University claimed the top prize in the initial SEC Start Up competition, which debuted on the SEC Network on July 15.
Now, the team can not only claim the title of winners of the inaugural competition, but they can also tell everyone, since the competitors were sworn to secrecy until the show aired.
Other winners included:
- Side Coach Sports
- Luke Carrell, University of Oklahoma, Baseball
- Side Coach Sports bridges the gap between college athletes eager to provide lessons and youth athletes seeking valuable guidance with a streamlined system for scheduling.
- ECO Reuse
- Michael Moriarty, University of Missouri, Track and Field
- EcoReuse transforms old and discarded furniture into stunning, refreshed pieces while offering pickup and move out services.
Miss the show? It will be rebroadcast on SEC Network at the following times (all CDT):
- July 17 – 5 a.m.
- July 19 – 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
- July 20 – 4 a.m.
- July 21 – 12:30 a.m. and 10 p.m.
- July 22 – 12 p.m.
SEC Start Up: A Student-Athlete Pitch Competition
What is the SEC Start Up: A Student-Athlete Pitch Competition?
The new pitch competition – which featured student-athletes from four different SEC-member schools delivering business pitches for their existing businesses – is a career development program in partnership with Regions. Judges for the competition include Leroy Abrahams, Regions’ head of Community Engagement; Daymeon Fishback, SEC Network Analyst and Financial Advisor; and Hunter Bell, Owner and Founder of Hunter Bell, a contemporary women’s fashion brand.
More Coverage of SEC Media Days
The SEC Start Up was allotted a prime-time slot airing during the first day of SEC Media Days, which is also presented by Regions. For the first time in the SEC’s history, SEC Media Days is being held outside of one of the original market areas of the conference – this time, in Dallas.
The appearance in Dallas is part of the welcome mat the SEC and its member institutions are rolling out for the conference’s newest additions — the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma.
SEC Media Days features appearances by the SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, as well as football coaches and key player representatives from each of the conference’s teams over the four days of the event.
Reason Why Regions Supports the SEC
As the Official Bank of the SEC, Regions joins forces with an organization that mirrors where the company does business and something that bring out the passion and pride of fans. The relationship provides numerous opportunities to interact – at events, games and championship events. In 2023, as the presenting sponsor of SEC Media Days, held for the first time in Nashville, that relationship translated into:
- More than 48 hours of having the Regions logo on screen
- More than 72 hours of radio mentions
- Opportunities to host customers and key prospects at the event
- Representation on signage and billboards, noting the Regions is the Official Bank of the SEC
- And much more