PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the demographic make‐up of volunteers and their motives for participating in a professional tennis event.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a cross‐sectional descriptive study to investigate the primary motivation of volunteers from a US Open Series professional tennis event. A MANOVA was also conducted to compare the volunteer motivation factors (purposive, egoistic, leisure, material, external) by demographic factors (gender and age).FindingsVolunteers' demographics closely resemble the tennis participation population and are similar to other tournament volunteers in the sport of golf. Volunteers were strongly motivated by material and purposive factors. Gender and age had no significant effect on the motivation to volunteer.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample being from a single event can limit the generalizations, but the work can serve as a framework for more extensive studies, including focusing on a women's event to examine the differences in motivation.Practical implicationsImplications of the results are provided in an effort to assist sport managers to design quality volunteer experiences that enhance the overall experience, supporting episodic volunteers' work ethic, and management of the event. There is clear evidence that volunteer satisfaction is higher when their motives are met. It is intended that this research will offer more support for event organizers based on the growing usage of volunteers and concerns in the sport industry.Originality/valueThis study is the only one that examines tennis volunteers in general as well as exploring the effect of the dependent variables of gender and age on motivation.

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Sport management as an academic discipline requires a balance of theory and practice through endowing students with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and expertise (Cuneen & Parks, 1997). Professionals call for students being “prepared” for the demands of the sport industry through the acquisition of a quality education and a significant amount of hands-on experience before entering the work force. Researchers have recommended utilizing experiential pedagogical strategies to not only provide the hands-on engagement but also to challenge students to use their knowledge for the public good (e.g., Bruening, Madsen, Evanovich, & Fuller, 2010; Chalip, 2006; McKelvey & Southall, 2008; Pauline & Pauline, 2008). It also supports the recent trend to educate students in the world beyond the confines of the college campus. Boyer (1996) noted engaging outside the confines of campus will not only give students hands on experience but also, cultivate a student’s cognitive and moral development, which is often underestimated in higher education.

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Sport management programs continue to focus on developing innovative pedagogical strategies to prepare students to enter and successfully navigate the rapidly evolving, highly competitive sport industry. One effective tactic is to integrate experiential learning projects into the classroom. This paper describes a collaborative three-year partnership involving a sport management program, athletic department, and corporate sponsor. The relationship provided scholarships for the program, internship opportunities, research funding, and an experiential learning project. Specifically, the lead author applied the metadiscrete experiential learning model developed by Southall, Nagel, LeGrande, and Han (2003) to a client based sponsorship activation project for an upper-level sport marketing course. The paper offers a blueprint and specific recommendations for faculty who wish to develop a client-based collaborative effort that can provide a hands-on learning experience for students and generate programmatic resources, research possibilities, student scholarships, and funding opportunities for an academic program. Such projects can further prepare students as well as enhance the fit between sport management programs and the sport industry.