Turning Passion into Profession: Peyton Frisby ’26CCPS Earns Elite Postgraduate Internship

St. John’s University alumna Peyton Frisby ’26CCPS has earned a prestigious postgraduate internship with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This highly competitive role provides emerging professionals with hands-on experience working across collegiate athletics at the national level. Ms. Frisby will serve as the NCAA’s Championships and Alliances–Corporate Relations postgraduate intern, one of 34 available positions in the NCAA postgraduate program, which receives upwards of 2,000 applicants each year.

The opportunity with the NCAA stood out because of the chance to work within a new area of the sports industry and gain experience beyond the team-focused environments she had previously worked in, which includes stints interning with the St. John’s Athletics Event Management and Marketing departments; a summer internship with the Women’s National Basketball Association’sIndiana Fever; and a spot in Madison Square Garden’s Student Associate Program.

“I wanted to be involved with a different ecosystem of sports besides the ones I’ve typically worked in, such as hockey, volleyball, soccer, and basketball,” she explained. “With the NCAA’s unique landscape, I’ll be able to gain experience across a wide range of sports while working with major partners and brands. It’s an opportunity to grow on a league-wide scale and better understand how partners activate with the NCAA brand across championships and all divisions.” 

Originally from Annapolis, MD, Ms. Frisby graduated in May from the Sport Management program in The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies (CCPS) with a minor in Social Justice: Theory and Practice in the Vincentian Tradition.

She was actively involved in the Sport Management Association and Women in Sports Association, served as Public Relations Chair for the Resident Student Association during her junior year, and participated in the Ozanam Scholars Program. She is also a member of both the National Society of Leadership and Success and the CCPS Honor Society.

She is especially excited about the professional development opportunities built into the program, including workshops and a networking trip where interns can visit a city of their choice and connect with sports professionals in collegiate and professional organizations while learning more about the industry firsthand.

“I’m really excited to take this trip head on and network within various parts of the sports industry that I may not have been exposed to prior,” she said.

During her internship, she hopes to deepen her understanding of collegiate athletics operations at the national level, particularly in areas such as partnerships, branding, and Name, Image, and Likeness activation. She also shared advice for younger students hoping to enter the sports industry.

“Don’t take your job too seriously to the point where you cannot enjoy it because at the end of the day, that’s what working in sports is all about,” she said. “Push yourself outside of your comfort zone, even when it feels uncomfortable or impossible. If I didn’t take the chance on myself [early on] regardless of how inexperienced I was, I would have never been able to work with some of the top talent, brands, and networks in the industry.”