VERMILLION, S.D. — Former Coyote golfer Jordan Rykal wrapped up his collegiate career this past year and was named first-team All-Summit League. This summer, Rykal faced new competition and was one of 25 interns working with Foot Locker and East Bay.
 
Rykal graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports management and took a few classes regarding sports marketing. He applied for a marketing position that was labeled as a "brand, Jordan" position, which is exclusive to Jordan and Nike.
 
He was interviewed first over the phone, and then traveled to Wausau, Wis., for a second interview. He went to a Nike showroom where Nike showcases their products to Foot Locker Inc. companies.
 
After that interview, Rykal was offered the internship. He worked specifically within the basketball and court category.
 
"I'm a big sneaker head and am always up to date with the sneaker culture," said Rykal. "This opportunity seemed like a dream job for me. I get to give the direction for design, copy and social media as to how the company markets each shoe or product."
 
For his position, Rykal was referred to as a "launch intern". Everything that he did had to do with the launch or release on new shoes and products. He got to do everything from deciding on the shoes and outfits, to putting the items in a storyboard and then getting all the other information that Foot Locker and Eastbay need for a launch.
 
"I also do merchandise emails that we send out about launch shoes," said Rykal. "I will provide our copywriters with articles that will give them good insight to be able to talk about the shoe.
"Shoe launches are a big thing right now. We will release a shoe online at 9 a.m., and will sell 3,000 pairs in the first hour."
 
Rykal was able to be part of a release and helped with the launch of the Air Jordan Retro VII "Olympic Alternate". When it came to marketing the shoe, Rykal sent out personalized emails to people that bought the shoe in 2012. He also sent out a larger scale email, hooking the shoe with Jordan apparel and Olympic basketball apparel and made social media posts about it as well. 
 
"The experience was great for me," said Rykal. "I learned so much in such a small amount of time and made so many great connections with co-workers. The main thing that I learned was to just slow down and always make sure to look over your work before sending it along. You never know how much a little mistake can affect something."
 
After getting all of this experience, Rykal applied for jobs within the Foot Locker organization and was recently hired as an associate buyer. He started Sept. 19 in Wausau Wisconsin.
 
"I'm extremely excited and ready to start," said Rykal. "I will be dispersing my allotted budget to buy what I think is the correct amount of product for us to sell. I will be buying for the kid's apparel category."
 
As an associate buyer, he will be attending vendor meetings with companies like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour.