Exercise and Sports Science student Gavin Ryan undertaking his practical placement in the football department at the West Coast Eagles training headquarters.
ECU event management students working at West Coast Eagles match day.
In the case of our long-running partnership with the West Coast Eagles Football Club, it's all about giving you work experience or insights into the workings of a large and successful enterprise.
If you happen to barrack for the club, then you get a fangirl/fanboy bonus!
Course to a career
Of course, this isn't a free-for-all for every student at ECU to get behind the scenes. The catch is you must be studying courses that are relevant to WCE's operations.
The club is the biggest in the Australian Football League, or AFL, with over 100,000 members in 2023.
Their operation is massive, extending from actual football and sports strategy to rehab and training, event management, merchandising, communications and marketing.
So you'll need to be studying courses like Exercise & Sports Science, Communications, Journalism and Broadcast Media, Sport Business, Event Management or Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations to benefit from this partnership.
As a student, you could be working with the club as part of a practicum placement for your course. Or you might be involved in a game day activation or take up one of the many volunteering opportunities.
You could also be invited, along with other students in your class, to a panel discussion run by key WCE staff.
Whatever your connection with the club, you'll almost certainly get to tour their state-of-the-art headquarters at Perth's Lathlain Park. And maybe get a selfie with a premiership cup!
The facilities are fantastic, including the purpose-built ECU High Performance Centre (Sports Science) and the ECU Broadcasting Centre.
A dream come true
Kate Diviney (pictured) is an ECU Sport, Recreation and Event Management graduate.
Kate had an interest in working behind the scenes in sport and found that ECU not only offered this degree, but also had a partnership with the West Coast Eagles that offered internships.
Kate says, "my experience working with West Coast helped me understand the way events work in a major sporting organisation and gave me a foot-in-the-door to full-time employment with them."
The dream came true.
Kate Diviney, ECU Sport, Recreation and Event Management graduate.
Behind-the-scenes opportunities
Optus stadium in Perth Western Australia has one of the most advanced broadcast and media centres of any stadium in the world.
Each year one lucky media and communications student gets the chance to see how the broadcast machine works on a match day.
Josh Dowdall got the opportunity through a student competition he won for writing an article about the greatest West Coast Eagles premiership team of all time, choosing the 1992 team in a compelling argument.
The behind-the-scenes experience provided Josh with real-world insights and unmatched industry connections.
"Experiencing the operations with the Eagles was eye-opening. It offered a rare glimpse into the intricate workings of a premier sports organisation, from media coordination to player management," he says.
"Witnessing the meticulous planning and dynamic communication involved in each game day gave me unforgettable insights into sports broadcasting."
Josh hopes to one day work in sports media and ECU provides the perfect education for that dream to become a reality.
Third year media student Josh Dowdall (left) with friend Harrison on game day.
We're very sporty at ECU
Aside from the West Coast Eagles, ECU has strong partnerships with other leading sporting clubs such as Perth Glory, Perth Heat, Western Force and Swimming WA, as well as sports industry bodies such as the WA Sports Federation, Sports Medicine Australia and more.
So, if you love sport or events or marketing or sports science, keep these ECU partnerships in mind when you're considering courses. Dream jobs are possible.
ECU students go behind the scenes at West Coast Eagles (1 min).
