Meet our students
Wondering what it's like to study at the Brisbane Broncos Sport Business Institute?
Click each student's image to discover their story.
Ben Holmes
SBI Graduate
Why I Joined the Program
I’ve had a passion for sport since I was young. I had to medically retire from rugby league early, but the pull never left. Work and life took me into management and senior leadership, which taught me a lot about business and people. When I saw BBSBI pop up with the Broncos, a world‑class club drew me to the program. I looked into it, applied, and got accepted. This was the way back into sport with the right skills and mindset.
What appealed most was the mix of classroom and real exposure. I didn’t just want theory; I wanted to see how a club like the Broncos actually runs and where someone with my background could add value. The program has let me test that in a practical way.
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Key Skills I’ve Grown at BBSBI
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Sharpening tools I already had and adding a proper sport lens to management and leadership. I’ve taken what I know from running teams and made it fit game‑day tempo.
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Leading people mentoring, giving back, building calm comms and clear roles when it’s busy. The educators push you to be clear and steady under pressure.
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Learning the Broncos way what it actually takes to run an organisation like this: ops, health & wellbeing, volunteer management, emotional intelligence. The detail matters run‑sheets, radios, timings, contingencies.
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Practical, everyday skills that transfer straight into work and life planning, debriefs, and measuring a few things that actually move the needle.
Work Experience / Practical Projects
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Work‑Integrated Learning (WIL) with the Broncos—a bit of partnership activations/sponsorships, some ticketing and marketing. You get a feel for how departments connect.
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Found a home in game‑day operations—assisting behind the scenes and learning from the events and game day team. They’re the best in the business. Watching how they reset plans on the fly and keep fans front‑of‑mind has been huge for me.
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Clinics & volunteering—a couple of Buck to Bronco clinics and event‑night volunteering; real insights you don’t get elsewhere. Being on the ground builds confidence and context.
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Diploma/assessment concepts—building programs and ideas with peers; some we hope will come to life. It’s been good to pressure‑test ideas and see what’s feasible in a real club environment.
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Highlights
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Game‑day ops — huge thanks to Brooke, Abbey and Courtney from the Events and Game Day team. Seeing how a day runs from behind the scenes and playing a small part in it. The small things (timing, comms, reset plans) add up to a great fan experience.
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Networking — across the club, partners and volunteers; guest speakers and info nights through Tate and the BBSBI partnership. The openness to share lessons has been unreal.
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Hearing the Broncos’ stories — from people like Dan Glass, Vicki Wilson, Kate Cullen, Shaani Spence and more where they’ve come from and what they do now. It’s encouraging and practical you walk away with something you can use next shift.
Advice to Future Students
Be coachable and ask for feedback. Keep learning, you’ll never know it all. This is practical, adult learning you can use straight away. Lead and mentor. Get out of your comfort zone. If you love sport, this is a great gateway to real opportunities. Bring your real‑world skills with you, hospitality, community work, business clubs need people who can stay calm, communicate well, and care about fans and families.
