How a campus job — and Sport Management — helped change everything.
By C. Brandon Chapman
Jared Lindorfer didn’t come to WSU planning to work in sport. Or recreation.
Or even anything remotely close.
Originally from Sequim, Washington, he started out like many students: uncertain. He gave electrical engineering a shot, then tried computer science.
Neither stuck.
But everything changed when he got hired as a lifeguard at UREC.
“I really came to like my job at UREC and started asking how I could make higher ed rec a career,” he said.
That question, and a conversation with a graduate assistant, led him to the Sport Management program. It clicked instantly.
“For the first time, I was enjoying classes at WSU,” Lindorfer said. “The program fit me.”
Finding his place…
One of his early highlights was a 2012 Sport Management Club trip to Portland. The group toured the Trail Blazers’ facility, learned the inner workings of a pro team, and went to a game that night.
“That trip really helped me connect with other people in my major,” he said. “At that point, most of my friends were my UREC coworkers.”
Jared was given the chance to drive students to Bryce Canyon for an outdoor trip and help supervise.
When things happen, such as a large leak in the pool system, Jared knew to just prepare for anything.
Lindorfer also credits the faculty for making the program so impactful. Some of them have retired or moved to other universities. But Tammy Crawford and Chris Lebens are two who LIndorder said made a difference by creating an environment where learning was both engaging and rigorous.
“Just as an example, Chris Lebens really knew how to impart knowledge in a way that made people want to learn,” he said. “It didn’t feel like hard studying—it was just part of going to his class.”
Courses like Sport Law, Ethics, and Sport Finance helped build his foundation, while the applied courses—SPMGT 290, 489, and 491—gave him practical experience. He thrived in the program’s hands-on learning structure.
“I’m someone who learns by doing,” he said. “The kinesthetic learning aspects of the program were incredibly helpful.”
That learning showed up in his practicums: helping coach the WSU women’s swim team, designing a trifold for UREC’s marketing team, and even leading a major locker renovation project during his internship at the University of Utah.
Full circle…
Today, Lindorfer is back where it all started. But now he’s the one in charge.
As Manager of Aquatics & Scheduling at WSU UREC, he supervises full-time staff, oversees aquatic operations, manages university-wide facility rentals, and chairs the Shared Facilities Committee, which coordinates shared campus spaces across departments. He also leads the UREC Student Employee Advisory Council.
“No day is the same,” he said. “It’s a lot of different responsibilities, but I enjoy the variety.”
###
This feature is one in a series of features the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences is sharing, leading up to the Sport Management program’s 40th Anniversary celebration on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025.