Inside the Maine Celtics Experience

It's 1 AM in Portland, Maine.

A light snow is falling, and Louis Copolov is finishing laundry. Not just any laundry—22 team uniforms for the Maine Celtics, the minor league affiliate of the Boston Celtics. Copolov, the team's Manager of Basketball Operations, sorts through the evening's game-worn jerseys, along with those of the team's competitor, since he will be doing theirs as well. His laundry task will also include the multitude of towels the players go through every game.

"It's always best to do the towels last," he joked. "They can stay in the machine all night and not get wrinkled. The uniforms of both teams have to hang out all night to dry."

Copolov, a native of Australia, is fully committed to providing not only the Maine Celtics but also the visiting team with everything required to compete on the court, from clean uniforms and towels to water, snacks, and anything else the players need. This is just one of his many responsibilities. His duties range from managing all team equipment and the strength and training room to planning the team's travel. He meticulously checks and double-checks his work, ensuring that players and coaches on both sides have everything they need to focus on their on-court performance. After every road trip, the league surveys visiting teams on the quality of their experience at the host team's facilities and staff. Copolov takes pride in consistently receiving high marks after teams' visits.

This scene—100 miles away from the lights of Boston's TD Garden—encapsulates what eleven Suffolk University students discovered during their four-day immersion trip to Portland in January as part of Professor Skip Perham's Sports Management 521 Course: the Maine Celtics Internship. They came to observe. They stayed to work. In the process, they learned that professional sports, at its core, is built on the dedication of people—both on and off the court—who are willing to do whatever it takes to make game day happen.

A coastal laboratory for professional sports

Portland, Maine, might seem an unlikely destination for aspiring players and sports management professionals. Often associated more with its lobster rolls and picturesque coastline, the city has become a hub for professional sports development. In addition to the Maine Celtics, the town is host to The Portland Sea Dogs, the AA team of the Boston Red Sox, and the Maine Mariners ice hockey team, an affiliate of the Boston Bruins.

The Maine Celtics are part of the NBA G League, the minor league system that serves as the NBA's research and development laboratory. According to league statistics, 51 percent of players on NBA opening-night rosters for the 2024-25 season had G League experience—a testament to the league's role as a proving ground for talent.

The franchise launched first as the Red Claws in 2009, then rebranded as the Maine Celtics two years following the Boston Celtics' acquisition in 2019. With 31 teams across North America, the league prepares not only players but also coaches, officials, trainers, and front-office staff.

Welcome to the real world

The student contingent, arriving in Portland from Boston on the Amtrak Downeaster, was about to receive an education in sports reality. In true Suffolk fashion, they embarked on an intensive, experiential, and immersive learning experience in preparation for taking on three business projects for the team.

Team President Dajuan Eubanks welcomed the Suffolk students over dinner the night before their facility visit. At 6-foot-9, he cuts an imposing figure. But his accessible nature and genuine interest in their career aspirations put the students at ease. A former Harlem Globetrotter who played around the world, Eubanks is proud that the organization has generated 24 NBA callups, "and we're still counting." Equally important, however, he emphasizes being in the business of "creating smiles and memories" for fans while also being an active partner in the community. "More so than anything, it's also about being a force for good as an organization."

The team practices and plays in the Portland Expo Center. The Expo isn't a dedicated basketball facility—it's a community space that requires complete transformation on game days. For the Suffolk students, this transformation into a 2,400-seat basketball arena became their first lesson in sports operations. After meeting head coach Phil Pressey and touring the locker room and facilities with Copolov, the real work began.

Staff members began unrolling industrial carpeting across the concrete floor, creating walkways and designated areas to guide fans through the venue. Side by side with Maine Celtics employees, the Suffolk students got on their hands and knees, smoothing out corners and edges.

"If you have a plan on what you think you are going to work on, it's going to differ each day," said Hunter Keim, a Sophomore Public Relations Major. "If you're in operations, you're going to be dipping into sales. I showed up thinking I'd be learning business, and I'm rolling rugs. That's what the business is all about."

Game night: Theory meets practice

As the physical setup continued, the students rotated through different departments, each offering a window into the complex business operations that support a professional team. The rotations covered the entire gamut, including ticketing, merchandising, broadcasting, and community outreach, among other areas. These discussions and shadowing set the stage for the three projects students will conduct to support the ticketing, community relations, and corporate partnerships functions.

When the doors opened for the game, the students weren't in the stands. They were working. They manned the merchandise store, helping fans select from an array of Maine Celtics apparel. Others moved through the crowd, selling tickets for the 50/50 raffle and explaining how the proceeds supported community initiatives. They helped out in the halftime shooting contest. From the broadcast booth, students observed the production process. Down on the court, others shadowed Carrie Earls, Senior Coordinator of Marketing & Game Operations, as she orchestrated the evening's promotional elements, including with Crusher, the team's beloved lobster mascot.

Grinding it out = getting ahead

Prof. Skip Perham has built Suffolk's sports management program on a foundation of business fundamentals, experiential learning, and realistic expectations. A veteran of sports media with experience at NBC Sports Boston, Perham knows firsthand that the path to success in sports business requires dedication, versatility, and what he calls "grinding it out."

"I don't want my students to have romantic notions about working in sports," Perham explained during the trip. "I want them to understand what it really takes. Yes, there are glamorous moments. But those moments are built on a foundation of hard work, long hours, and willingness to do whatever needs doing."

The Maine Celtics initiative grew out of a broader partnership that Suffolk entered with the Boston Celtics three years ago. Perham spearheaded the relationship as part of the launch of the sports management major. Rather than simply having students observe from a distance, the collaboration creates genuine immersion opportunities where students contribute real value while learning the industry's realities. His sports management students have also worked with the Boston Red Sox and the New England Free Jacks professional rugby team.

"When the Boston Celtics mentioned the potential to extend our partnership to Maine, I immediately thought about the opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in the industry," Perham said. "They would be participants, roll up their sleeves, and contribute. That's a firsthand way to understand whether a career working for a team is the right path."

The internship structure aligns with Suffolk's IMMERSE learning blueprint. Students engage with academic frameworks, supplemented by real-world education in venues like the Portland Expo, where theory confronts the sometimes messy, complicated reality of sports operations.

Student projects

The three strategic projects the students will complete aren't hypothetical exercises. The Maine Celtics will seriously consider implementing the students' recommendations in three areas.

• Ticketing. Schedules are released in September and include games in November and December, which are often hard to sell given the short time window. Students will help identify new segments and opportunities for group ticket sales, especially in the early stage of the season.
• Community Relations. Seeking to expand revenue beyond current operations, such as the in-game 50/50 Raffle, students will help develop detailed plans to launch an annual Golf Tournament fundraiser.
• Corporate Partnerships. Students will identify revenue from new and unsold sponsorship categories, including through enhanced inventory tracking.

Suffolk Junior Timothy Hussey, a marketing major and graphic design minor, is excited to serve on one of the project teams. He reflected on his takeaways after returning to Boston to begin the work. "The Maine Celtics are about creating value for fans at every touchpoint, from in-game activations to community engagement and partnerships. They maximize limited resources while still delivering a high-quality product," he said. "I learned how collaboration across ticketing, marketing, sponsorship, and game-day operations is essential to solving business challenges efficiently. A key example of this was how everyone, regardless of department, collaborated on game-day setup and breakdown; demonstrating a true team-first mindset."

From Portland to Boston—and beyond

The pathway from minor league operations to major league opportunities is well-established across professional sports. This pathway is not just for players but also for umpires, referees, and front-office staff seeking to grow. Suffolk's Maine Celtics Internship represents an opportunity for the kind of transformative learning Suffolk aims to foster—not just knowledge acquisition, but fundamental shifts in understanding and motivation.

"The sports industry needs people who come in with their eyes open," Perham often tells his students. "It needs professionals who understand that success requires grinding it out, wearing multiple hats, staying humble, and remaining dedicated even when the work isn't glamorous. What our students experienced in Portland—that's the foundation of every successful sports career."
While the four-day immersion focused specifically on sports management, the lessons the students learned extend far beyond basketball operations. They learned about organizational culture, operational excellence, strategic thinking, and the importance of doing unglamorous work with pride and dedication.

For the eleven Suffolk students, they weren't just observing the many facets of the Maine Celtics operation in Portland; they were seeing a model for their own career trajectories.