Two storied institutions team up for a multi-year collaboration to improve education access in Northern California.
the official higher education partner of the 49ers
On November 2025 University of the Pacific joined a small handful of U.S. higher education institutions that formed a partnership with an NFL team – an incredible opportunity for California’s first university to expand its mission and student-centric brand to a global fan base.
My contribution to this all-hands-on-deck project involved developing the content strategy teasing the partnership on social media, storyboarding and directing a video that kicked off the announcement event on campus (and on streaming platforms), as well as creating follow-up content through the life of this five-year partnership.
SETTING THE STAGE
Ahead of the public announcement event at Pacific's Stockton campus on Nov. 14, 2025, the social media team faced a challenge: How to build public interest in the in-person event without giving away any spoilers. To solve this, I developed an awareness campaign that gradually revealed hints to our campus community, the media and the public by releasing a new teaser every other day during the week leading up to the announcement.
SOURDOUGH SAM & POWERCAT:
BEST FRIENDS
During the Nov. 25 announcement, a video playing on a large outdoor video board (and streamed online and on social media) would kick off the event. I developed a story to frame Pacific's new relationship with the 49ers: Our two mascots, Powercat and Sourdough Sam, meet as incoming freshmen and experience foundational moments together through a fictional semester spent together as roommates and best friends. The story culminates in a moment where both mascots seamlessly jump from the video into the live event, Last Action Hero-style.
With several internal and external stakeholders involved in this historic project, I needed to secure buy-in quickly. To do this, I storyboarded the entire video shot-by-shot using generative AI tools, which let stakeholders visualize my concept without investing significant time or resources into producing a traditional storyboard.
Once stakeholders gave the green light, filming moved fast. Because Pacific videographers and the 49ers' sponsorship and mascot crews already understood the creative vision from the GenAI storyboard, we filmed the entire video on-site at Pacific's Stockton campus in under three hours. Editing was just as smooth – the storyboard gave our editor a clear visual guide for the final product.
During the announcement event, the video was received as intended by the gathered crowd and media as a lighthearted, fun, and relatable message announcing two institutions teaming up to make education more accessible to all in Northern California.
IT’S OFFICIAL!
As predicted, the announcement produced incredible earned media and the day-of wrap-up social posts generated record levels of engagement on Pacific social media platforms.
#Pacificx49ers
The partnership announcement represented the tip of the iceberg when you take into account this new, five-year relationship extends through 2030.
Days after Pacific became the 49ers' Official Higher Education Partner, I took photos at the first event activation: Students at the Stadium, a professional development and networking event for college students from across Northern California that showcased diverse opportunities within the sports industry. And in June 2026 I created NFL Draft-inspired graphics announcing the selection of two Pacific students to the 49ers' exclusive and sought-after Internship Program.
