Ben Manns

College/Team: Columbia Renegades

Age: 21

Achievements: Promoted to Renegades vice president

Ben Manns came to Columbia to study film and telecommunications. He became part of the Renegades when he and former Renegades Vice President Forrest Frazier set out to develop the college’s football program for. Frazier resigned last semester and Manns was promoted to vice president. He hails from Waukesha, Wis., and is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan. Combining his love of video and football, he got an internship at ProFootballWeekly.com, where he creates videos for the website. The Chronicle caught up with Manns to talk about what’s to come for the Renegades.

The Chronicle: How are you handling the responsibilities of your new position?

Ben Manns: It’s definitely a lot more responsibility than my treasurer position. There’s more to everything—more contact with each captain [and] just being involved. On top of school and the internship, it’s pretty crazy. I’m definitely doing work outside my office hours. It’s a lot of work, but it’s really rewarding.

What do you plan on bringing to the organization?

So far I’ve brought some graphic design stuff. I’ve been [designing] all the posters that we’ve been doing. We’re trying to get the word out about the Renegades. We hit up New Student Orientation, open houses, Convocation. I’ve been trying to bring more outreach to new and existing students, just getting the word out that we have athletics and host events that everyone can join, not just athletes. You don’t have to be good at sports, just [have] a passion for sports.

What are your plans for the Renegades this season?

Our plan is to host as many events as our budget allows—tournaments [like] Fall Field Days [and] Rockin’ with the Renegades. We’re going to have new tournaments every couple weeks.

Are there any particular challenges?

It’s really hard getting people out for these events because there’s no real science behind marketing it. We’re trying through Facebook, the posters and little cards we’re handing out. It’s really hard getting people involved, especially in an art school. But there are people here who want to be athletic, who want to play sports and who aren’t aware we have sports here.

What are some upcoming events that the Renegades have?

The tournaments are coming up; they are all on our fliers. And we’ll have posters for them as well. We’re going to have dodgeball coming up this month on September 26. We’ve got kickball, ultimate Frisbee, more dodgeall and any other events that spring up through the year.