Delaney Peterson is ready to tackle a male-dominated industry. 

Peterson, a Chamberlain native, will graduate from Oklahoma State University in December and embark on a career in the sports world. Peterson aspires to be a sports agent, and won’t let the narrative of it being a male-driven profession deter her career ambitions. 

“It will be rewarding,” Peterson said about her career goals. “But I also know that when I get to where I want to be, I know I worked my butt off and I deserved to be there just like anybody else.”

Once she’s in the profession, Peterson will join a small percentage of women sports agents. According to zippia.com, 23.2% of sports agents are women and it's steadily increasing, said Peterson. 

“In the last four or five years, that’s definitely growing,” Peterson said. “There’s less than there are men obviously. But I think now with the boom in sports, with NIL and all these new agencies popping up for the sole purpose of NIL, that’s allowing more women to get involved in sports. I know a lot of women I go to school with that are kicking butt working in sports and are dominating in that aspect. So the number will grow exponentially.”

Peterson is motivated to help it grow and break barriers in the profession. A double major in sports management and sports marketing, Peterson will apply for internships this summer and pursue sports agent opportunities. 

Peterson, who grew up in a town of roughly 2,500 people, intends to pursue her profession in a major city thriving with multiple professional sports franchises.

“I want to be able to work with athletes because I am able to do that right now with student-athletes here in Stillwater at OSU,” Peterson said. “That experience has kind of allowed me to expand on my passion for sports.”

Peterson ‘found my place’ at Oklahoma State 

Peterson, a 2021 Chamberlain High School graduate, was active in sports, fine arts and other activities in high school.

She was a football manager, golfer, band member, choir performer and play actor. She was also active in 4-H.

Sports were her biggest passion and she was set on going to Oklahoma State to continue the family tradition. Her parents — Chisum and Cindy — were OSU graduates and her two uncles also went there. 

“It’s kind of something that I share with my family that was a little bit different than everyone else,” Peterson said. “So when I finally came down and toured and explored, I loved the community. The people are very similar to back home in terms of how kind they are and welcoming. So it was very appealing for me once I toured and came down here.”

But she took a different path than originally intended. Peterson planned on pursuing a career as a sideline sports reporter, and “was feeling adventurous and thought I could double major in sports media and sports management.”

Chamberlain High School graduate Delaney Peterson, right, attends an Oklahoma State University football game. (Courtesy photo)

On her campus tour, she was informed those two degrees were in two different colleges at Oklahoma State and would have taken her five years to complete. 

Peterson wasn’t keen on that idea, and after touring both colleges, her career path was altered. 

“I went with management because that one was in the business school,” said Peterson, who is also an international business minor. “Getting my degree through the Spears School of Business was a little more appealing to me, because they had so many resources to provide even after you graduate. They are still there for you after you graduate. They spend so much time with you on networking and what they can help you do to get ahead. So that was definitely the most appealing part.”

But there was still an adjustment period for Peterson, who was 10 hours and 650 miles away from home. In addition to the distance, Peterson was diagnosed with mononucleosis and came down with a kidney infection the day she moved onto campus. 

“It was a pretty hard transition,” Peterson said. “I am not going to lie. I didn't realize it was that hot and humid every single day. That wore me out pretty good. But as my freshman year went on I got to meet more people through different involvement and kind of found my place and my people. It made it that much easier for me to stay and not be so nervous about being so far away from home.”

Brand Squad prepares Peterson for the future 

Peterson eventually settled into Stillwater. 

She’s in a sorority, is a teaching assistant for her sports management professor and works part time for a sports software company named Stack Sports. At Stack Sports, Peterson works for a company called CaptainU, an online college sports recruiting platform for high school athletes.

Peterson’s biggest on-campus highlight is the Brand Squad, a student-led organization that assists Oklahoma State University student-athletes with their Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) efforts.

The Brand Squad helps student-athletes generate business opportunities, assists with their social media and works on ways to monetize their NIL. 

The organization, which was developed by Spears School of Business marketing students, has given Peterson a head start for her career. Peterson admits she felt overwhelmed at times working with the Brand Squad, but the reward was worth it. 

“It gave me such a great experience,” Peterson said. “I can confidently say when I graduate college I will have three-to-four years of professional experience working in sports because that’s what it was.”

Peterson has held multiple positions within the Brand Squad, which originated during Peterson’s freshman year. She specialized in social media, was an executive administrator and is currently vice president of membership. She’s in charge of recruitment and has helped it reach around 100 members. 

“I got there at the right time, because if I got there too early or went to school too late, I wouldn’t have had that experience,” Peterson said. “So being in a club right when it’s getting started and working all the kinks out was critical in my personal development and professional development.”

Peterson’s role with the Brand Squad persuaded her to be a sports agent. With the Brand Squad, she’s delved into different avenues that have sparked her sports agent interest. 

“I worked with an equestrian girl and I worked with some wrestlers,” Peterson said. “Just different sports and different athletes. I was like ‘Hey, this is really something cool that I didn’t think was interesting as it is and I want to do more.’ ”

At Oklahoma State, Peterson has taken class trips to bigger cities. Last winter, her sports management class went to Boston. While in Boston, they attended Bruins and Patriots games and spent time on the Harvard University campus.

The trips reinforced her sports agent aspirations and motivated her to take on the male-dominated industry.

“You really have to stick your neck out and kind of show up and be comfortable being uncomfortable,” Peterson said. “That is probably something that I had to learn with my time here and being able to be successful in this field.”