Utah Jazz Dream Team - September 2023 Winner

For most people, graduating from their dream college is a day they look forward to. It’s also a day full of questions about the future. 

But for Carson Stevenson, graduation day at BYU was anything but that. He had already begun his journey by working for the Utah Jazz in their marketing department. Six years later, Carson will be the first one to tell you he’s living the dream.

“I remember going through the interview process and the HR (Human Resources) person at the time asked me what my dream job was, and I told them that this is legitimately the dream,” he said

Carson has been named the Utah Jazz Dream Team September 2023 winner for all his hard work throughout his time with the Jazz. The Dream Team was created to recognize individuals who go above and beyond their duties and exemplify the Utah Jazz's values daily.

“I love working for the organization because we truly represent the state of Utah. … The community rallies around us,” Carson said. “Growing up and being a fan my whole life, this job has extra meaning and importance for me. … I’m representing the community I care about, and having that pride just pushes me more.”

Carson has been a member of Jazz Nation for as long as he can remember. He credits his family — mainly his father — for getting him involved, as they had season tickets growing up. It's fitting that Carson wanted his future to involve the Jazz — he just wasn't sure how that would happen. 

While attending BYU, Carson joined the BYU Athletic Department as a Marketing Assistant. Although it was just a student position, it got Carson's foot in the door of a marketing department and an athletic department. Carson's career would take a turn during the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons. 

He saw an internship available with the Larry H. Miller Group — the same company that owned the Jazz in 2015 — for the Tour of Utah, Carson took a chance and applied for it. 

What a decision that turned out to be. 

He did such a good job that he went back the following year, meeting more people within the Larry H. Miller Group — the same people who worked for the Jazz. He made many connections with people who would become driving forces in the early stages of his career.

“At that time, the Miller Group owned the Jazz so there was some overlap. … I got to know people like Jenn Andrs, Kari Holt Larsen and Frank Zang, who were big helps then and when I started with the Jazz,” Carson said. “Kari was super nice and she actually helped set me up interviews with a lot of people within the organization. I kind of expressed that I’d love to end up with the Jazz, and they helped make that happen.”

Just two months before he was set to walk across the stage on graduation day at BYU, everything changed for Carson. 

The Jazz posted a job opening for a Marketing Coordinator, a position that was ideal for Carson and everything he had worked towards the past four months. It didn’t hurt that he got glowing reviews from the people he worked with during Tour of Utah that worked in the Utah Jazz organization. 

After the interview process, Carson got the call he'd been hoping for, just not in the most ideal of circumstances. 

“I had to work a fan fest even at the Smithfield House in BYU, and for those who know, that place can get extremely loud,” he said. “I get the call from a 325 phone number and immediately knew it was the Jazz, so I sprint through the Smithfield House outside where it’s quieter. I literally laughed originally because I thought it was a polite call to tell me I didn’t get it, but then they offered me the job and I went silent. … I then tried to play it cool but they could tell how nervous and excited I was.”

Once the little kid who once paid for his own playoff ticket to sit in the upper bowl at the Delta Center, Carson has gone through two promotions and is now Marketing Director for the organization. It's a role he always hoped for but never knew if it was possible, and now he’s living the dream. 

“I remember buying a playoff ticket in 2007 to watch us play Tracy McGrady and the Rockets in Game 6,” he recalled. “My dad was there with my brother in our family season tickets, but I was by myself in the upper deck with the ticket I bought. … That’s where the love really started.”