Sport Management is designed to provide advanced professional preparation that develops competitive sport business leaders through a comprehensive education in both theory and its application in sports business. Sport Management provides students a broad based, advanced educational foundation and develops skills and knowledge in the following areas as they pertain to sport: management, strategic planning, marketing, promotions, communication, legal preparation, public relations, consumer behavior, facilities, and finance. The program focuses on problem solving and emphasizes hand’s on learning experiences within and outside of the classroom. Sport Management graduates work in nearly all types of sport including professional sport, college athletics, high school activities, national sport governing bodies, health and fitness industry, sport products and equipment, amateur sport, youth sport and many other public, private or non-profit sport organizations.
Program Requirements
Common Core
This course provides students with opportunities to develop a philosophy, values and moral reasoning skills, to explore and clarify their career goals, to sharpen critical thinking skills for analyzing ethical problems in the sport business and generating possible solutions.
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none
Advanced study of managing sporting events covering the policies, strategies and tactics used including planning, budgeting, organization, human resources, risk management, and operations of conducting a successful sporting event.
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none
This course will emphasize the management functions of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling. Decision-making, problem-solving, communication, ethics, sport law, and leadership. Personnel management issues will also be addressed.
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none
Examines basic financial and managerial accounting concepts necessary to be financially literate in the business of sport. Budgeting and fundraising concepts will also be addressed. Analysis into the understanding of corporate financial workings in the sport industry will equip the student with essential management tools.
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none
The advanced study of legal aspects of sport with emphasis constitutional and statutory law, negligence and risk management, intellectual property, and contract law. The use of case law study and application to sport settings is utilized.
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none
Advanced study of the principles of marketing of or through sport including marketing analysis, development of a marketing management plan, promotion, place, price, public relations, product as applied to sport and the sport industry.
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none
Research/Methods Course(s)
Introduction to the concepts of descriptive and inferential statistics, applied and theoretical research, and validity and reliability methods used in the disciplines of physical education, human performance, and exercise science.
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none
Introductory course to the research processes involved in the fields of physical education, exercise science, and human performance. Coverage of various types of research designs and writing of the research paper is a major intent of this course.
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none
Restricted Electives
Choose 3 elective credits. Consult your adviser for course availability and fit. Not all of these are offered online.
The indepth study of the planning, development, and management of sport facilities (athletics, recreation, fitness/wellness centers, physical education, etc.) utilizing and working with partners, vendors and expert resources.
Prerequisites:
none
The purposes of this course are to expand students¿ awareness of global sport management principles and obtain firsthand experience in international sport through studying abroad. The course will address ethics, marketing, event management, finance, and challenges/issues in international sport management.
Prerequisites:
none
Students will learn about Sport Tourism Theory and will apply those theoretical concepts through a hands-on experience with a Sport Tourism event. Topics that will be covered include sport tourism management, marketing, sustainability, research and issues/trends as well as the economic, social, and environmental impact of sport tourism.
Prerequisites:
none
Psychological parameters that affect performance in athletic and exercise settings. Emphasis on theoretical and scholarly literature associated with exercise and sport psychology. Practical application of psychological principles in sport and exercise dimensions will also be addressed.
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none
Examines the institution of sport from a sociological perspective. The intent of the course is to identify and discuss ways in which societal values affect the character of spot and vise versa, and better understand the positive and negative consequences of the way sport if organized in our society.
Prerequisites:
none
Examines a variety of topics related to the management of sport organizations. Topics include internship/career opportunities, social-cultural issues, ethical issues, mass communication, sport governance, economic issues, fund-raising, event/facility management, licensing, copyright issues, and labor relations.
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none
Capstone Course
Choose 9 credits for internship track or 3 credits for manuscript track. HP 688 may be repeated. Consult with your adviser.
This course is designed to provide a rigorous, comprehensive hands-on learning experience for students majoring in Sport Management. This more closely supervised field experience requires a rigorous time and energy commitment from students.
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none
Course requires completion of a manuscript submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal. Prerequisite: graduate student/professor consent
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none
Supervised field experience related to the student's academic specialization associated with the disciplines of human performance. Disciplines include the following: College Teaching, Sport Management, Public School Teaching, D/APE, Intramural-Recreational Sports Management, Elementary Physical Education, Exercise Physiology, and Sport Psychology.
Prerequisites:
none
Policies
Admission to the online Sport Management M.S. program is competitive. To be eligible for priority consideration, the application deadline is February 1st for a fall start and we will continue to review subsequent applications through a rolling application review. Our flexible online program allows students to complete the program in as little as 16 months when students begin the program in the fall semester. The program also accepts students for a spring start date.
Admission Requirements:
Degree: A bachelor's degree must be completed by the start of the graduate program. GPA: Our program does not have a specified minimum GPA. Usually a cumulative GPA of a 3.0 is preferred. GRE: We do not require the GRE. An updated resume.
Degree Master of Science
Major Credits 30
Total Credits 30
Locations Online
Career Cluster Business, Management, and Administration