sbj june 2016 - university sport managment programs

SportS BuSineSS Degree programS Continue to evolve anD innovate

Each year, academic programs designed for sports business continue to grow and improve. Across the country, colleges and universities are developing programs that work to reflect the current state of the industry. Whether that evolution means creative additions to curriculum, the inclusion of expert and accomplished sports professionals on the faculty or more integration into the industry, students now have a wide variety of choices on how best to prepare for a career in the sports industry.

This section contains profiles of several programs that cover the full range of choice for today’s aspiring students. From the most traditional campus-based to the latest online programs, colleges and universities today offer students multiple paths to build a successful career in sports. From a focus on finance to experience in international sports, to the opportunity to work with some of the most respected organizations in the business, to one-on-one access to accomplished alumni and industry icons, these programs go far beyond classroom learning to prepare students for a life of working in sports.

june 13-19, 2016 special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal 23

degree programs in sports business

24 special advertising section ❘ street & smith’s sportsbusiness journal june 13-19, 2016

university of Central floridaOrlandO, Fla.

Sports are about more than wins and losses, million-dollar contracts and billion-dollar television deals. Sports should also have a positive impact on their commu-nities, promote diversity and be a cham-pion of ethics.

That is the vision of the DeVos Sport Business Management program at the University of Central Florida.

“We are preparing our students to be business leaders who use the power of sport to impact communities wherever they end up in the sports industry,” said Dr. Richard Lapchick, the program’s chairperson. “That’s an important distinc-tion. It’s what made us jump in program rankings in 2005 as a relatively new pro-gram.”

Founded in 2002, the school is ranked as the No. 2 graduate sport business pro-gram in the world by SportBusiness Inter-national and consistently ranks in the top five in the U.S. by media outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, ESPN and Forbes.

The DeVos sports business program has gained recognition and prestige for its Racial and Gender Report Card, an annual publication, co-authored by stu-dents, that evaluates the hiring practices of major leagues and college sport. That is, though, just the one of many altruistic initiatives the school has undertaken.

The Hope for Stanley Alliance, another example, is an effort to help rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward of New

Orleans, the area devastated by Hurri-cane Katrina. DeVos students have spent 49 weeks there since 2006 working on more than 125 homes.

Perhaps no student personifies the spirit of DeVos as well as Casey Knoett-gen Schreiber. When Katrina hit in 2005, Schreiber was head of corporate sales for the New Orleans Saints. To better fulfill the DeVos mission of community involve-ment, she led efforts to coordinate player visits to the shelters around the U.S.

“She became so committed to it, she ended up getting a Ph.D. in urban plan-ning so she could stay and help the rebuilding process in New Orleans,” said Lapchick.

On campus, students are immersed in an “integrative living class room,” where they are tasked with developing plans of action for real sports organizations. ESPN, as part of its exclusive partnership with DeVos, is heavily involved in this aspect of the curriculum. Last year, DeVos stu-dents worked to help project the future demographics of the media giant.

In addition to a top-notch and family-oriented faculty, students learn from what Lapchick calls an unparalleled array of guest speakers. ESPN President John Skipper, an honorary degree holder from UCF, presents every year. The DeVos Distinguished Speakers Series held every Friday has included Alex Martins, presi-dent of the Orlando Magic, which has a substantial partnership with the DeVos program; Billy Bean, the first openly gay professional baseball player; and Judy Sweet, the first woman president of the NCAA. In addition, every student has a

professional mentor to help guide him or her.

In their annual trip, which was to New York City in 2015, the students spent at least 30 minutes each with NBA Commis-sioner Adam Silver, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and MLS Commissioner Don Garber when they visited their respective offices.

Columbia universitynEW YOrK, n.Y.

Columbia University’s master’s degree program in sports management is built upon three pillars, all of which are key drivers of the sports industry’s growth — globalization, digital technology and analytics.

When Vince Gennaro accepted the role of program director two years, he was tasked with imparting upon his stu-dents the connection between the U.S. sports business and the industry’s interna-tional scope.

“We turn on our TV on a Sunday morning and we see the English Premier League or an NFL game from London,” Gennaro said. “The geographic bound-aries, frankly, don’t mean what they did five or 10 years ago.”

The program’s global orientation is reflected in the international diversity of its student body. More than half of the 50 full-time students who entered the pro-gram last fall are non-U.S. citizens, repre-senting 19 countries outside the U.S.

Said Gennaro, “In-class discussions are really a phenomenal experience. To

hear Nikolai from Denmark weighing in on an issue, along with Pedro from Brazil, James from Australia or Rizhen from China, is the ultimate example of the benefits of diversity.”

Columbia’s sports management pro-gram has also developed strategic inter-national alliances, including those with FC Bayern Munich, the legendary Ger-


• Build a solid foundation in the strategic, analytic, and creative thinking essential to success in the business of sports.

• Learn from experienced faculty with connections to professionals in collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics.

• Choose an optional specialization in sports analytics.

• Earn your Northwestern University master’s degree by attending evening courses in Chicago and Evanston.

Big Sports. Big Business. Big Degree.

The winter quarter application deadline is October 15.

sps.northwestern.edu/sports • 312-503-2579

SPORTS ADMINISTRATION School of Professional Studies

See programS, page 25

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(left) the university of Central Florida’s location gives students access to premier sports organizations, including eSpn’s Wide World of Sports, one of the busiest multi-sport complexes in the country. (right) the surprisingly strong debut of the mlS expansion franchise, orlando City SC, provides uCF students with another property to interact with top professionals in sports business.

Columbia’s location in one of the world’s capitals, new York City, enables students to gain access to leaders at top worldwide sports properties.

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man football club, and Opta, one of the world’s top providers of data for soccer, cricket and rugby.

“These are not just marketing partner-ships,” said Gennaro. “We integrate these partnerships directly into our curric-ulum…and they often lead to internship opportunities for students.”

One class worked closely with Bayern Munich executives to develop a market-ing plan for the German soccer giant’s upcoming U.S. tour. Also, a soccer ana-lytics course, called “The Analytics of Global Sport,” was based around Opta’s proprietary player performance data.

Digital technology, too, is reshaping the sports industry. Providing students with a deep understanding of this dynamic is another critical component of Columbia’s sports management pro-gram.

“From a media and marketing stand-point, (technology is) changing the way sports brands build a relationship and an emotional connection with fans through social media, and it’s also changing the broadcast model in terms of how games and matches get delivered to consum-ers,” Gennaro said.

Thirdly, the program is immersing itself into what Gennaro calls the world’s “data and information explosion,” of which sports is very much a part.

“We have a unique suite of sports analytics courses we believe gives our students an edge in this quickly growing area of how to take information and integrate it into decision processes,” he said.

When many people hear “analytics” in the context of sports, they immedi-ately think sabermetrics, advanced stats or quantitative personnel decisions. The program at Columbia teaches these on-field concepts. Gennaro authored “Dia-mond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball” and teaches baseball ana-lytics, which focuses on state-of-the-art techniques to value player’s perfor-mance. Through the “Sports Revenues Strategies and Analytics” course, the program also stresses the business appli-cations of the data-driven trend, such as social media metrics, sponsorship return on investment and dynamic ticket pric-ing.

Students at Columbia are in the nerve center of the sports industry — New York City. “New York is still the hub of the sports universe,” Gennaro said. “It gives us access to the industry that few pro-

grams have and that translates into the opportunity to source very high-quality, practitioner-oriented faculty and guest lecturers.”

Students have multiple internship and full-time job opportunities at their dis-posal and the program’s New York loca-tion also contributes to its impressive placement rate. More than 80 percent of students who sought internships received them within their first two semesters in the program, with the remainder waiting until summer to log their work experience. The placement record for full-time positions upon gradu-ation is equally impressive.

Said Gennaro, “Our program’s repu-tation within the sports industry is out-standing. In fact, we have many stu-dents that enter the program full-time, only to be hired into full-time sports posi-tions months before they complete the program. We put a lot of time and energy into wiring our students to the industry.”

duquesne universityPittsburgh, Pa.

Duquesne University is now offering an M.S. in sports business in a fully online format that students can complete in one year.

The new M.S. degree builds on the strength and popularity of its decade-old sports leadership master’s degree, an innovative program that prepared sports professionals to deal with contem-porary industry issues beyond marketing and sales.

“The new sports business degree con-tinues to bring that leadership skill set to students,” said Steve Greenberg, execu-tive in residence for sports marketing at



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located in pittsburgh, Duquesne’s sports business program emphasizes leadership issues in sports business and benefits from the many sports assets in the city, including the headquarters of Dick’s Sporting goods.

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a new all-online option makes it possible for Duquesne to extend its unique curriculum far beyond its campus and gives students more options than ever.

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programS, From page 24



Duquesne. “But the business component will be key for sports professionals going forward.”

To strengthen the business emphasis in the curriculum, the new sports business degree will be housed in Duquesne’s AACSB-accredited Palumbo Donahue School of Business.

“Duquesne has always been at the forefront of education for the sports industry,” Greenberg said. “We were one of the first in the nation to offer a gradu-ate degree in the sports field and the first to offer a fully online program through a business school. Our goal is to stay ahead of trends to position our students for success in a growing, competitive and demanding industry.”

The sports business master’s is built on four pillars — solid business courses; a strategic approach to understanding the sports side of business; management and leadership skills; and business deci-sions based on an ethical perspective.

“It’s important to give our graduates strong core business skills and just as important for them to use those skills to do business in an ethical way,” said Karen Russo Donovan, associate dean for graduate programs and executive education at Duquesne.

Duquesne’s deliberately small class size ensures students receive individual attention and strong mentoring relation-ships with faculty, who have deep con-nections in the industry.

“Students have a vast array of net-working opportunities here in Pittsburgh, working on specific projects with our pro-fessional sports teams, sports media, nonprofits and retail, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is headquartered here,” said Donovan. “Because our fac-ulty and our dedicated alumni network are connected worldwide, students have opportunities to participate nation-ally and internationally, as well. Overall, we’ve created an innovative new degree platform that will continue to lead the way in sports business educa-tion.”

florida atlantiC universitybOca ratOn, Fla.

In the world of international soccer, it doesn’t get much bigger than Juventus. With annual revenues closing in on $400 million, the club has 32 Serie A and 11 Italian Cup championships, both

records. It is a two-time European cham-pion and eight-time European finalist. Legendary players like Paolo Rossi, Zine-dine Zidane and Andrea Pirlo have worn Juventus’ famed black-and-white stripes.

When a top finance executive of an iconic organization likes this puts his career on hold and moves temporarily to the United States to get his MBA at a certain program, that program must have some serious drawing power.

And that’s exactly the decision Ste-fano Bertola made in 2011, when he relocated his family to Boca Raton, Fla., to pursue an advanced degree at Flor-ida Atlantic University’s AACSB-accred-ited sport management program.

Bertola’s story demonstrates what makes FAU’s program special. All stu-dents in the program must work in the sports industry from the day they step on campus to the time they graduate, whether it’s an internship or a full-time role like Bertola’s.

Obviously, not all students come into the program with Bertola’s credentials, but FAU’s position in the heart of South Florida’s bustling sports industry provides plenty of opportunity. The school has deep relationships with the NFL Dolphins, NBA Heat, MLB Marlins, NHL Panthers, Orange Bowl Committee and the ath-letic departments throughout the area. For students accepted into the program, Dr. Jim Riordan and his colleagues get to work immediately to place them at an organization like one of these.

“One of the things that separates us from other programs is that all of our stu-dents have to be involved in internships or full-time sports industry employment from the very first day. That’s what makes us unique,” said Riordan, the pro-gram’s director. “A lot of programs have internships in the last semester or the last year. All of our students are working in one or more internships during the day and they come to class at night.”

Last year, the sport management

department was wrapped into FAU’s executive MBA program, meaning stu-dents work at their day jobs while taking classes at night. Students are on campus Tuesday and Thursday evenings and have their degree in 23 months.

the flexibility of onlineThe FAU sport management school

also has an online component that allows for a great deal of flexibility when other opportunities arise. Students can transfer to the online version of the pro-gram if they receive a job offer before graduation day.

One student, for example, was intern-ing with the Orange Bowl Committee when he was offered a job with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Accepting the position as business intelligence man-ager — an analytics position — with the NHL team required a move to the other coast of Florida.

“So what do we do? Does he quit the program? Does he turn down the job?” said Riordan. “No. He seamlessly transi-tions into our online program and he’ll graduate on time.”

Riordan recalls a similar story last year, when student Nick Salerno accepted a job with the New York Yankees in Febru-ary 2015, switched to the online program and graduated a few months later, in May.

When students are faced with the question of, “do I take the job or do I stay in the program,” Riordan’s response is, “You can do both.”

Online students are encouraged, but not required, to work in sports as they pursue their degrees.

the process: from application to placement

The selection process at FAU’s sport management program is a rigorous one, but if you’re one of the few who get in, you’re well on your way to a fantastic career is sports. Of the 120 or so appli-cants last year, 17 were accepted.

“We bring a lot in for interviews,” Rior-dan says, “Some don’t make it past the interview, some don’t even get to the interview stage.”

The academic requirements are tough, as one would expect from a pro-gram of this caliber, but Riordan stresses the importance of soft skills, too. Is the applicant promptly responding to emails or phone calls? Does he know how to construct a letter?


Fau’s location in the heart of Florida’s extensive professional and collegiate sports footprint, along with Dr. Jim riordan’s top-level sports contacts (seen here welcoming peter luukko [right], executive chairman of the Florida panthers) are core strengths of the university’s program.

FAU



Said Riordan, “I told one applicant, ‘you should really use a proper salutation when you start an email,’ and he said, ‘what’s a salutation?’”

Next!So let’s say you have the grades, the

required four-years of work experience, solid GMAT scores and an excellent essay and yes, you know what a saluta-tion is. You apply to FAU and you are accepted.

Now enrolled, you’re among the best-of-the best and you’re learning from faculty who are sports business practitioners by day and teachers by night (the professors’ lives mirror those of the students). NFL agent Patrick Lawlor teaches sports law; Tony Hernandez, deputy athletic director at the University of Miami, teaches the intercollegiate athletics class; and Riordan himself has held executive roles with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Flyers.

With real-world sports business experi-ence and instruction from some of the industry’s movers and shakers, you are well prepared by the time you’re handed your diploma and FAU has the placement rates to prove it. The pro-gram has placed as many as 90 percent of its graduates in full-time jobs in sports.

In a recent success story, Braden Birch graduated in May and already has a job in hockey operations with the Flor-ida Panthers.

“A lot of our students have jobs before graduation day,” said Riordan.

Business firstWhile graduates from FAU’s sport

management program are all over the industry, Riordan emphasizes “business” over “sports.” It’s a distinction often lost on younger students — some of whom think they’re going to come into the pro-gram and watch Ryan Tannehill throw passes or Derek Jeter take batting prac-tice, says Riordan — and this is why there is not an undergraduate component to the program.

“We want to separate the sports busi-ness student from the sports fan,” Rior-dan says. “It’s okay to be both, but when you’re with us, you have to be the sports business student first.”

Students, therefore, are prepared for careers outside of sports if they find themselves pursuing other opportunities.

FAU was the second sport manage-ment program in the nation to receive AACSB accreditation, and its global focus produces well-rounded, versatile graduates.

“They are trained and they are pre-pared through their course work in the AACSB-accredited model to market themselves for any executive position in business — it’s not just sports,” Riordan stressed. “So we prepare students for careers within the sports industry and outside of it as well.”

Big things aheadPut all this together — the require-

ment that students work in the industry from day one, the flexibility provided by online course offerings, an uber-selective application process, a practitioner-based staff and a business-first focus — and you get a sport management pro-gram consistently ranked in the top 10 internationally. Impressive, especially for a program that launched less than two decades ago, in 2000.

“By comparison of some of the other schools, we’re infants,” Riordan said.

As the sports industry evolves, FAU’s program is growing with it; so naturally,

there’s a new emphasis on analytics. FAU students have attended the MIT analytics conference — the school, in fact, paid for the last trip there — and there will be an analytics class, led by Panthers Director of Analytics Brian Mac-donald — added to the curriculum in the fall.

Said Riordan, “It’s already attracted a lot of interest from people who want to come here.”

grand Canyon universityPhOEnix, ariZ.

As the most influential sports execu-tive in Arizona history, Jerry Colangelo saw an opportunity to give back to his community and make an impact on its future in the industry. In late 2011, he launched the Colangelo School of Sports Business at Grand Canyon Univer-sity in Phoenix, and he remains intimately involved with the program.

Colangelo helps design the curricu-lum and specific assignments, facilitates relationships throughout the Phoenix area and identifies opportunities for the program and its students. He’s also a fre-quent guest speaker, providing students plenty of face time with the sports busi-

ness luminary.“It’s not just a name attached to the

program,” said Dr. Brian Smith, the pro-gram’s director. “He’s very hands on with it, as he is with all of his endeavors.”

Based in the business school at Grand Canyon that also bears Colangelo’s name, the sports management track features a business-oriented curriculum.

“The students are taking business classes, so they’re getting trained by business faculty in classes such as entre-preneurship, finance, economics, mar-keting and management — very busi-ness-specific classes — in addition to sports business-specific classes like sports marketing, live events and law,” Smith said.

The program is designed for rele-vance, not only for the sports business as it is today, but also as it evolves into the future.

“Students like knowing what they’re doing is current and relevant and that it not only matters now, it will also matter five, 10, 15 years from now, because we’ve got real-world people designing the curriculum,” Smith said.

Grand Canyon is a faith-based institu-tion, where there’s a conscientious effort to integrate faith into the students’ class-room and work experiences. For exam-ple, students are involved in the neigh-borhood revitalization in the west side of Phoenix, where the campus is located.

“We help students find their purpose in the sports business industry,” said Smith. “We produce students who see their career as a platform to do social good and help transform communities and uplift neighborhoods. There’s a higher element to what our program is about.”

university of miamicOral gablEs, Fla.

Success in sport business requires the right skills and the right access to industry experts and leaders. Top-ranked Univer-sity of Miami’s online master’s degree in sport administration provides both of these aspects to students across the



Online Master’s in Sport Admin from the U: Top Ranked University

Unrivaled Networking Opportunities

World Class Faculty

Scholarships are available. Learn more:

miami.edu/online 888.534.7940

LESLIE FITZPATRICKFormer World Cup Soccer PlayerTechnical Director, Toronto Skillz FC Current UOnline Student

in Sports Business

@UMSportsBiz

With one of the most remarkable careers in sports business at its center, grand Canyon university’s sports business program benefits from the experience and lessons learned by its founder, Jerry Colangelo, imparting insights into sports for students well-grounded in a business curriculum.

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country who are looking to break into or advance in the field.

Online since 2014, the program already has had students in more than 30 states. Those students are almost evenly split between professionals work-ing in the industry with such well-known organizations as the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Marlins, PGA Tour and Under Armour; and students who are gaining the skills and doing the networking to align their careers with their passion.

One of those students is Leslie “Tiger” Fitzpatrick, a former professional soccer player who helped lead Trinidad and Tobago to the World Cup. “With a UM degree, I feel like I will be able to do more than just be a coach,” said Fitzpat-rick. “It gives me a lot more options. The networking is also unbelievable. I have gotten access to front offices and influ-ential sporting people in the industry.”

That networking is happening in the online classroom, through UM’s well con-nected faculty and at the university’s recent Sport Industry Conference. The two-day event brought together leading minds, such as Matt Birk, Super Bowl champion and NFL director of football development; Max Eisenbud, vice presi-dent of tennis at IMG; Michael McCullough, executive vice president and CMO for the Miami Heat; and Jer-emy Darlow, director of brand marketing for football and baseball at adidas. Attendees also participated in a career fair with industry experts from ESPN, the Orange Bowl Committee, Fort Lauder-dale Strikers and other organizations.

The conference was organized by faculty member Alicia Jessop, an attor-

ney, founder of the sports law blog Rul-ingSports.com and contributor to top-tier media. She has covered the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, NBA Finals, Olympics and the NCAA Men’s Final Four. She’s one of several faculty members who are well known for their research, teaching and industry experience.

“What sets our program apart from others across the country is our faculty,” says Dr. Warren Whisenant, associate department chair. “They have all worked in the sport industry and remain closely tied to it so they can put their experi-ence and their network to work for our students and graduates.”

Another way UM connects people across the industry is through its Twitter account, @UMSportsBiz, which features

career tips, job opportunities and dia-logue on hot topics.

new york universitynEW YOrK, n.Y.

At the NYU School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS) Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media and Business, hands-on learning, access to a who’s who of the sports industry, a continual agenda of top-level events and a roster of seasoned educators combine to cre-ate a premium experience for students in its M.S. in sports business program.

The Tisch Institute’s sports business master’s degree attracts a diverse stu-

dent body, from lawyers and career changers to sport industry professionals planning to move their careers to the next level.

The past school year has been a showcase of events that brought real-world career experiences and network-ing opportunities to students, said Wayne McDonnell, academic chair and clinical associate professor of sports manage-ment at the Tisch Institute.

The NYUSPS Tisch Institute brought together key decision makers and indus-try professionals — including NFL Com-missioner Roger Goodell, MLS Commis-sioner Don Garber and NASCAR Chair-man and CEO Brian France, among oth-ers — for its groundbreaking Social Responsibility of Sports (SRS) Conference. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver served as the keynote speaker for the confer-ence’s afternoon public session.

As part of the institute’s longstanding relationship with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, city leaders nationwide asked students in the program to create real-world solutions for their sports issues and, in many cases, use those solutions to cre-ate better hometown sports environ-ments.

In addition, this year students collabo-rated with Fox Sports University to create an advertising campaign for New York City FC, which the soccer team has since implemented.

This spring, the NYUSPS Tisch Institute launched a Women in Sports initiative to bring together women in the program with women executives in the sports industry, giving the students additional networking and mentoring opportunities.


STAND OUT IN THE FIELDEARN A GRADUATE DEGREE IN SPORT MANAGEMENTWhether you are looking to make a transition from coaching to management or hoping to springboard your career in the industry, nothing will help you improve both your skills and your resume quite like a master’s degree in Sport Management. The College of Business at Western Carolina University, a member of the University of North Carolina System, now offers a fully online M.S. in Sport Management designed specifically for those working or hoping to work in collegiate and professional athletics.

F MSSM.WCU.EDU

GRADUATES OF WCU’S MSSM DEGREE ALSO RECEIVE A GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

With a fully online program and a calendar of industry events, the university of miami keeps its student body up to date and connected to the sports industry.

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“A major component of our program is the simple fact that we are located in New York. And we take full advantage of the fact that we are at the epicenter of the sports world,” said McDonnell. “Because New York is home to all of the major leagues, prominent sports televi-sion networks and 12 professional sports franchises, our students have access to all the leading members of the sports industry. Top-level executives speak to our students throughout the year and students visit some of the best operations in the industry.”

Most recently, Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner, appeared as part of Tisch Institute’s prestigious Cal Ramsey Distin-guished Lecturer Series.

The graduate program curriculum is also continually evolving, with the Tisch Institute revamping the program for next fall to bring the most current thinking to students. The full-time faculty of sea-soned educators draws on its combined wealth of knowledge as industry practi-tioners active in the professional commu-nity to develop the latest curriculum platform that is challenging, innovative and applicable to the fundamental and ever-changing complexities of the sports industry.

“We’re dedicated to keeping our

content fresh,” said McDonnell. “Our goal is to not only keep up with trends in the industry, but to stay ahead of them. This is vital in a constantly changing industry. Our faculty members are deeply engaged in sports business and are always involved in applied research across the industry. They have an unpar-alleled depth and breadth of knowl-edge.”

Though New York is the epicenter of the sports business industry, students also build their global awareness by exploring farther afield. Through short, industry study-away tours, students have gained exposure in far-flung cities such as Syd-ney, Shanghai, London and Prague. Stu-dents recently visited Rio de Janeiro to meet with executives planning the 2016 Summer Olympics and to study the leg-acy of the 2014 World Cup.

“Even though we’re located in the heart of the sports industry, we want to give our students constant exposure to a national and international perspective,” McDonnell said.

The NYUSPS program also provides students with access to a committed alumni network. Tisch Institute alumni in key industry positions host panel discus-sions not only focusing on their current work, but also offering specific advice on how students can reach their goals. The Tisch Institute fosters mentoring rela-

tionships between students and alumni to further career development.

The NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYUSPS pro-vides students additional access to a diverse and comprehensive range of career services, including one-on-one career counseling, assistance in search-ing for internships and jobs, and hosting career fairs.

Students have the option to pursue their degree either full- or part-time.

With most of the classes scheduled at night, the degree is a manageable commitment for full-time professionals or for students working in full-time intern-ships.

In addition to its core classes, the M.S. in sports business program offers four concentration options — professional and collegiate sports operations, sports marketing and sales, global sports media



Good Luck,Mr. Colangelo and the USA National Team!We are proud to support our namesake Jerry Colangelo in his quest to lead USAB to victory in the upcoming summer games. If you’d like to be part of a gold standard team, enroll in one of the emerging sports business programs at Grand Canyon University.

For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program and other important information, please visit our website at gcu.edu/disclosures. Please note, not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities. Program availability is contingent on student enrollment. Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. (800-621-7440; http://hlcommission.org/) 16CCOB0053

Learn moregcu.edu/sbj

at the intersection of sports, media, sponsorship and finance, the nYu School of professional Studies (nYuSpS) tisch institute for Sports management, media and Business in new York City provides students with a front row seat to the industry and exposure to industry leaders.

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and sports law. NYUSPS also offers a graduate certifi-

cate in sports business that gives partici-pants an in-depth foundation of industry standards and practices, focusing on finance, economics, legal issues and planning major sporting events. In addi-tion, the graduate certificate tackles recent industry developments such as the increased use of metrics and optimi-zation of sponsorships.

“We launched our bachelor’s degree in 1999 and our master’s in 2003,” McDonnell said. “We’re viewed through-out the industry as a mature and flourish-ing program with well-established, well-respected degrees. Our graduates work-ing in the industry reflect that.”

northwestern universityEVanstOn, ill.

Northwestern University brings presti-gious credentials and rigorous standards, along with a first-rate faculty, to its M.A. in sports administration and creates invaluable experiences that enhance graduates’ professional careers.

In the fall, Northwestern will offer two of its core classes online, along with a variety of electives throughout the aca-demic year, as part of a transition to a fully online M.A. in sports administration. Students can still choose to attend on-campus classes and take advantage of networking opportunities in Chicago.

“We are devel-oping the online curriculum in a thoughtful, delib-erate way to ensure that it will be as meaningful to graduates as a traditional on-campus degree,” said Doug Bakker, faculty director of the sports adminis-tration master’s program.

The online component will give more flexibility to students who now travel long distances to participate, Bakker said. Going online means Northwestern’s pro-gram can also reach beyond the Mid-west region to potential students nation-

ally and internationally. And because Northwestern’s alumni are scattered globally, the online program will make it possible for more alumni in the sports industry to mentor and network with stu-dents.

“We will continue to limit our class size to 25 students, online and on-campus, to ensure quality educational interactions with our instructors,” Bakker said. “Add-ing an online platform will not affect our high admissions standards in any way.”

As part of the changes, Bakker is pro-ducing an organized alumni program to create additional opportunities for stu-dents to network nationally and interna-tionally.

Northwestern recognizes the value of being onsite in sports-heavy Chicago, Bakker said. Even as a fully online degree, the master’s program will con-tinue to bring students the best in hands-on interactions, experiences and net-working opportunities with sports industry leaders in the region.

“Northwestern is the best opportunity for students to learn directly from industry professionals,” said Bakker. “We give our Northwestern graduates deep knowl-edge and meaningful experiences that they will be able to translate into the sports career they’ve always wanted.”

ohio universityathEns, OhiO

Ohio University’s Master of Sports Administration program is not only the oldest of its kind in the world, it is also ranked No. 1 around the globe.

Founded in 1966, Ohio’s sports admin-istration program has been put at the very top of SportBusiness International’s annual rankings four of the last five years.

This past April, the program landed AECOM as the naming-rights partner for its Center for Sports Administration.

“We have a tremendous opportunity, in collaboration with the AECOM Center for Sports Administration, to make a posi-tive impact with the students at Ohio and within our industry,“ said Jon Niemuth, director of AECOM Sports/Americas. “The additional research that will come out of this center will provide real value to stu-dents, faculty and industry leaders and produce solutions to the ever-changing needs and challenges in our industry.”

The AECOM Center for Sports Adminis-tration also provides students with career planning and placement services. Place-ments for the most-recent class of gradu-ates are on their way to marking another outstanding year with full-time jobs that include a manger of partnership sales with the Pittsburgh Penguins and major gifts officer with UCLA athletics.


SIMMONS SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND COX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

For more information, visit smu.edu/SportManagement

Go From TheFront Of The Class To

The Front Office.If you want a big-league career in Sport Management, get off the sidelines and get over to SMU.

Our one-year graduate degree gives you access to real-world learning, case studies, professors with vast industry experience, and hands-on internships. Meet top sports industry executives

and learn from faculty at the SMU Cox School of Business, highly ranked by leading business publications. SMU is the only school offering a Sport Management Master’s degree with a

focus exclusively on sports business in DFW–a top-five sports market. Two words: Slam dunk.

SMU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution.

the director of aeCom Sports americas, Jon niemuth’s efforts to craft the unique naming rights/gift agreement between aeCom and the ohio university mSa program is just one example of the incredible loyalty and involvement of ohio alumni to the oldest sports administration program in the country.

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Doug Bakker

Juxtaposed with 50 years of tradition, Ohio has remained on the cutting edge of sports business academia, launching its online professional MSA program in 2010. The online program serves students already in the sports industry who are looking to further their careers — stu-dents like Andrea Williams, who just became commissioner of the Big Sky Conference after serving as an associ-ate commissioner with the Big Ten.

“The professional MSA program has been a game changer for us when comparing Ohio to other top programs,” said Jim Kahler, executive director of the AECOM Center for Sports Administration. “It has extended our reach in a strategic manner with a selection process that admits no more than 30 working profes-sionals with each cohort. These execu-tives have become an important part of our culture with four on-campus residen-cies and the opportunity to team up with our on-campus MSA students on real-world consulting projects.”

university of oregonEugEnE, OrE.

Students at the Warsaw Sports Market-ing Center at the University of Oregon are immersed in the country’s first sports business program housed in a college of business. The program’s curriculum and emphasis on experiential learning pro-vide training in core business disciplines overlaid on courses specializing in sports business.

With its core business focus, the pro-gram develops executives capable of impacting the sports industry in major ways.

“For people who are moving forward to work and serve the industry, the fact that they have a business degree cre-dential matters to employers,” said Whit-ney Wagoner, director of the Warsaw pro-gram. “To us, this is a key differentiator.”

David Bruce, who earned his MBA from Warsaw in 2011 and has gone on to lead MLS through its league-wide rebranding effort as vice president of brand and integrated marketing, exem-

plifies the influence of Oregon sports business alumni.

The Warsaw Center serves a broad cross-section of the sports industry via deep connections with teams and leagues, sports product companies, agencies and corporate sports market-ers. Through high-touch, relevant experi-ence at heavyweights like IMG, ESPN, Nike and adidas, students build robust resumes, in addition to walking off cam-pus with a degree from a top business school.

“We have a steadfast commitment to experiential learning and going beyond the classroom, whether that’s one-of-a-kind global experiences, industry guest speakers, site visits, study tours, etc.,” Wagoner said.

Every MBA student at Warsaw spends a week in San Francisco; a week in New York City, where they sit at league offices; and two weeks in Asia.

Many university sports business pro-grams do not include a track toward an undergraduate degree. Count the War-saw Center among those that do.

This, of course, makes it an ideal fit for younger students who know they want to work in sports, even as they’re just fin-ishing high school.

“We strive to make the experience for our undergraduates every bit as robust as

for our MBA students,” Wagoner said. “They take site visits and get a two-week international study tour in Europe, and they learn from executive guest speakers, do job shadows and get A-level intern-ships. And they get fantastic entry-level sports business jobs out of our program.”

As the Warsaw program evolves with the rapidly changing sports industry, Wagoner said, “There are three lanes for us that I’m really interested in getting aggressive with — sports business analyt-ics, sport and sustainability, and sport for social good.

“We have a real point of difference in the education marketplace because of the tremendous work the University of

Oregon does overall in responsibility and sustainability.”

san diego state universitysan diEgO, caliF.

San Diego State University’s sports MBA gives its graduates a deep ground-ing in the skills crucial for professionals to succeed, while building a broad net-work of relationships in the sports-rich landscape of Southern California.

At more than a decade old, the San Diego State sports MBA has built a solid reputation in the sports industry for its hardworking, knowledgeable gradu-ates and has created a far-reaching system of dedicated alumni serving in top positions throughout the industry.

“We’re constantly looking to evolve our program, because the industry itself is always changing,” said Scott Minto, director of the sports MBA program. “To prepare our students as well as we can, we utilize every possible resource, and that includes tapping into our alumni relationships.”

A new course in the curriculum uses Marines once stationed in and around Camp Pendleton to teach leadership skills to students. The course was possi-ble through program alumnus Steve Gera, a former coach for the San Diego Chargers and, more importantly for the program, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer.

“We take full advantage of our loca-



San Diego State’s sports mBa program takes full advantage of southern California’s diverse sports environment, offering a mix of intense in-class study, prime internship opportunities and contact with an extensive alumni community.

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See programS, page 33Warsaw Sports marketing Center students at the 2015 Sports matters conference in Singapore during their 2-week engaging asia study tour.

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tion in San Diego and Southern Califor-nia,” said Minto. “Not only do we have access to some of the biggest profes-sional sports franchises in the world, we are able to use a wide range of resources, such as Camp Pendleton, to create meaningful experiences for our students.”

San Diego State’s sports MBA offers students 12 months of accelerated class time, focusing on critical business skills, with an additional six months of super-vised consultancies in Southern Califor-nia. Students receive a thorough grounding in statistical analysis, organi-zational behavior and leadership, finan-cial management and business strat-egy, along with sports economics and marketing, in classes taught by sea-soned, professional educators.

Students take classes as a cohort to foster strong relationships among class-mates, which graduates can draw on throughout their careers.

Minto and the faculty make sure stu-dents have multiple opportunities to par-ticipate in the sports industry, volunteer-ing their time at events such as the MLB All-Star Week, Amgen Tour of California and the San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Mara-thon.

“By the time most of our students reach the consultancy phase, they’ve already begun successfully working in the industry,” Minto said. “That’s a testa-ment to the strength of San Diego State’s program. People who hire our graduates know they’re hiring someone with the solid skills and wide ranging experience necessary to make their business a success.”

university of san franCisCosan FranciscO, caliF.

With presence in two of the largest and most vibrant sports markets in the U.S. — one of which is in the heart of the country’s technology industry — there is no sport management program better positioned geographically than the Uni-versity of San Francisco.

The institution’s sport management master’s program operates under the motto, “Two locations, one team.” Pro-fessors fly back and forth from San Fran-cisco to Southern California. Students work in internships spanning from San Diego with the Padres, to Orange

County with the Angels and Ducks, to Los Angeles with the Clippers, AEG and other entertainment entities, to the Bay Area with the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and Facebook.

“One of our greatest strengths is the fact that we are in the heart of San Fran-cisco and in Los Angeles — two of the biggest sports markets west of the Missis-sippi River — and, as a result, we can draw on all of these opportunities,” said Drew Roberts, the program’s administra-tive director.

“We’ve been around for 25 years and we’ve built great relationships that pave the way to internship and job opportuni-ties for our students,” he added. “Some-times you’ll see pictures in SBJ of other sport management programs going to

L.A. for an immersion trip, which is great, but we’re there – our students are doing that every single day in these two huge sport markets.”

The sports industry is as cutting edge as any and technology is fueling a large part of its growth. A lot of that technol-ogy, of course, is being developed in San Francisco’s backyard.

“The tech industry is just going crazy,” Roberts continued. “There are so many companies based in the Bay Area. We’ve got alumni and current students at Fitbit and Zebra Technologies (whose player-tracking chips are used in the NFL).” The alumni at these companies, Roberts emphasized, are a conduit for new students to land jobs there as well.

In addition to professional sports fran-chises, the program’s students have worked in several of California’s top ath-letic departments, as well as for the Super Bowl 50 host committee, agencies like Octagon and Relativity Sports and minor league teams up and down the coast.

Students complete an average of 1,100 hours at four internship sites during their time in the program.

On campus, students progress through the master’s program under a cohort system, learning from professors who specialize on the legal, interna-tional, economic and leadership aspects of the sports industry. They can focus on certain areas of the business toward the end of their studies via electives taught by industry professionals.

Led by academic director Dr. Daniel Rascher, the elective program features courses taught by practitioners such as



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(l to r): professor michael goldman; professor nola agha; Keith Bruce, president and Ceo of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee; professor Dan rascher; Drew roberts; and Courtney arguello.

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L.A. Kings Senior Vice President of Mar-keting Jonathan Lowe, former Georgia State University AD Cheryl Levick and ESPN Director of Production Analytics Ben Alamar.

“The sport management faculty have broad and deep experience in many aspects of the sports industry,” Rascher said. “I am amazed at our faculty accomplishments, whether broadcast-ing major sporting events, publishing cut-ting-edge research or launching new ideas. We strive to blend theory and practice via a mix of executives working in the sport field and full-time faculty who work daily in the industry.”

Chris Brown, a May 2016 graduate, exemplifies the success an aspiring sports business executive can find at the Univer-sity of San Francisco. Brown persevered through the rejection of his initial applica-tion, reapplied, was accepted and thrived within the program. Diploma in hand, he is on his way to great things in the industry. After several internships in college athletics and one with the public relations staff of the Warriors, he has landed full-time employment with the Uni-versity of San Francisco athletic depart-ment under the leadership of Athletic Director Scott Sidwell, who is committed to providing opportunities for sports man-agement students and alumni.

“We have lots of students who have stories like that,” said Roberts. “We have people doing great work in sport who have been out longer (Shana Daum, from the fist cohort, is vice president of public affairs and community relations for the Giants, and Dustin Rocke is vice president of programming and develop-ment at Pac-12 Networks), but Chris is an inspiration for someone who’s thinking about a career in sports or trying to make a jump in the industry.”

southern methodist universitydallas, tExas

Southern Methodist University’s M.S. in sport management offers its graduates a unique degree taught by seasoned fac-

ulty from the esteemed Cox School of Business and sport management profes-sionals with more than 100 years’ com-bined industry experience in the nation’s fifth largest sports market.

Developed by the Simmons School of Education and Human Development, in collaboration with the SMU Cox School of Business, the master’s is an intense, one-year program.

“Our more progressive model of graduate sport management programs provides students with access to profes-sors and professionals who are industry practitioners with an intrinsic understand-ing of the business gained through decades of experience in various seg-ments of the industry,” said Michael Lysko, SMU professor of practice and director of the program. “As a true hybrid model, we combine our sport management curriculum with the neces-sary graduate-level financial, manage-ment, negotiation and analytics business courses students need to succeed in this competitive industry.”

Bloomberg magazine ranks the Cox

School of Business’ professional programs in the top three in the nation, providing SMU’s three-year-old sport management graduate degree with a unique advan-tage over many traditional programs.

“Our adjunct professors are industry experts with a minimum of 20 years’ experience in their specific disciplines,” Lysko said. “Our students learn not only where the business is today, but how technology and best practices are evolving in the industry.”

Industry veterans serving as adjuncts include Ryan Luckey, associate vice pres-ident of corporate sponsorships at AT&T; sports lawyer Christian Dennie, named as a 2013 Rising Star by Texas Monthly; Peter Carton, former director of the interna-tional division at MLB; Bill Glenn, former senior vice president at The Marketing Arm and current CMO of Predictive Ana-lytics & Fitness; Paul Monroe, vice presi-dent of marketing and communications for Texas Motor Speedway; Tom Buning, senior associate athletics director for the SMU Mustangs; Gashaw Abeza, a recog-nized expert in the use of social media in

professional sports; and Paul Schoonover, who has been selected by his peers for the last decade as one of the nation’s best lawyers by the publishers of The Best Lawyers In America.

Set in the heart of the Southwest, SMU draws on its geographic location, the size of the local sports market and faculty members’ longstanding relationships with local and national sports industry leaders to give students the real-world skills they need to become leaders and executives.

SMU gives its sport management graduate students access to unique experiences and internship possibilities, such as sales and consulting projects and event management with SMU’s industry partners, including ESPN “Col-lege GameDay,” Super Bowl XLV, NCAA Men’s Final Four, NBA All-Star Weekend, Legends, the National Football Founda-tion and the 2015 College Football Play-off National Championship.

The program’s ongoing guest speaker series and symposia connect students



E t h i c s | D i v e r s i t y | C o m m u n i t y | L e a d e r s h i p

Sport BusinessMBA/MSBM

DeVosProducing the next generat ion

of sport business leadersRanked #2 global ly in 2015

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(top) Sports agencies such as img are active participants in the Smu sports business program. (Bottom) the nHl’s Dallas Stars are just one of the professional sports teams in the Smu network.

SMU



located in the booming sports market of north texas, Smu’s sports business program boasts a top-level faculty, along with a top list of sports properties and sports businesses as partners.

SMU


with some of the top professionals in the industry, including Bob Beaudine, sports executive recruiter and author of the best-selling “Power of WHO;” super-agent Leigh Steinberg; and basketball marketing legend Sonny Vaccaro.

“One of the advantages of our pro-gram is our location, which provides stu-dents with direct access to internships and jobs in various industry segments, including sports marketing agencies, facility and event management, new media and broadcasting, entrepreneur-ship, collegiate sports and client-side consulting,” Lysko said.

Dallas-Fort Worth is the hub of major professional sports franchises, such as the NFL Dallas Cowboys, NBA Dallas Maver-icks, MLB Texas Rangers and NHL Dallas Stars. The DFW Metroplex boasts multiple Division I colleges, minor league fran-chises and world-class facilities, such as the American Airlines Center, AT&T Sta-dium and Texas Motor Speedway. DFW plays host to conference headquarters for the Big 12 Conference, Conference USA and the Southland Conference, and is headquarters for the National Football Foundation and the College Football Playoff.

“We limit enrollment in our program to 20 students,” Lysko said. “Our course load is demanding and the one-year program is intense, which is why we prefer only those applicants who demonstrate their capacity through a high GMAT score, a strong undergraduate foundation and demonstrated experience in the sports industry. It is important that the entire experience benefits the students educa-tionally and professionally.”

SMU’s sport management program has successfully placed graduates with professional sports teams, such as the Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks, Rangers, FC Dallas, Frisco RoughRiders, Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Washing-ton Nationals, as well as a number of col-lege athletics departments.

Recent SMU graduates have also landed positions with sports marketing agencies Lagardere Sports & Entertain-ment, The Marketing Arm, GMR Market-

ing, Octagon, Wasserman, CAA Sports, Learfield Sports, Legends Global Sales, The Bal-lengee Group and Publicis Hawkeye, as well as ESPN, the NFL, Topgolf and Under Armour.

temple universityPhiladElPhia, Pa.

If you were looking for a school with a sports business program that will put you on a fast track toward landing a job in the industry, you’d be hard pressed to do better than Tem-ple University. The Philadelphia-based university’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) boasts a head-turning placement rate — 90 percent of its graduates find jobs within 90 days of com-pleting their studies.

This, of course, is no acci-dent.

It starts with recruiting the upper echelon of college candidates. The 2016 fresh-man class averages a 3.55 GPA and an SAT score of more than 1,150, with honors and scholarship recipients at an all-time high.

When they get to campus, students find themselves in a program heavily invested in Philadelphia’s thriving sports business community and one with extensive and meaningful partnerships with sports enti-ties up and down the Northeast Corridor. In addition to a receiving an education affiliated with the AACSB-accredited Fox School of Business, STHM students will log 1,000 hours of internships and experien-tial learning.

Temple’s program is also one with “peerless student services,” in the words of incoming Associate Dean Aubrey Kent, which includes bountiful network-ing opportunities like career fairs and seminars, a dedicated advising team, a center for professional development and an executive-in-residence program.

“We try to bring the industry to life in the classroom for our students,” Kent said.

In addition to a B.S. in sport and rec-reation management, the school also offers an M.S. in sport business. The grad-uate program serves a cohort of about 30 to 40 students each year and is predi-cated on the same concepts and prac-tices as the undergraduate program – “very experiential, very immersed and embedded in the industry,” said Kent.

“We are cultivating industry relation-ships and are co-curricularly having pro-fessional development with our stu-dents,” said Kent. “We are developing industry professionals before they even get out in the field and our job place-ment rate proves that.”

Undergraduates perform 750 hours of internships (part time as juniors, full-time in their senior year), plus 250 hours of volun-teer work. Graduate students are required to complete an internship of 180 hours.

Throw a dart at the wall that is Philly’s sports business commu-nity and you’ll probably hit an intern from Temple. The pro-gram has been represented at all five of the city’s major league teams (NFL Eagles, MLB Phillies, NBA 76ers, NHL Flyers, MLS Union), events like the Philadel-phia Marathon, Penn Relays and Big 5 basketball, and nearly every collegiate athletic department in town. Students have volunteered for efforts around Pope Francis’ visit to the city in 2015, the Army/Navy Game and this summer’s Demo-cratic National Convention.

The program’s presence, though, doesn’t end at the city’s borders.

“We routinely send people to Washington, D.C., or New York into the agency side and (com-panies like) Under Armour, Nike and Madison Square Garden,” said Kent. “We’ve got a long list of partners we have consistent placement with for a number of students, not just one-offs.”

The program has seen plenty of graduates move on to big things in the sports industry.

Among them are Jim Van Stone, presi-dent of business operations and chief commercial officer at Monumental Sports; Steve Ryan, vice president of business development for the Arizona Cardinals; Devon Hendricks, assistant athletic direc-tor for Olympic sports at the University of Texas; and Rob Ellis, one of Philadelphia’s most popular sports talk radio hosts.

Look for more in the near future.“We have rising executives here in

Philadelphia and really around the world,” Kent said.

Temple’s sport management program is also evolving internally, with a new ana-


Birthplace of Nike. Game-changing football uniforms. The nation’s first sports business program. Others have tried to follow the University of Oregon’s lead, but none has been able to match the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

As the leading think tank and training ground for the sports business industry, the Warsaw Center’s reputation, alumni network, and undergraduate and MBA student pipelines are unsurpassed.

WARSAW SPORTS MARKETING CENTERwarsaw.uoregon.edu | @UOWarsawCenter

FOLLOW THE LEADER

With an emphasis on strong academics and extensive participation, the philadelphia-based sports business program takes maximum advantage of its location, not only within philadelphia, but in D.C. and new York as well.

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lytics track and an online executive mas-ters program set to launch next year. An advisory board makes sure the program remains dynamic and forward-looking.

Said Kent, “We’re in constant com-munication with the industry about what’s next and what’s cutting edge.”

He concluded, “If you package all of this together, we have a great value proposition for our students.”

western Carolina universitycullOWhEE, n.c.

Western Carolina University, nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, will offer a fully online M.S. in Sport Manage-ment, beginning in fall 2016.

Western Carolina’s program offers stu-dents distinct advantages. Its fully online status means students can continue their full-time jobs, while furthering their careers with a manageable course load. The pro-gram is housed within the university’s fully accredited (AACSB) College of Business, which means seasoned faculty will bring a strong base of business knowledge focused on the contemporary sports industry. Third, students earning an M.S. in sport management will simultaneously earn a certificate in project manage-ment.

“Students who want to earn a mas-ter’s degree are usually already working in the sports industry and can’t always drop everything to go back to a brick-and-mortar school, especially one in a rural setting such as ours,” said A.J.

Grube, director of the School of Account-ing, Finance, Information Systems and Business Law at Western Carolina Univer-sity. “Our online program allows students to continue working, while, at the same time, preparing themselves to advance in their careers with a strong education.”

Grube said the program will use inter-active online classrooms for the curricu-lum and for students to connect with each other, the faculty and sports indus-try executives who will serve as guest speakers, as well as for networking events.

A full-time student can complete Western Carolina’s master’s degree in a calendar year. Because the classes aren’t completed in a particular

sequence, a student can begin the pro-gram any semester.

Every student must complete an approved internship, said Grube, which, for many students already in the industry, could include their current employment in the sports industry. Western Carolina will connect students to the sports industry for internship possibilities but, as part of learn-ing important career skills, students are ultimately responsible for creating their own internships.

Members of the sport management faculty have deep professional experi-ence working in the industry. They have all been recognized for their teaching excellence and have all distinguished themselves in scholarship. They are also

each fully qualified in their particular field of study.

“Housing our sport management mas-ter’s within the College of Business adds weight to our program,” said Grube. “Our curriculum will give our students every-thing they need to build a solid business career of any kind, but, in this particular program, they will have an intense focus on the business of sports.”

In addition to the sport management master’s degree, graduates will earn a certificate in program management, a crucial skill set for executives working in any aspect of the business world. The pro-gram management component consists of four business courses that teach stu-dents to apply planning, cost calculating and implementation principles to any business project, from planning a golf tournament to building an arena.

Grube said she is expecting a strong charter class of between 15 and 30 stu-dents, all of whom will bring a diversity of ideas and a wide variety of industry expe-riences, but must demonstrate their potential through a robust goal state-ment.

“Western Carolina University offers tre-mendous opportunities for potential sport management graduate students,” said Grube. “Our online program makes it convenient for those who are already employed. Students can be assured they are getting a solid education from a fully accredited institution. And with our focus on business and, in particular, our program management certificate, students can be confident that they will be able to apply their newfound knowl-edge and skills throughout the sports business industry.”



Master of Science in Sport Business

DEVELOP A GAME-WINNING CAREER STRATEGY.

Learn more at STHM.TEMPLE.EDU/GRAD

Tyrone Holt, STHM ‘10

Generate your ideal career path with Temple University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. With a 90% job placement rate within 90 days of graduation, deep industry connections within one of the nation’s largest markets for sports and recreation, plus a hands-on approach to innovative management theory, the Master of Science in Sport Business will provide you with the tools to take charge. Limited scholarships available.

Specifically designed to meet the needs of business professionals who want to pursue careers in sports, Western Carolina’s fully-online program, opening in the fall of 2016, will be situated in the business school and feature top business educators.

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sbj june 2016 - university sport managment programs

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