Programs in
Sports Business
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | June 4, 2007
SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
Sports industry talent hunt underway
But today it’s all a matter of degrees
Just a couple of decades ago, college degrees in sports business
were hard to find.
Well, the times have changed … dramatically. Opportunities in
the sports industry are ripe for smart, talented people. But today,
it’s a matter of degrees. To get ahead, or even just a job, credentials do matter.
A 2006 Wall Street Journal article named the University of Arizona’s sports business program only one of five such
programs “most often recommend” by academics and the industry.
T
he North American Society for Sport
Management (NASSM) lists approximately
216 member institutions offering academic
programs in sports management or marketing.
On the economics side, SportsBusiness Journal
estimates the sports business as a thriving $213
billion + industry. Across the country, professional
leagues and related marketing thrive, but there also
is the increasing growth of minor league sports
(baseball, Arena Football, etc.), collegiate sports,
companies looking to engage in sports sponsorships
and several more ways in which sports is permeating our society. Naturally, that massive spending
has created a growing and wide variety of positions
available for talented business professionals. It all
means more and more schools are fortifying existing programs, starting new ones or launching distance learning delivery platforms to give qualified
people the chance to either break into the sports
business or reach the next level and beyond in their
existing sports-related careers.
The main obstacle? Even with its staggering
growth, there is an extremely competitive market
for positions in sports industry-wide. And the
imbalance between supply and demand (jobs supplied and positions demanded) places a premium
on practical business skills and industry experience.
At the same time, sport management and sport
marketing degrees, both graduate and undergraduate, are becoming more specialized, focusing on
different aspects of sports business. Students enrolling in sport management/marketing programs may
want to run an athletic facility. Or they may like
30
the idea of selling and managing sports sponsorships. They might plan to work with elite athletes
in sophisticated training programs or manage the
finances of multi-million dollar franchises. They can
work with communities in sports-related programs.
The list seems endless.
While students are considering their potential
careers, employers across all segments of the sports
industry are watching this growth and using this
information to make decisions on:
• Investments in continuing education for their
employees
• New and expanding areas of expertise that
they can draw from when making hiring
decisions
• Expanding recruitment opportunities
• Indicators of how they can expand their
businesses
Sports properties, media, facilities and sponsors
are on the prowl for bright, hard-working people
with the specific skills and education, people who
often take advanced study in areas such as finance
and management or have a thorough knowledge
of the newest high-tech communications or video
platforms.
Investing in the future
For students, how much time and money is needed to earn a degree in sports business? The price
range for landing a degree that will get someone
into the sports industry is quite broad – from a few
hundred or a few thousand to complete a certified
program in sales to up to $60,000 to complete
a graduate degree. On average, costs for top-tier
graduate programs often run in the $20,000 to
$25,000 range. One way to reduce tuition costs is
to secure a position as a graduate assistant that
can eliminate out-of-state tuition costs, which can
sometimes run up to $10,000 per student per year
for non-residents.
In addition to tuition costs, graduate students
should factor in a minimum of $1,000 per month
to cover living expenses. For those who are already
working, opportunity costs in terms of lost wages
over the period of the time it takes to earn the
degree should also be considered.
Undergraduate programs
In most universities, undergraduate curriculums
are designed to help students develop skill sets that
will allow them to break into the sports industry
and to gain entry-level positions.
As a general rule, people interested in working
on the business side of a sports organization should
consider programs that are administered by the
school of business. If, however, they are looking to
work in recreation, product design or health and/or
fitness operations (including coaching), they should
choose a program overseen by a kinesiology or
physical education department. Of course, there are
exceptions to every rule.
Graduate programs
Different philosophies drive different graduate
programs. For example, undergraduates thinking
about getting an advanced degree in sports business
may need to get a few years of industry work experience before being accepted into top programs.
Other differences involve curriculum design/
emphasis and what degrees are earned upon completion. Some programs offer a traditional MBA
with a concentration in sports. Others offer a joint
MBA with a Masters in Sports Administration.
Others simply offer a Masters in Sports
Administration. Some students prefer the MBA
degree as a hedge so that they will be marketable
in industries other than sports. The choice depends
entirely on personal goals (for more on evaluating
sport management programs, see related article,
page 35).
This special section provides a glimpse of some
of the nation’s top sport management and marketing programs. It also presents a good cross-section
of the delivery methods, curriculum strategies and
other key factors that differentiate the options in
today’s sport management/marketing academic
world.
Arizona State University
It’s no secret. The W.P. Carey Sports Business
MBA Program at Arizona State University has a
very successful track record in the world of sport
On the cover – top left, clockwise:
As part of the University of Central Florida’s sport business management master’s program, students helped in rebuilding New Orleans’
devastated Ninth Ward; the M.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from California U in Pennsylvania can be taken online and was
designed for certified athletic trainers and many other professionals; grad students from the class of 2007 at the University of Oregon’s
Warsaw Center traveled to the NBA Jam in Beijing last September as part of the Center’s “Engaging Asia” initiative; Columbia is the
first Ivy League school to offer an M.S. in Sports Management; Dr. Stephen Jefferson conducts a sports history class at the University of
Massachusetts, which offers two sport management graduate degrees; San Diego State University is the only sport management graduate
program that enjoys a partnership with a pro sports team, the San Diego Padres; this year’s SDSU grads had a special day at Petco Field.
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | Programs in Sports Business
Tom Harris, SVP of the Arizona Diamondbacks, chats with Leslie Reedy and Russell Scibetti, both first year students from
the MBA Sports Business program at Arizona State University, during their visit to Chase Field.
business degrees, consistently ranking among the
top programs in the nation.
For example, a 2006 Wall Street Journal article
named the Carey School’s sports business program
one of five such programs “most often recommend” by academics and the industry throughout
the country. The article also singled out the Carey
program’s ability to produce students destined for
executive positions within the sports industry.
“Sport is the common denominator that knits
together diverse societies,” says Ray Artigue,
executive director of the Sports Business Program
at the Carey School. “As this industry becomes
more sophisticated and competitive, it will be the
next generation of highly-educated professionals
that ensures we will move forward with integrity
and success.” Prior to joining the Carey School of
Business, Artigue was senior VP of marketing for
the Phoenix Suns, where he directed all of that
NBA team’s sales and marketing efforts.
According to Artigue, the Carey School prides
itself on its rigorous academic requirements, as
well as the program’s emphasis on multi-faceted
“experiential” learning.
First-year students experience the highlyranked school’s MBA core courses, where casebased and team-oriented learning is emphasized.
Courses are taught in three 10-week trimesters,
putting students through a rigorous, comprehensive program of study. Integration and strategy
are key to the W.P. Carey MBA curriculum.
Students learn how these business disciplines
relate to one another to build successful and
innovative solutions for companies. During the
first year, students develop skills in accounting,
economics, ethics, finance, information systems,
marketing, supply chain management, statistics
and strategy.
Not until the last trimester of the first year do
students take their first required sports business
class: Sports Marketing and Revenue Generation.
This class provides an overview of the sales and
marketing role in sports, preparing students to
distinguish themselves in their summer internships.
During year two, Artigue explains that his students take an intensive array of courses that provide high-level experience, “real-world” insights,
and practice and training in the art and science
of being a sports business executive. “Let’s face
it, you can talk about principles and theory until
you’re blue in the face, “ said Artigue, “but until
students actually roll up their sleeves and put this
new found knowledge into practice, they will not
truly understand the value proposition.”
Therefore, during the summer between their
first and second years, students are required
to participate in a sports-related internship. In
their second year, they participate in a year-long
Fellowship in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Fellowships allow students the opportunity to
work closely with local sponsoring corporations,
teams and various organizations while enhancing
their skill sets and growing their networks. Just
a small sample of those teams and organizations
include the Seattle Seahawks, Phoenix Suns,
VISA, ProLink, Arizona Diamondbacks, the
Super Bowl Host Committee and many others.
California State University, Bakersfield
At California State University, Bakersfield
(CSUB), two words best describe the school’s
undergraduate sport management program: peak
performance.
Those two words, says Brian McNamara director, sports management program, at Cal State
Bakersfield (CSUB), really get at the essence of
the school’s objectives for its undergraduate program.
“One of the themes we’re working with is peak
performance, which means we’re focused on giving
our students the best possible sports marketing
program,” he says. “We also believe in the idea
that the best things often come in small packages,
because we’re one of the smallest schools with a
sports management undergraduate concentration.
Because of the small size, students get highly personal attention.”
McNamara explains that while 85 percent of
students in the sports management concentration
are California residents, the remaining 15 percent
students come from a wide geographical mix.
The sports management program at CSUB
looks to prepare students as administrators and
managers, as well as entry-level management
At California
State University,
Bakersfield,
the school’s
undergraduate
sport management
program has adopted
the motto “peak
performance” to get
students excited about
their futures.
AK”
E
P
“
SPORTS BIZ
PERFORMERS
Sports Management @ Cal State Bakersfield
BIG LEAGUE FOCUS
(Successful Program)
ACADEMIC LEARNERS
(AACSB Business Program)
SMALL TOWN FEEL
(Supportive People)
ATHLETIC LEADERS
(NCAA Div IA Teams)
www.csub.edu/sportsmanagement & (661) 654-2326
JUNE 4-10, 2007
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SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
positions in dozens of sports-related jobs. Through
the program, students learn to work in diverse
roles in the areas of sports marketing and promotions, facility management and planning, activity
programming, events management and sports law.
Each student experiences a 10-week internship
program, getting vital on-the-job experience and
employment opportunities.
ment, golf marketing and many other careers.
CSUB graduates have had success in the
sports management field. For instance, a recent
graduate interned with the Bakersfield Jam, of
the NBA Development League, and then moved
to become the top sales professional with the
L.A. Clippers. Another recent graduate moved
from an internship with the Bakersfield Condors
of the ECHL to the Austin Wranglers, the Arena
Football League team owned in part by ex-NFL
great Deion Sanders, and soon was hired by
SportsClips, a new national hair care chain for
men and boys.
Finally, with CSUB making the transition from
NCAA Division II to Division IA in 2007, more
opportunities for students within the school’s athletic department are sure to emerge.
“It’s like we will have a sports business learning lab right here in-house,” says Carter. “Plus,
Bakersfield has its own exclusive market, with
dedicated media outlets (eight local TV, two cable
TV, 50 radio, three news/print), five franchise
sports teams, NASCAR, as well as other sports,
advertising or merchandising properties. So we can
put together some substantive internship opportunities, just a short walk from campus.”
“... BAKERSFIELD HAS ITS OWN
EXCLUSIVE MARKET, WITH DEDICATED MEDIA OUTLETS (8 LOCAL
TV, 2 CABLE TV, 50 RADIO, 3 NEWS/
PRINT), FIVE FRANCHISE SPORTS
TEAMS, NASCAR, AS WELL AS
OTHER SPORTS, ADVERTISING, OR
MERCHANDISING PROPERTIES.”
Vince Carter,
assistant director, CSUB
According to Vince Carter, assistant director,
CSUB balances specialized sports management
topics (e.g., sports marketing, facilities management, sports law and principles of sports management) with core business courses (e.g., finance,
marketing, economics and accounting).
“By helping facilitate skills in communications,
behavioral sciences, quantitative analysis and
environmental dynamics, our sports management
program provides a well-rounded education for
professional and personal growth, in the context of
an accredited school of business,” he says.
CSUB offers undergraduates three primary
options: a sports management concentration, a
sports management minor and the professional
golf management (PGM) program. The latter
program is designed for anyone who wants to
pursue a career associated with the golf industry
– including professional golf (playing and teaching), turf grass management, golf club manage-
California State University, Long Beach
To Dr. Ketra Armstrong, a sport management
program’s success hinges on one simple concept:
balance.
“When you talk about sport management programs, the ones that are the most successful, the
ones that really prepare students for the business
of sport, effectively integrate theory and practice,” says Armstrong, program director, Graduate
Program in Sport Management, Department
of Kinesiology, College of Health and Human
Services, at California State University, Long
Beach (CSULB).
Armstrong should know because the CSULB
program does just that: it creatively mixes the
academic with the real world. For example, at
CSULB, the faculty is stocked with tenure track
professors, but the program also has the added
benefit in that many executives from the boom-
California State University, Long Beach offers its sport management graduate students the southern California “sportscape” as part of a
hands-on learning experience. In this case, it’s the Home Depot Center, home to the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.
ing Southern California sports industry serve as
adjunct teachers.
“For example, the person who teaches in our
event and facilities course manages the ESPN
X- Games,” Armstrong says. “Our students don’t
learn just from textbooks but also from people in
the sport industry trenches. And that’s one of the
major benefits of our program.”
“THEY ARE LEARNING THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IN REAL
TIME WITH REAL SPORTS. THAT GIVES OUR STUDENTS A CRITICAL
ADVANTAGE.”
Dr. Ketra Armstrong, program director, Graduate Program in Sport Management,
Department of Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Services, CSULB
Of course, there are other benefits. For
example, the Long Beach location turns all of the
Southern California “sportscape” into one big,
multi-layered classroom. After all, you have the
A Major League Career
campus,” she says. “They are learning throughout
Southern California, in real time with real sports.
That gives our students a critical advantage.”
CSULB’s offers its graduate program in
Advance your career
University of San Francisco offers one of
the nation’s most extensive Master of Arts
in Sport Management programs at our
campuses in San Francisco and the Los
Angeles area in Orange.
•
Home Depot Center, Dodger Stadium, the Honda
Center, the Staples Center, the Anaheim Angels,
the Long Beach Grand Prix, professional beach
volleyball, college sports and many other venues,
teams, leagues and sports-related organizations
too numerous to mention.
“With our geography and wealth of facilities, our students learn well beyond the CSULB
G R A D U AT E P R O G R A M S I N
Sports Management and Sports Marketing and Public Relations
The dynamic, multi-billion dollar sports industry demands exceptional leaders.
The Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies has developed a
Attend classes one evening a week and
complete your degree in 23 months
• Classes start in Jan. & July 2008
• Distinguished faculty of leading
sports professionals
• Exciting intern opportunities
& professional connections
• Scholarships & financial aid
graduate program to prepare professionals for leadership positions in all segments of the sports industry. Earn your Master of Arts in Sports Administration
(MSA) degree by attending evening courses in Chicago or Evanston, Illinois.
Nondegree options such as graduate certificates and the opportunity to take
individual courses are also available. Find out how the MSA program can help
advance your career.
Apply today
www.scs.northwestern.edu/sports
For more information:
No. Calif. Program 415.422.2678
So. Calif. Program 714.633.5626
www.usfca.edu/sm
•
312-503-4682
Visit other graduate programs at: www.usfca.edu/graduate
USF's MA in Sport Management perfectly complements my Texas A&M undergraduate business degree and
provided me the professional network to land my current position. If the sport industry is your goal; USF and
California is the ideal environment. —Clara Ho, Assistant, Baseball Operations, San Francisco Giants
32
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | Programs in Sports Business
sport management – the Master of Arts in
Kinesiology, Option: Sport Management – through
its Department of Kinesiology in partnership
with University College and Extension Services
(UCES). It’s an accelerated, 36-unit program that
allows students to earn a master’s degree in 18
months. Graduates work in the sport industry in a
variety of settings, including professional, fitness,
college and scholastic organizations, private businesses, community services, as well as in academic
institutions.
“We have a very diverse group of students,
most of whom work full time and many of them
work in the sport industry, so our classes are
offered in the evenings, one night a week, plus
some Saturdays.” Armstrong explains. “Our program is delivered with more of an executive feel,
especially because of our partnerships with local
sports teams on the professional level.”
Typically, CSULB’s program, now in its sixth
year, has three cohorts (27-30 per group) simultaneously enrolled.
Apart from the academics, Armstrong says few
programs in the country have access to the massive number of possibilities when it comes not only
to internships for students, but for jobs once they
graduate.
“We’re nestled between Los Angeles and
Anaheim, and there are growing opportunities
right here in Long Beach,” she says. “We have a
great job placement track record. In fact, many
of our students secure jobs before they even complete the program.”
California University of PA
Launched in summer 2003, the Master
of Science in Exercise Science and Health
Promotion program at California University of
Pennsylvania has graduated about 600. And every
one of them achieved their degrees 100 percent
online.
“Our students come from all 50 states and 12
different countries,” says Barry E. McGlumphy,
graduate program director, associate professor
and primary architect of Cal U’s successful online
M.S. offering. “The virtual community we has
clearly created an International network of professionals and friends.”
McGlumphy adds that all graduating students
plan to continue their pursuit of continuing
education offered by the National Academy of
Sports Medicine (NASM), with several students
continuing in the school’s post-graduate certificate programs.
California U of Pennsylvania’s graduate program,
available totally online, was designed for athletic trainers
and many other health and sports professionals.
“We’re proud of the fact that more than 40 of
our grads work for professional sports teams in
the NBA, NHL, NFL and major league baseball,”
he says.
McGlumphy explains that the “Cal U” M.S.
in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, an
accelerated program that can be completed in just
12 months, was designed for busy people, including working professionals and recent bachelor’s
degree graduates in the health and fitness industry, including certified athletic trainers, physical
therapists, health and physical education teachers,
chiropractors, personal trainers, business owners,
wellness counselors, military personnel and those
in other health/fitness careers. Graduates are
prepared to work in fitness and wellness settings
including gyms, fitness clubs, spas, corporate fitness, strength coaching, high school and collegiate
athletics and many other settings.
The program offers four distinct tracks: Wellness and Fitness, Performance Enhancement and
Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation Science, and
Sport Psychology. The University worked closely
with the NASM to develop course content. The Cal
U program has a minimum of two cohorts per year
(25-30 students per cohort), with a January or
July start. Students work, learn, and communicate
online and regularly function as a group of interactive peers.
“Our virtual community creates a lively, dynamic
educational experience that enriches the collaborative skills essential in the contemporary health
care, education, wellness and fitness workplace,”
McGlumphy says, adding that the program offers
latest Web technologies – streaming video, narrated
PowerPoint presentations and online forums. In
fact, using threaded discussion groups, chat rooms
and e-mail, students communicate and interact
regularly.
McGlumphy notes that despite having to travel
far to reach the Cal U campus, in the state’s
Southwestern corner near Pittsburgh, several
students attended the most recent graduation ceremony, with most enjoying their first visit to the
campus.
“The bond formed between our students became
quite evident before and during the graduation
ceremony,” he says. “The connection between the
online students is stronger than I have seen in over
14 years as a college educator.
“So far, our program has had minimal attrition,
which means we must be doing something right,”
he adds. “Student satisfaction levels have been
excellent, and that’s especially gratifying since our
students are respected professionals in their individual disciplines.”
McGlumphy adds that Cal U also offers an
undergraduate degree 100 percent online – a B.S.
in Wellness and Fitness. And both the graduate and
undergraduate programs are part of the school’s
“Cal U Global Online” (Cal U GO), a major distance learning initiative.
“The Web-based graduate programs we offer are
high-quality, niche programs that can help students
advance their careers, begin career transitions, or
increase their depth and breadth of knowledge in
their current fields,” says Dr. Angelo Armenti, Jr.,
president, California University of Pennsylvania.
University of Central Florida
The best way to describe the University
of Central Florida’s DeVos Sport Business
Management program is that it offers students a
“living classroom.”
What exactly does that mean? It means that
UCF graduate students go to Orlando to learn
how to become business leaders committed to
using the power of sport to improve life in a
more-inclusive society. And they do it with a serious a “hands on” component. It must be working,
because in just five years the DeVos program was
named one of the Top Five sport management
graduate programs by the Wall Street Journal,
SportsBusiness Journal and ESPN The Magazine.
The UCF Sport Business Management program, part of the DeVos College of Business
Administration, is arguably the first of its kind in
the area of sport management graduate studies.
The program, launched in 2002, was the vision
of Rich and Helen DeVos, owners of RDV Sports
and the NBA’s Orlando Magic. The endowment
for the program is a $2.5 million gift by Mr. &
Mrs. DeVos, which was matched by the State of
Florida. In addition to the donated scholarships,
the endowment has allowed the program to have
either scholarships or graduate assistant positions
for virtually all students.
Along with the DeVos’ vision, the UCF program
has another major cornerstone in its charismatic
director, Dr. Richard Lapchick, human rights
activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally
recognized expert on sports issues, scholar and
author. When Lapchick came to UCF in 2001, he
brought along his commitment to equality and
his belief that sport can be an effective force for
change in the U.S.
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The day before graduation, University of Central Florida students were honored at half-time of an Orlando Magic game.
So under Lapchick’s leadership, one critical
component is students in the DeVos Sport
Business Management Graduate program must
complete 15 hours per month of community work
as part of their degree requirement.
For example, UCF Sport Business Management
graduate students volunteered for work in the devastated Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans.
The initial effort, called the Hope for Stanley
Foundation, had UCF grad students helping a
long-time New Orleans resident, Stanley Stewart,
rebuild his home destroyed by Katrina. The Hope
for Stanley project has mushroomed into dozens
of restoration projects with the help of Lapchick
and, most importantly, the UCF students.
In a recent SBJ editorial, Inside Out columnist
John Genzale wrote of the UCF program, “In
their [students] giving, they are getting a broader
education, a better one that includes not only
financial values but also human values. What is
sports if not an attempt to improve the human
condition? UCF teaches good citizenship along
with good business practices. An enlightened
employer would do well to look there first for its
next junior executive.”
“We really believe that our program stands out
as one that teaches good citizenship along with
good business practices,” Lapchick says. “And we
know our graduates get an added dimension to
their educations through the community volunteer
component.”
Of course, there also are academics. Bill
Sutton, one of the nation’s top sports marketers,
joined the DeVos team in its second year. “It was
a dream to get Bill here,” says Lapchick. “He
draws the students into client-based classes. Bill
grounds them in the way sports business really
works.”
The DeVos integrative concept combines the
34
“living classroom” aspect with a rigorous, comprehensive academic schedule that keeps teams
of students together throughout their two-year
coursework. The core curriculum incorporates
UCF College of Business Administration core
classes, specific sport business classes, and other
unique classes that emphasize the social impact
of sport. Students receive interactive projects
and programs that allow them to work alongside
world-class sport business leaders, while building
a network of contacts that help create rewarding
post-graduation opportunities. Additionally, graduates discover the role of sport in society; how the
power of sport can help create a more inclusive
society; and the responsibility of sport to use that
power to make a difference.
Lapchick brought his well-known commitment
to equality and his belief that sport can be an
effective instrument of positive social change to
UCF. So in following with Lapchick’s tradition of
human rights activism, the curriculum includes
courses with an emphasis on diversity, community
service and philanthropy, sport and social issues
and ethics in addition to UCF’s strong business
curriculum.
Along those lines, the Master’s in Sport
Business Management Program at UCF seeks
to develop professionals who have critical sports
business management knowledge and skills, as
well as a commitment for using sport to improve
life in society.
Columbia University
In fall 2006, Columbia University decided to
do something no other Ivy League school had ever
done: it launched the Ivy League’s first graduate
sports management program.
Part of Columbia’s School of Continuing
Education, the Master of Science in Sports
Management is designed to broadly educate
sports managers about the industry, while providing industry-specific training in finance, personnel
management, law, marketing and facility/event
superintendence.
“The mission of Columbia’s School of
Continuing Education is to mount innovative
programs that meet Columbia’s standard of excellence, and take the best advantage of University
resources,” says Lucas Rubin, program director.
“We developed the Sports Management program
in concert with our NCAA Division I Department
of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical
Education. At the same time, it takes effective
advantage of Columbia’s traditional strengths in
finance, marketing, management, and law, as well
as its location in New York City – a nexus of the
sports industry.”
The Columbia M.S. in Sports Management
was created to train students for management
positions in all sectors of the sports industry. It
offers a combination of broad-based and industryspecific skill training – a hallmark of the program
– that is evident in both the content of individual
courses and the sequence in which degree candidates take the courses.
Professionals working in the field helped design
the sports management curriculum. Other courses
rigorous, highly focused executive-style program
(no electives) in a cohort fashion that is based
upon conveying broad-based business knowledge
and then applying it into industry-specific areas.
“This equips students with the basis for comprehending and understanding management issues in
sports in a fashion that few other schools are able
to provide,” notes Dr. Rubin.
The program is designed to meet the needs of
a range of people, including: those working in the
industry who would like to advance their career by
completing a graduate program that offers industry-specific training; students with undergraduate
degrees in sports or recreation management who
are looking to complete a graduate degree in
the field; those seeking to turn their passion for
sports into a new career; and those with advanced
degrees in business, law or journalism seeking to
expand their credentials in the sports world.
“Though jobs as sports managers are plentiful,
it’s a very competitive field,” Lucas says. “Our
M.S. in Sports Management expands professional
opportunities by providing students with advanced,
industry-specific training in finance, personnel
management, law, marketing, and facility and
event superintendence.”
Columbia’s M.S. in Sports Management helps
its graduates:
• Master the management skills and techniques necessary for success in the sports
industry
• Gain a broad understanding of the sports
industry.
• Develop or enhance industry-specific management skills.
• Learn from experienced, practicing professionals.
• Study and network with a select group of
peers.
Columbia U student Kari Williams and noted film
director Spike Lee, a panelist, during a post-panel
reception following the Columbia University Sports Ethics
Symposium held in May.
are offered through the prestigious Columbia
Business School. Course content is continually
reviewed and modified by the sports management
advisory board and instructional staff to remain
current.
The curriculum is supplemented with programming such as the first Sports Ethics Symposium
held in May featuring faculty member and historian Peter Levine and film director and sports
enthusiast Spike Lee.
Columbia takes in small classes, who pursue a
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
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Schedule-wise, the M.S. in Sports Management
is a part-time program designed to accommodate
working professionals. During the academic year,
most courses are 14 weeks long, meeting on
weekday evenings.
“It’s a rigorous, concentrated program that
demands a serious commitment of time and
energy,” says Dr. Rubin. “Students are expected
to devote significant time to completing reading
assignments, class assignments, and term projects
outside class.”
Rubin notes that the Columbia program differs from many other programs in that it is a true
management-oriented program with emphasis on
communicating broad-based knowledge as well as
industry (and position) appropriate skills and techniques. But unlike an MBA program, the Columbia
graduate program in sports management lets students understand managerial issues and challenges
in the context of the sports industry.
JUNE 4-10, 2007
SPECIAL ADVERTISI NG SECTI ON | P rog rams in Sport s Bus in ess
Researching sport management programs
W
hen choosing a sport management
program, the top factors are a
program’s track record of placing
graduates in high-quality sports jobs and the
program’s “fit” with your individual goals and
learning objectives.
In preparation
The right program should provide an understanding of sports business history and knowledge of different industry segment inner-workings. You should receive the analytical business
tools to not only explore current issues and
trends but also provide effective solutions to a
wide array of employers. Different sport segments included in many curriculums include:
professional, amateur and college, event and
facilities, sports marketing and management
agencies, sports media and sporting goods.
Also, check with friends, family and other
contacts within the sport industry while gathering opinions on programs. It might also be
useful to find people doing jobs similar to the
one you see yourself doing when you finish
your degree. Ask if they have any insight on
different programs’ strengths and weaknesses.
What to learn?
Curriculum, teaching philosophy and student-to-teacher ratios are common ways of
looking at the classroom experience a program
provides. In addition, think about looking at:
• Current student profiles (experience,
goals, past education)
• Examples of real-world learning brought
into the classroom (class work, practicum projects, assistantships, internships,
consulting)
• Instructors teaching subjects of particular interest to you (industry experience in
area, involvement in topic associations,
research and publishing, accolades)
Faculty considerations
There are many different ways to evaluate a
program’s faculty. Experience in the industry
is of key importance in sports. For additional
ways to look at different faculties consider:
• Faculty size (number, full-time vs. parttime, subject specialization) – An indication of faculty expertise and involvement
in student learning
• Non-academic experience (past careers,
associations, consulting activities) –
Makes for powerful connections between
theory and real-world environment
Teaching tenure – A sign of teaching
excellence as tenure is earned over time
through reviews by administrators and
fellow faculty
Accolades (from institutions and industry
organizations) – Denotes special achievement in an area of study or service
Areas of interest and study – Are faculty
on the forefront of industry trends and
challenges?
Current course materials (syllabus,
course Web sites, past student projects)
– Sheds light on individual course/class
structure, learning opportunities and
expectations
•
•
•
•
To get a sense of the educational environment fostered by faculty, don’t hesitate to
ask: Does the curriculum incorporate general
business management studies and does it have
opportunities to focus on specific concentrations? Also, are the classes the program offers
suitable for my goals?
Employment chances
The community connected to a program is
a powerful resource for sport management
students. Building or having a large, active
network within the sports industry can also
greatly expand your job prospect contact
options. This comes into play not only when
prospecting for permanent positions, but also
when working on class projects developing
mentor relationships and landing internships.
To begin evaluating a program’s alumni power,
consider:
• The years a program has existed
• Number of alumni and their positions
within different areas of the sports indus-
Web sites that work
• NASSM.com (North American Society for
Sport Management)
• FitInfoTech.com (International publisher
of sport and fitness information)
• SportsBusinessJournal.com
• MBA.com (GMAT home)
• ETS.org (GRE home)
• PrincetonReview.com (Test preparation
service)
• Kaplan.com (Test preparation service)
When looking for a program, longevity is one consideration. Ohio University, the first sport management program in the
nation (launched in 1966), offers the Grover Center as home for its Center for Sports Administration.
try (Are they decision-makers?)
• Active alumni participation in current
students’ learning
• The proximity of the university to major
sports regions
• Geographic distribution of alumni
• Department programs for facilitating student contact with alumni
Even if a program is relatively new, it
doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Talk with
current students (or recent grads) to gauge
how well the program is delivering on its
promises. A visit, if possible, is the best way
to experience the classroom first-hand (if it’s
not a distance-learning program, of course).
Ask to be put in touch with a current student.
Learn about scheduled open houses and other
opportunities to visit while classes are in session. Many programs offer prospective enrollees informational get-togethers, which are a
great place to ask the right questions.
Application strategies
Once you complete the research, it’s time
to consider where to apply. As a general
rule, consider applying to between one and
six programs. Applying to one program can
prove risky, since you may not be admitted
(it may be fine if you have decided that the
program of choice is more important to you
than beginning your studies in a given year).
Another application strategy is to apply to a
couple of schools you consider to be a good
fit, a couple of schools that you consider a
reach and a couple of schools that you consider safe. This strategy works for those who
would like to begin their studies as soon as
possible. It also may be risky to apply to your
first choice early and then wait for the decision before applying to other choices. Often,
by the time you receive your first decision, you
are late for other applications.
When writing essays, be very clear about
your specific career goals. Think about what
drives you and what you hope to gain from
your sport management education. How have
your experiences to this point helped you in
advancing these goals? Explain how your individual qualities and skill sets will be an asset
to the program’s learning community. Also, be
sure to carefully answer the question(s) asked.
Avoid being redundant and take every opportunity to make your statements stand out.
Recommendations are an additional requirement of most applications. When choosing
recommenders, it’s best to find people who
know you well and can provide true insight into
your strengths and experiences. You can help
your recommenders help you by sharing goals,
credentials and application themes.
Source: University of Massachusetts
Earn Your Master’s Degree in 18 Months !
• Networking and Internship opportunities with
Sport Industry Professionals
• Distinguished faculty comprised of tenuretrack professors and executives from the
Sport Industry
• Moderate temperatures year round and
close proximity to the beaches in Southern
California
For more information, contact Diane Higgs,
Program Manager, at (562) 985-2044
email lhiggs@csulb.edu, or visit
www.csulb.edu/sportmanagement
JUNE 4-10, 2007
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
Sport Management Education at ”The Beach“!
Ketra L. Armstrong, Ph.D., Program Director
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SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
“We recognize that sport is a business, so our
first priority is to instill business skills in our students,” he says. “We may be a new program, but
we take very seriously the quality of students and
graduates, which is reflected in the small number
of students we accept each year.”
University of Dallas
Down in Texas, they do things in a big way.
And that fact is obvious at the University of
Dallas, which offers two graduate degrees – an
MBA in Sports & Entertainment Management,
and the Master of Management (MM) in Sports &
Entertainment Management Program Design – to
prepare students for a career as an executive in the
sports and entertainment industry.
“We didn’t want to limit our MBA students
to strictly sports or entertainment, so we offer
a combined program, which gives our graduates
more flexibility career-wise,” says Scott Wysong,
University of Dallas academic program director.
Students in the Sports and Entertainment MBA
program learn about a wide range of topics, including: marketing and business plans, understanding
fan behavior, setting ticket prices, creating and
leveraging sponsorships, dealing with the media,
planning and coordinating events, managing a
crowd, funding the construction of a new venue,
negotiating a contract, licensing your property, and
others.
The Master of Management (MM) degree program provides profession-specific graduate management education for those who have already earned
an MBA.
“We feel the two degree programs meet the
needs of a wide range of professionals,” Wysong
explains.
The University of Dallas designed its Sports and
Entertainment Management programs to present a
well-balanced view of the sports and entertainment
industries from a business perspective. Unlike other
programs that may only provide marketing courses,
the University of Dallas program gives students a
look at marketing as well as finance, facility operations and the legal environment. Also, students
cover both sports (professional and amateur) and
entertainment (TV, film, radio/music and performing arts) within each class.
“While some students may only be interested in
one of the industries (sports or entertainment), we
believe that the two industries share a lot in common, and in some cases, they overlap or are one
in the same,” Wysong says. “So sports executives
would be wise to examine and borrow successful
examples from the entertainment industry and
vice versa.”
The latest news in the Dallas MBA in Sports
& Entertainment Management program is that
it now can be completed entirely via traditional
Students in the U of Dallas MBA program study a
wide range of topics, including setting ticket prices and
licensing your sports property.
classroom courses and/or on-line courses.
Whether on-site or online, the Dallas MBA core
curriculum courses are designed to build critical
management skills and competencies across all
of the various management disciplines, in order
to prepare you for a management role. All MBA
students complete the 34-hour core. Classes may
be taken in any order as long as prerequisites are
required. On the next level, students take 15 hours
of specialized electives.
“Movies, television, football, theatre - whatever
a person’s interests, our program can help achieve
that satisfying feeling of mixing business with
pleasure. Our program liberates students from the
idea that work is never fun.”
Duquesne University
Sometimes, it makes very good sense to give
people what they want.
For example, Duquesne University developed the first ever Master of Science in Sports
Leadership (MSSL) degree in response to feedback from professional sports employers and managers who indicated a strong demand for leadership skills in today’s dynamic global marketplace.
According to Steve Greenberg, executive in
residence, sports marketing, and associate director
of Duquesne’s MSSL, the knowledge and skills
mastered in the Duquesne program will expand
the leadership and ethical “tool set” among sports
industry managers.
“Until now, many sports professionals looking
to develop their leadership skills have had to rely
upon on-the-job training and informal mentoring among colleagues,” says Greenberg, formerly
vice president of New Ballpark Development and
Communication for the Pittsburgh Pirates (in that
role, he coordinated the design and construction of
PNC Park).
For its graduate program, Duquesne (it also
offers a B.S. in Sports Marketing) identified two
target markets: existing sports executives and also
recent graduates of sports marketing or sports
management undergrad programs.
Greenberg says he is amazed at the diversity
of the students in the program, ranging from very
high executives to coaches on the sports side and
account representatives to assistant public relations directors on the marketing side. Current
students include collegiate team coaches, senior
directors, ticket managers and other professionals
representing major league baseball, stadiums, and
minor league baseball.
Due to the online nature of Duquesne’s MSSL,
Duquesne University had 32 students in year two for its
online M.S. in Sports Leadership program, and it expects
that number to reach 100 for Fall 2007.
there is no ceiling on students able to enroll.
“We targeted a goal of 16 people the first year,
and 32 in 2007,” Greenberg says. “By the fall, we
will have more than 100 people in the program.
Several students have recommended the program
to colleagues. That response tells us that not only
“ALSO, CONTINUING MY
EDUCATION AT DUQUESNE HAS
BEEN THE CATALYST FOR
RENEWING, REFOCUSING AND
REVITALIZING MY LEADERSHIP
STYLE AND APPROACH.”
Ron Rolston, head coach of USA
Hockey’s U-18 National Team
is this unique, but it really has merit. Many executives want to take their careers to next level and
help the organizations they already work for.”
The online format is rigorous yet flexible. It
allows busy professionals to do coursework on
their schedules and not be restricted to logging
in at certain hours.
MBASport
In a league of its own
What’s your game plan? Western New
England College’s MBA Sport program is
designed for any sport industry professional or businessperson looking to get a jump
on the competition.
Revenue development is the key to the
sport industry’s success in the 21st century
and is also the backbone of the MBA Sport.
As a student, you will learn ways to create
new revenue streams, maintain and build
new technologically advanced facilities,
cultivate personnel, maximize equipment resources, and lead the sport
industry into the future.
Our MBA Sport program advantage:
�
�
�
�
Faculty who go the distance—Learn from
seasoned sport industry pros who care
No. 1 in New England—The region’s only
AACSB International accredited MBA Sport
program
Be a player —Small classes mean you’ll be
a name, not a number
Fast paced—Accelerated 11-week sessions
� You call the shots —Mix and match
online courses with traditional classroom meetings
Isn’t it time you got
into the game? Visit
www.wnec.edu/mbasport
for more information.
36
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JUNE 4-10, 2007
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | Programs in Sports Business
Sports business program Web sites
Arizona State University
Columbia University
New York University
Location: Tempe, AZ
Web site: wpcarey.asu.edu/sports
Degrees: MBA (Sports Business)
Location: New York City
Web site: www.ce.columbia.edu/masters/?PID=14
Degrees: M.S. (Sports Management)
California State University, Bakersfield
University of Dallas
Location: New York City
Web site: www.scps.nyu.edu/departments
Degrees: B.S. (Sport Management & Leisure Studies),
M.S. (Sports Business)
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Web site: www.csub.edu/sportsmanagement
Degree(s): (undergrad) Professional Golf Management,
Sports Management
Location: Irving, TX
Web site: www.thedallasmba.com/se
Degrees: MBA (Sports & Entertainment Management)
California State University, Long Beach
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Web site: www.business.duq.edu/
Degrees: BSBA (Sports Marketing), M.S. (Sports Leadership)
Location: Long Beach, CA
Web site: www.csulb.edu/programs/sportmanagement
Degrees: MA in Kineseology, Option: Sport Management
California University of Pennsylvania
Location: California, PA
Web site: www.cup.edu/go
Degrees: M.S. (Exercise Science and Health Promotion), B.S.
(Wellness & Fitness)
Duquesne University
Florida Atlantic University
Location: Orlando, FL
Web site: www.graduate.ucf.edu
Degrees: Master of Sport Business Management
Location: Evanston, IL
Web site: www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad/sports
Degrees: MA (Sports Administration)
Northcentral University
Location: Prescott, AZ
Web site: www.ncu.edu
Degrees: MBA, Ph.D. (Sport Management)
Ohio University
Location: Boca Raton, FL
Web site: www.fau.edu/mbasport
Degrees: MBA (Sport Management)
Location: Athens, Ohio
Web site: www.sportsad.ohio.edu/
Degrees: Master of Sports Administration (MSA), MBA/MSA
(Dual-Degree), JD/MSA (Dual-Degree)
Loyola University Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
Web site: www.luc.edu/sba/sport_management.shtml
Degrees: BBA (Sport Management), BBA/MBA
(Sport Management, 5 year)
University of Central Florida
Northwestern University
Lynn University
University of Oregon
Location: Eugene, OR
Web site: www.warsawcenter.com
Degrees: MBA (Sports Marketing)
Location: Boca Raton, FL
Web site: www.lynn.edu
Degrees: B.S. (Sports Administration,
Sports & Recreation Management)
San Diego State University
Manhattanville College
University of San Francisco
Location: Purchase, NY
Web site: www1.mville.edu/graduate/ms-bm.htm
Degrees: M.S. (Sport Business Management)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Web site: artsci.usfca.edu/graduate/sport/overview.html
Degrees: MA (Sport Management)
University of Massachusetts
State University of New York at Cortland
Location: Amherst, MA
Web site: www.isenberg.umass.edu/sportmgt
Degrees: B.S. (Sport Management), M.S., MBA-M.S. (Sport
Management), Ph.D. in business with a Sport Management
concentration
Location: Cortland, NY
Web site: www.cortland.edu/spmg
Degrees: B.S. (Sport Management), M.S. (Sport Management)
Location: San Diego, CA
Web site: www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~cba/sports/default.htm
Degrees: MBA (Sports Business Management)
University of Miami
Location: Coral Gables, FL
Web site: www.education.miami.edu
Degrees: M.S.Ed (Sport Administration),
B.S.Ed (Sport Administration)
The University of Dallas Sports and Entertainment MBA program offers two
industry paths for grads, as well as on-site or online course options.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Location: Richmond, VA
Web site: www.vcu.edu/sportscenter
Degrees: M.Ed. Sports Leadership
Western New England College
Location: Springfield, MA
Web site: www1.wnec.edu/business
Degrees: B.S. (Sport Management), MBA (Sport)
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SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
While Florida Atlantic University graduates earn the most
prestigious MBA (AACSB) possible, many choose to work in
media relations, inter-collegiate athletics management and
facility management.
“The backbone for success in any program is
its substance, and Duquesne’s online sports leadership program is a tremendous way for busy professionals to take their careers to the next level
with one of the top sports leadership programs
in the country,” says Len Komoroski, president,
Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ron Rolston, head coach of USA Hockey’s
U-18 National Team, says Duquesne’s Sports
Leadership program proved beneficial to his professional growth in three ways. First, as a coach,
the delivery format has allowed him to further his
education while maintaining a rigorous coaching
schedule.
“Also, continuing my education at Duquesne
has been the catalyst for renewing, refocusing and
revitalizing my leadership style and approach,” he
says. “And the Program has exposed me to new
theory that will advance my breadth and depth of
knowledge and better prepare me for future leadership roles within athletics.”
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton,
FL, inaugurated its MBA in Sport Management
(MBASport) program in back in 2000.
Now, seven years later, the rising program has
hit a watershed, as it recently moved its home
base from its original Fort Lauderdale campus
location to the FAU central campus in Boca
Raton. MBASport is housed in the Barry Kaye
College of Business.
“This move really signifies that we are moving to
another level,” says Jim Riordan, director of FAU’s
MBASport program. “When we started, we were
the only AACSB accredited program in Florida,
and only the second in the country at the time.”
Even before the move, FAU’s MBASport has
delivered the goods. Since its inception, more
than 90 percent of the program’s graduates
are employed in permanent, and/or full-time
sport and/or entertainment industry positions.
The Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat, University of
Miami, Florida Panthers, Florida Marlins, USOC,
Toronto Maple Leafs, the LPGA, ConferenceUSA, South Florida PGA, and the ACC are a
small sample of the organizations that have hired
FAU MBASport students over the years.
According to Riordan, MBASport combines
a rigorous graduate business curriculum with a
specialization module that emphasizes the business of sport. The program is practitioner-oriented
and students are required to participate in outof-classroom practical experiences at local and
regional sport and/or entertainment entities. The
faculty at MBASport is also practitioner-oriented.
“If they don’t work it during the day, they don’t
teach it for us at night, “says Riordan.
“It cannot be over-emphasized that MBASport
is geared for those who are or wish to become
managers and executives in the business side
of the sport and entertainment industry,” says
Riordan. MBASport does not offer a thesis option,
nor does it offer part-time study or a certificate
option. In addition, MBASport students can’t be
employed outside the sport industry during their
time in the program.
“While our graduates earn the most prestigious
MBA (AACSB) possible, many of them chose to
work in media relations, inter-collegiate athletics
management and facility management,” Riordan
says.
Riordan explains that new students are
required to be involved with internships/or industry-related employment the first day they step on
campus. MBASport assists in securing these positions.
Most of all, MBASport is a very selective two
to two-and-a-half year program, with no more
than 50 students at a time. Applicants must
undergo an intensive interview process and an
evaluation committee. There’s a good reason for
the tough admissions criteria
“We need a good mix, people who will be
able to work together,” Riordan explains. “We’ve
denied admissions to students with close-to perfect scores on their GMATs. Our students have
to be able to work well with other people (internally and externally). It’s not just about the book
smarts. We look for personalities that will mesh,
too.”
With that gaudy 90 percent placement success rate, no one is going to argue with Riordan’s
strategy.
“We are always working to help students get
internships and jobs,” he says. “Our alums also
help in this regard. They are eager to give back to
the program.”
Loyola University Chicago
Located just off North Michigan Avenue (aka
the “Magnificent Mile”) in downtown Chicago,
Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus
is right in the thick of the Windy City’s sports and
entertainment center.
But even more than that, the Chicago location serves as home to the School of Business
Administration’s B.B.A. and MBA in Sport
Management degree programs. And that means
students who choose Loyola University Chicago
“HAVING OUR SPORT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM RESIDING
IN THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION MEANS OUR
STUDENTS WILL GET ALL THEY
NEED TO SUCCEED IN THE
BUSINESS OF SPORTS.”
Keith W. Lambrecht, director, Sport
Management Programs, Loyola Chicago
get an excellent education plus the bonus of being
in one of the nation’s most rabid sports towns at
all levels – professional, collegiate, and amateur.
“Having our Sport Management program
residing in the school of business administration means our students will get all they need
to succeed in the business of sports,” says Keith
W. Lambrecht, director, Sport Management
Programs, at Loyola Chicago. “In addition, we
have a location that can’t be beat. The market for
our graduates in Chicago is unbelievable. We’ve
only been in existence since 2005, and already we
UMass
SportsManagement
Bringing the classroom to the industry...
In the past year our students have:
Sold $20,000 in sponsorships and implemented the 5th Annuals Clif Bar
SoccerFest tournament featuring over 100 teams, 3,000 spectators and
$15,000 in sponsorships
Developed marketing strategies for Octagon Consulting clients
Implemented a community relations program for the Boston Celtics
Sold over $10,000 in sponsorships for the Holyoke Giants (NECBL)
Designed and implemented internet research for U.S. Soccer
Telemarketed tickets for NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball
Championships
Developed marketing plans for Fenway Sports Group
Performed Research and offered advice on CRM practices to UMass
Athletics
...and the industry to the classroom
For more information contact Tracy Schoenadel, Director of Center for Spectator
Sports Research, Isenberg School of Management
Sports ManagementDepartment, 121 Presidents Dr., Amherst, MA 01003
431-545-5590 tracy@sportsmgt.umass.edu
38
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1
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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION | Programs in Sports Business
have an outstanding record of placing our graduates in the sport industry.”
Lambrecht cites several examples of opportunities for current students and recent graduates,
including working with NFL’s Chicago Bears,
NBA’s Chicago Bulls, and NHL’s Black Hawks.
“With the plethora of sports and major companies in Chicago, the internship possibilities are
endless,” he says. “We offer the right combination
of a strong program and a tremendous sports
environment. Our students learn the business
behind the game. Nationally, sports on all levels is
the fourth-largest growth industry, and Chicago is
a top-tier city.”
In fact, Lambrecht points out that Loyola
Chicago is only one of a few schools nationally
with its sport management program housed within
the school of business. Undergraduates earn a
bachelor’s degree in business administration, with
a major and minor in sport management. On the
graduate level, Loyola offers an MBA with a concentration in sport management.
“It’s more about business than it is about
sports,” he says. “We approach sports strictly as
a business, as part of the world of entertainment.”
Lambrecht says many students who move
into the sport management programs are actually interested in business first but see sports as
a business opportunity that is exciting and fun.
To foster that powerful combination, the school
invites some of the city’s most respected sports
business leaders to speak. For example, Rob
Louthian, manager of Ticket Sales & Service for
the Chicago White Sox, is scheduled to present to
students and counsel them on best strategies for
breaking into the industry.
To Lambrecht, the most important thing is
for Loyola Chicago sport management graduates
on both levels to be trained so they can hit the
ground running.
“Networking remains very important, but if you
are not prepared, it won’t mean anything in the
long run,” Lambrecht says. “We give our students
a tremendous curriculum, but just as critical is
being located in Chicago, a sports and entertainment hotbed. We believe it’s tough to beat that
combination.”
Lynn University
At Lynn University, in Boca Raton, FL, the
sports management focus is on innovation, primarily by delivering an individualized, hands-on learning approach.
“We deliver a real-world concept of learning
to students,” says Ted Curtis, director of sports
management at Lynn University’s College of
Hospitality Management (the school offers B.S.
degrees with concentrations in sports administration and recreation management). “We understand that many schools might teach only theory.
We provide the theory, but we’re more interested
JUNE 4-10, 2007
Fairfield, CT and Westchester County, NY.”
After year one, Manhattanville SBM highlights
include:
The introduction of the first SBM online
courses, Sport Business and Technology in the
Global Market, as a complement to the traditional
classroom environment
Lynn University students at Roger Dean Stadium, winter home of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals. Lynn U’s sports
management program focuses delivering hands-on learning approach, with plenty of excellent real-world experience.
in what’s happening in the actual business of
sports.”
If “experiential” learning is the thing at Lynn,
its out-of-the-classroom efforts certainly demonstrate it. For starters, students must rack up 12
credits of internship work.
“We get them out into the field, so they can
“It’s a huge part of our philosophy,” Curtis
says. “Everyone in the industry understands what
we are doing. Bottom line, a great sport management program is not just about what happens in
the classroom – it’s more about bringing the real
world of sports to our students.”
Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College’s, beautiful 100-acre
campus set in prosperous and thriving Westchester
County in Purchase, NY, is new to the sport management graduate degree game. The campus offers
a suburban location along with the resources of
New York City that gives it just the right blend of
academics, location, class size and convenience.
• Adjunct professors from the sport business
field provide unique insight into trends and
developments in the field, from companies
that include Velocity Sports, sports agencies,
sports event management companies, and
law firms specializing in the sports world.
• Outstanding guest speakers, including senior
level executives from the sports world.
• Field study included major sports venues,
including Yankee Stadium, and Steiner
Sports.
In addition, the SBM department is in the process of creating the Sport Business Institute and
the Center of Ethics in Sport at Manhattanville
“Our mission is to promote and develop the
qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic and professional excellence in an ethical manner,” Torromeo
explains. “We also emphasize our internships,
networking and working outside the classroom.”
For example, Manhattanville College’s SBM
program has a dedicated internship coordinator,
Professor Walter Recher, to facilitate the internship process. Recher works with area sports businesses and students enrolled in the SBM program
to ensure each internship produces results for the
Lynn U students soak up some sports business advice
from an executive with the St. Louis Cardinals.
experience the reality of sports business,” Curtis
says, adding that the rich Florida sports landscape
gives the small school a massive menu of internship opportunities.
Apart from interning, Lynn’s program offers
one-of-a-kind study tours. The school took five
students to Major League Baseball’s 2006 winter
meetings for three days of intense informational
interviews with baseball execs and merchandisers. It also created a class called “The Final Four
Experience,” which had a dozen students and two
faculty members spending one week at the 2007
NCAA Men’s Final Four. The trip included visits
with executives from the NCAA, Braves, Hawks,
Thrashers and the area’s major sports venues.
Lynn students also have gone on learning missions
to China, South Africa and Thailand.
Sport business experts (l. to r.) Richard Grayson, Esq., David Burke, GM Hudson Valley Renegades, Art Weiss, Esq., Agent,
and Marc Edelman, Esq., join Richard A. Berman, president of Manhattanville College, at a recent panel discussion on Best
Practices in the Sports Business industry held at Manhattanville.
“We just finished our first year, and we had
a very successful launch,” says Dave Torromeo,
director of the M.S. in Sports Business
Management (SBM) program at Manhattanville.
“We’re the first and only sport business graduate program in the northern suburban market of
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employer and provides a quality experience for the
SBM intern.
The ideal Manhattanville SBM student profile
includes:
• Sports and business professionals seeking
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SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
to improve their business management and
leadership skills.
• Graduating seniors and working professionals outside the industry who wish to enter
this growing, $260B market.
• Sports enthusiasts looking to secure a management position in the industry
Reid Castle is the centerpiece of the Manhattanville College
campus in Purchase, NY.
The 36-credit SBM program’s key advantages,
according to Torromeo, include convenient weekday schedules, small class size, up to six challenge
credits and six transfer credits, no internship
requirement for those who qualify, no GMAT or
GRE required, proximity to most major sports
leagues and organizations, and the SBM internship program.
The SBM program includes 12 courses, including seven required within the sports field, and
four taken from a list of eight advanced business electives (including electives such as Sport
Communication and the Business of Baseball).
The optional three-credit internship completes the
UMass M.S./MBA students visiting Sport Management Department alumni currently working at Sports Illustrated
in New York City.
program and demonstrates the student’s ability to
implement his or her newly acquired knowledge
and skills.
Sports-related courses include: Dynamics
of the Sport Business World, Sport Marketing,
Managing Sport Businesses Strategically, Leading
Sport Organizations, Economic and Financial
Aspects of Sport Management, Legal and Ethical
Considerations in Sports, Facility and Event
Management
“We had just over 50 students in the program
for year one, but by the fall, we anticipate close
to 100,” says Torromeo, who formerly has served
as VP of Operations for the National Football
Foundation and the College Hall of Fame, 15
years in collegiate athletics, and as a consultant.
“It’s a great mix of industry professionals as well
as athletic administrators and other professionals
who want to learn the business side of sports. We
also draw from people with great business skills
who are interested in a career change and want to
move into the sports marketplace.
“Networking is also a major part of what we
have to offer,” he adds. “From the professionals we attract for adjunct professor positions, to
our advisory board, the students in the program
receive tremendous exposure and unique networking opportunities in the field.”
University of Massachusetts
Up in Amherst, Mass., the University of
Massachusetts Department of Sport Management
program is one of the oldest, and best, in the
nation. After all, you won’t last that long if you
aren’t doing things right.
Housed within the Isenberg School of Business,
the UMass Sport Management program has
the nation’s largest faculty (12 full-time faculty
members) solely dedicated to the study of
spectator sports (professional sports, collegiate
sports, corporate sponsors, sporting goods, sports
facilities, sport tourism, etc.). In addition, the
faculty has extensive industry connections given
their well over 100 combined years of sport
industry experience. And none of the UMass
classes are “farmed out” to other departments on
campus.
Another plus is the program’s comprehensive,
action-oriented curriculum, says Lisa Masteralexis,
department head for Sport Management. For
example, she asks where else can you take elective
courses to market and manage a grassroots soccer
tournament, conduct market research for a sport
organization, sell sponsorships and ticket packages
for a local sports organization, participate in
an international sport trip, and participate in a
simulated negotiation of a collective bargaining
agreement?
Graduate-wise, UMass Sport Management has
over 2,800 alumni, with about half working in
the sports industry, many in mid-level or executive
positions.
“We’ve have been around for 36 years,”
Masteralexis says. “In fact, with our strong
alumni network and additional networks possessed
by each faculty member, we offer connections to
students across the sport industry that can help
further their own personal networks.”
Location is another upside. UMass has proximity
to not one, but three major markets: Boston (90
miles), New York (160 miles), and Philadelphia
(approximately 300 miles). “We conduct alumni
events and take students to each of these markets
nearly every year,” Masteralexis says.
Finally, the UMass program, which offers
undergrad, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Sport
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Management, delivers an infrastructure to help
students in their search to find their spot in the
sport industry – including a computerized alumni
database, a director of internships, and a career
development seminar.
Masteralexis points out that UMass keeps its
graduate classes small (20 maximum), so that
each student has an opportunity to build close
relationships with both their fellow students
and faculty members. Small class sizes also
mean students have the opportunity to receive
more individualized attention from both faculty
members and the placement coordinator
“Our focus is merging classroom work with
industry experience,” she says. “Within our
program, there are a number of courses at the
graduate and upper undergrad level that bring the
that employs student working under Director
Tracy Shoenadel.
“They are actually doing industry work, solving
problems,” Masteralexis says. “Our real-life projects allow our graduates to hit the ground running,
so to speak. And between our undergraduate and
graduate programs, we offer a very deep menu of
courses and experiences for our students.”
University of Miami
For the University of Miami’s sport administration program students, good things seem to come
in threes.
More specifically, the Miami program, housed
within the School of Education, offers three main
advantages (and a few others as well) to incoming
students on the graduate level, according to Andy
UMiami graduate students Josh Harris (left) and Chris Nyland (right) with Andy Gillentine, associate dean, at a University
of New Hampshire hockey game. The Miami graduate program can be completed in 12 months.
industry right into the classroom. We were one of
the first schools that adopted this model, whereby
students solve industry problems or work with
industry through a course assignment.”
UMass Sport Management also offers a
research arm, the Center for Spectator Sport
Research, as an agency for sport industry projects
JUNE 4-10, 2007
“Within the next year, we will deliver Master’s
courses on the campus of IMG Academies in
Bradenton,” Jordan says. “We’ll do it with a variety of teaching methods including on-site instruction and video conferencing. We’re excited about
the IMGA connection, because the BradentonTampa area is a great region. We also see it as
a big first step in setting up many ‘satellite’ situations around the country for our graduate program.”
Last but not least, there is the diverse Miami
cultural scene and the legendary sunny weather.
“We have no problems touting those two factors,” Gillentine says. “No doubt about, our best
recruiting time is January and February.”
Gillentine, associate dean (the school offers both
an M.S. Ed and a B.S. Ed in sport administration).
For starters, the M.S. Ed program takes just
one year. Students starting in the fall can complete their degree in following summer session.
Admittedly, that makes for a heavy student work-
UMiami Sport Administration students volunteered at a
local hockey game during the past academic year.
load, but, Gillentine explains, the graduate students entering the program typically are anxious
to get to work.
“As we sat down and considered ways to be
more competitive, students let us know that they
wanted to finish the program as soon as possible,”
says Jeremy Jordan, who directs the graduate
program. “We also noticed more students staying during summer term, taking a heavy course
load, so providing the reduced length option made
sense.”
It’s no wonder grads are anxious to get to
work. A sample of organizations that have hired
Miami sport administration graduates include:
American Airlines Arena, Baltimore Orioles,
Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears,
Dolphin Stadium, Minnesota Timberwolves,
Homestead-Miami Speedway, IMG, Miami
Dolphins, Miami Heat, Nashville Predators,
Orange Bowl Committee, PGA, Minnesota Twins,
Florida Marlins, Miami Sports International,
Sony Ericsson Tennis Open, Washington & Lee
University, University of Connecticut and the
University of Miami.
Advantage number two is the program’s sport
industry partnership program, which offers a 12month, funded internship with a partner organization. This fall, 10 students will be placed in funded
internships with several local sport partners,
including IMG Academies, University of Miami
Athletics, Hurricane Sports Properties, Florida
Marlins, PR Racing Inc., Miami-Dade Sports
Commission, Ransom Everglades School and
World Golf Championships – CA Championship at
Doral. The paid internships offer tuition assistance
and a stipend for graduate students.
“It’s worked out very well,” says Gillentine.
“It not only offsets the cost of their educations,
but students also can tailor an internship to their
specific needs. It’s a very exciting situation. The
partners were so happy with the students, they
didn’t want to lose them. On the flip side, the students made such good contacts, people wanted to
hire them.”
Advantage number three is a special relationship with IMG Academies (IMGA), the multisport training and educational facility for athletes
in Bradenton, Fla. Under this arrangement, Miami
will be offering a Master’s program at IMG
Academies.
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New York University
When your marketing slogan is “The City is
our Laboratory … The Industry is our Faculty …
Our Students are the Future of the Profession,” it
pretty much says it all.
And that just happens to be the slogan at New
York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center
for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management,
which offers very successful graduate (M.S. in
Sports Business, Certificate in Sports Business)
and undergraduate (B.S. in Sports Management
and Leisure Studies) programs focusing squarely
on the business of sports. Undergraduate students choose among three concentrations (Sports
and Entertainment Marketing, Sports Facility
Management, or Sports Business Development),
while graduates have two choices (Marketing and
Media or Finance and Development).
“We offer students the best professional venue
in the world to study the business of sports,”
says Steven Lambert, associate director, industry
relations, at the Tisch Center. “We offer the academics, of course, plus advantages such as relationships with major sports organizations for our
interns and graduates, and initiatives such as our
Teaching Sports Centers.”
Lambert is referring to the program’s Teaching
Sports Centers at Chelsea Piers and NBA
Entertainment, where students learn from management teams of both organizations, part of
the concept of utilizing New York City as a living
laboratory.
“We teach classes right on court in the NBA
Store,” Lambert says. “It is very unique.”
Tisch Center undergraduate advantages include:
• Two industry internships of 300 and 400
hours, enhanced with concurrent courses in
workplace challenges, managerial decisionmaking and leadership development
• Professional development includes seminar
courses on professional dress, etiquette,
resumes, cover letters, interviewing strategies
and networking
• Teaching faculty include seasoned industry
professionals who know and teach current
trends. The size of major classes is approximately 25-30 students. University-wide, the
student to faculty ratio is 13:1 and the average class size is less than 30 students
• Academic advisors maintain weekly office
hours and provide personal attention
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SPECIAL A D V E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N | P r o g r a m s in Sports Business
Sport Management program eight years ago from
a concentration in Physical Education (19851999) to a business management-based major, it
chose to focus on some very specific differentiators. The goal: to mold its program into one of the
most unique in the nation, not just in the northeast region.
Specifically, that meant focusing its program on
four primary sport industry areas:
• An international approach
• A commitment to technology in sports
• A commitment to training students for
careers in sport sales and marketing
• An emerging alumni network working in
sport
Above: student leaders from the NYU Tisch Center student
club, “Sports Business Society,” at their annual career fair.
Left: Tisch Center full-time sports business faculty Dr. Lee
Igel, Professor Wayne McDonnell and Professor Robert
Boland with recent guest lecturer Mike Cramer (second from
right).
In addition, the NYU program works with
Madison Square Garden, Major League Baseball,
the National Football League, Major League
Soccer and many other sports enterprises.
“We are involved with the major and minor
leagues, and our students have internships with the
NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB almost every semester,” says Jonathan Rosenberg, the program’s
internship and career development manager.
“Students are remembered and recruited by organizations when they graduate.” Rosenberg adds
that the program also has relationships with IMG
Sports, Octagon, SFX Sports Group, and SME
Branding.
Internships, of course, play a key role in both
42
Based on enrollment, low attrition, affordable
tuition and job placement, the strategy is working. Now, there is a new challenge on the horizon.
Within the next 3-5 years, the program anticipates expanding its graduate student enrollment,
which currently has 25 students (there are also
375 undergraduates in the sport management
program), by launching its two new Master of
Science degrees, one professional online in Sport
the undergrad and grad programs, as the former
requires two internships in the junior and senior
years (300 and 400 hours respectively), and graduate students complete one internship of 300 hours.
“Today’s sports industry is increasingly sophisticated, so 8 years ago we morphed former health,
recreation and parks degrees into a comprehensive undergraduate degree to prepare students for
the profession of sports business,” Lambert says.
“And our graduate program, though only 4 years
old, is thriving.”
SUNY Cortland
When the State University of New York
(SUNY) at Cortland launched a rebirth of its
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Management (Fall 2007) and one residential in
International Sport Management (Fall 2008).
“We are also finalizing plans with London
Metropolitan University for a dual-degree in international sport management, and an M.S./MBA
with Binghamton University, also anticipated to
start fall 2008,” says Dr. Ted Fay, chair, Sport
Management Department. “This will allow us to
grow to a total of 15 full-time faculty fully dedicated to sport management undergraduate and
graduate classes.” That increase would give SUNY
Cortland the largest staff of sport management
faculty in the country.
“We make it no secret that our commitment
is to make our program competitive enough to be
considered a Top 10 program in the country by
our peers,” Fay explains. With Fay and Associate
Professor/Graduate Coordinator Dr. James Reese
coming from UMass and Ohio University respectively, there is no delusion about what it will take
to build a national caliber program.
After the international/online strategy, technology is another differentiator, says Reese. In
fact, there is a “technology corridor” at SUNY
Cortland, controlled exclusively by the sport
management department, including approximately
$8 million of hardware and proprietary software
from Dartfish and XOS. In all, there are four
rooms with 112 computer terminals, and a video
production studio. In addition, SUNY Cortland
has 12 courses dedicated to sport information
SUNY Cortland student Ian Fettinger met Tiger
Woods at the Nissan Open. At right: Cortland Sport
Management graduate Kevin Shearer of the Buffalo
Bills works the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
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“Of course, I am not knocking education because
we certainly try to place people in the industry.
But it’s in the college environment and workplace
where advanced degrees mean the most.”
Lashbrook says it’s unfortunate that many in
higher education today still don’t quite grasp the
online/distance learning experience. And that’s
where NCU’s programs have a leg up on the competition.
“You have to understand online. Just do a
live, interactive audio chat on WebEx,” he says.
“Anywhere students are in the world, they can do
interactive audio chats.”
He predicts that in years ahead, colleges and
universities will require students to have both an
advanced sports degree and understand online
education.
“We believe you will see a total shift to consolidation, and when it comes to career opportunities
in college sports, having the ability to wear more
Northcentral University, which offers its sports management degrees online, moved into a new 52,000-square foot world
headquarters in May.
technology, sport videography, and sport media at
the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Finally, the third key component at SUNY
Cortland is its student-centered, applied learning
focus.
“Everything we do is designed to impact the
ability of students to have a great learning experience and secure a job in the industry,” Reese says.
For example, faculty members are required
to have sport industry experience. Also, SUNY
Cortland offers an “applied research” focus, with
practical application to the sport industry. Faculty
do not conduct research geared exclusively for
academic journals. In fact, research is conducted
with the help of students to have useful applications by industry professionals.
“SUNY Cortland Sport Management is known
nationally for having several specific niche areas,”
says Fay. “Of those, we believe international focus
is critical. We really feel programs that remain
focused on the domestic sport industry will be left
behind. We are a leader in this area and plan to
continue to expand our international reach.”
Northcentral University
When Northcentral University decided to
launch a sport management and leadership graduate program just under three years ago, it figured
that handing the job over to an expert made a lot
of sense.
So NCU formed a partnership with Dr. G. Lynn
Lashbrook, a professional with a lifelong passion
for growing dynamic sports programs, who has
been working and teaching in sports management
for over 35 years.
Lashbrook already was president and founder
JUNE 4-10, 2007
of Sports Management Worldwide (www.smww.
com), the first ever online sports management
company with a primary mission to educate future
sports business executives. As such, SMWW trains
thousands of students every year for sports business careers. Rather than reinvent the wheel, NCU
turned to Lashbrook to direct its online Master’s
and Doctorate programs in sports management.
“You could say our company is a ‘front porch’
for students who come to NCU looking to earn
an advanced sport management degree,” says
Lashbrook, who served at the collegiate level as a
coach, scout, recruiter, athletic academic advisor,
compliance officer, and athletic director. He was
an assistant athletic director at the University of
Missouri, before becoming a director of athletics
at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and
University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Lashbrook turned
down the AD job at Western Michigan University
so he could begin developing his own sports management company. Now, he’s also directing the
graduate programs in sport management for NCU.
“Our company is a preferred partner with
NCU,” Lashbrook explains. “NCU already offers
many degrees and opportunities, but what we do
is take my unique background as professor, coach
and academic advisor, and offer a cutting edge
curriculum. NCU, in fact, has allowed me to create a curriculum for future leaders.”
Lashbrook, a definite online evangelist, says
even today, getting a master’s degree to work for,
say, the Phillies or Seahawks, is not necessarily
the best way to go. But anyone who wants to be
an AD or work on a college campus should pursue
a graduate degree.
“You can’t degree yourself into sports,” he says.
Jeff Urban, director of sports marketing at Gatorade,
was a guest speaker in the Northwestern University’s
“Fundamentals of Sports Marketing” class.
than one hat will be critical,” he says.
Online courses within the NCU Sport
Management curriculum include The Pre-Game
Warm-up to Sports Management, Leadership
in Collegiate Athletics, Leadership and the
Professional World of Sports, Sports Leadership
and Ethics, Advising the Student Athlete, and
Level the Playing Field: Diversity in Sports.
“We’re different than anyone else in the world
when it comes to sport management education,”
Lashbrook says.
Northwestern University
It’s no secret that sports has become a
mature, multibillion-dollar industry. The growth
in all aspects of the business of sport — including media, apparel, sponsorship, labor relations,
licensing, and marketing — has been continuous
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and dynamic. This growth has created a demand
for professionals with solid strategic planning
skills, strong analytical prowess, and creative
and sophisticated management techniques.
Northwestern University’s Master of Arts in
Sports Administration (MSA) program addresses
this need by combining world-class academic credentials with a real-world, practical approach that
provides professionals with the necessary tools for
success in the sports industry.
“The biggest difference in our program is the
format,” says Maureen Harty, Northwestern’s
assistant athletic director and MSA faculty
member. “We are teaching what I learned in my
MBA program, but everything is in the sports
realm, including high-level speakers from the
industry. The advantage is that we can offer the
best of both the academic and the sports worlds.”
Well-known sports executives, such as John
McDonough, president of the Chicago Cubs, and
Amy Kress, director of mass communications for
the Chicago White Sox, serve on the MSA advisory board and have helped create courses that
mimic traditional MBA offerings — with topics
including management, marketing, negotiations
and ethics — and are entirely focused on sports
administration and the sports industry. In addition
to the robust academic curriculum, the program
offers practical, real-world insight from the experienced sports industry professionals who teach
many of the MSA courses. Instructors frequently
invite prominent sports professionals to address
their classes. Recent guest speakers include Scott
Nelson, director of operations of the Cubs, Kevin
Hallinan, director of security for Major League
Baseball, and Jeff Urban, director of sports marketing at Gatorade.
Roy Kessel, president of SportsLoop
Management and MSA faculty member said, “I
became involved in the program because in the
business world I saw a need for a training ground
that would provide a strong educational basis
for teaching students about the sports industry.
Through our program we provide mentoring and
connect students to job opportunities.”
With evening courses designed for working
adults, the program attracts students with a
diverse mix of experiences and backgrounds. “I
really look forward to classes because my instructors and classmates bring real-world experience to
discussions,” says MSA student Kathleen Brown.
The curriculum includes seven core courses,
two courses in a specialization — either sports
management or sports marketing and public
relations — a professional leadership course,
and an independent capstone project designed
in collaboration with a faculty member. The program is offered by the Northwestern University
School of Continuing Studies. Courses are held
on Northwestern’s Chicago lakefront, Loop, and
Evanston campuses.
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Ohio University Distinguished Alums, from left: Jim Kahler, Ohio U’s executive director of the Center for Sports
Administration; Derrick Hall, president, Arizona Diamondbacks; Mike Hamrick, UNLV athletic director; and Dr. Charles
Higgins, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University.
Ohio University
When it comes to bringing the sports business
under the academic microscope, Ohio University
started it all.
Back in 1966, the Athens, Ohio, school was the
first institution of higher learning to integrate the
study of sports as a business into its curriculum.
Helped along by the support of Walter O’Malley,
legendary owner of the then-Brooklyn (now Los
Angeles) Dodgers, Ohio U’s Dr. James Mason of
Ohio U developed the first sports administration
program at the university in 1966. The rest, as
they say, is history.
“One of the things we’re known for is our
alumni network. Of course, being the oldest
sports management program in the world can
be an advantage on that front,” says Jim Kahler,
Executive Director of the Center of Sports
Administration at Ohio U (and a 1981 graduate
with a Master’s in Sports Administration). “We’ve
also gone to great lengths to create a curriculum
that may be the most practical in the category.”
Regarding the Ohio U network, more than
85 percent of School of Recreation and Sport
Sciences graduates are employed in key positions
within intercollegiate athletics, professional sports,
public assembly facilities, sports tours, motor
sports, corporate sports organizations, sports
media, and the entertainment industries. Naturally,
the loyalty of Ohio U alumni and the reputation of
the program translate into a wide variety of excellent internship and employment opportunities.
The Sports Administration & Facility
Management (SAFM) Program at Ohio University
offers three degree options: Master of Business
Administration/Master of Sports Administration
(MBA/MSA) Dual-Degree Program, Juris Doctor/
Master of Sports Administration (JD/MSA) DualDegree Program (in cooperation with Capital Law
School, and the Master of Sports Administration
(MSA) Degree Program (available for students
with previous graduate degrees in law or business).
The two-year MBA/MSA program prepares
students for leadership positions by combining
the business teaching of the Ohio University MBA
program with sport-specific knowledge during the
MSA program. Kahler says the degree combination is testament to the growing complexity of the
sports, facility and entertainment industries and
reinforces Ohio University’s commitment to preparing students for future leadership challenges.
The MBA phase of the program uses a problem-based learning style, immersing students in
collaborative projects and working situations that
are commonplace in the business world. The MSA
program combines classroom and practical experience to prepare individuals for leadership positions
Warsaw Center founder Jim Warsaw, faculty and students met with NBA Commissioner David Stern, Deputy Commissioner
Adam Silver and WNBA President Donna Orender at the league offices in New York.
in the sport industry.
“In year one, students are picking up 300
hours of consulting experience, through a partnership with the University’s Voinovich Center for
Leadership & Public Affairs,” Kahler says. The
Center was created to help spur economic development in Southeastern Ohio. “We match up our
students with consulting projects, and they are put
on teams. They are learning all that while earning
their MBA.”
Kahler says today’s sports industry puts a
major emphasis on revenue generation, whether
that be though sponsorship sales, ticket sales or
fund-raising, and sponsorship sales.
“Our philosophy is to listen where the needs
and problems are and model the curriculum to
meet those needs and solve those problems,” he
says. “After all, a curriculum is designed to be
redesigned.”
University of Oregon
For the last 15 years, the University of
Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business has served
as home to one of the nation’s top sports marketing programs. In fact, Sports Illustrated, in its
October 7, 2002 issue, recognized the University
of Oregon as owning the best sports business program in the nation.
That success is driven by the James H. Warsaw
Sports Marketing Center. Unlike other academic
settings, the Warsaw Center, which opened in
1993, provides a very strong focus for the school’s
sports business program offerings. Above all, the
Warsaw Center is all about fostering an environment where both academic study and industry
“street smarts” meld to educate each generation
of sports marketers.
“Sports marketing is not sports management,”
says Jim Warsaw, the Center’s founder. “Both are
important. However, the real business of sports
revolves around understanding consumer behavior
and motivating target markets to purchase goods
and services. Without consumers, there would be
no sports industry.”
The model at the U of O is built around the
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concept of “experiential education,”encouraging
students to apply what they learn in the classroom
in real world situations. The model provides students ongoing interaction with an industry that’s
in a rapid state of change.
“Our students don’t leave the real world when
they enter the program,” says Paul Swangard, the
Center’s managing director and a 1999 graduate
of the Oregon MBA program. “They’ll remain
active participants in the business of sports.”
It’s proven to be a successful approach for a
program credited for being the first of its kind
housed in a college of business.
“In a sense, we created this category of education, the study of sport from inside a college of
business,” he says. “That helped move a lot of this
kind of learning into business schools, a trend that
has really taken off in the past 5-6 years.”
The next frontier for the U of O appears to be
Asia. The Warsaw Center has a solid base of alumni working and living in China, so it was a natural
fit, along with the school’s Pacific Rim location.
For example, the head of sponsorship for VISA in
China is a Warsaw alum.
“We’re taking all of our MBAs to China every
year, so they can learn the business, the culture,
etc.,” Swangard says. “Since 1999, we have had
a partnership with Fudan University, collaborating with the school to create a sports marketing
research center there.
“We believe that China and the Pacific Rim are
becoming very relevant to sports marketers,” he
adds. “And the University of Oregon has one of the
top Asian studies programs in the country. It’s a
Sandy Alderson, CEO, San Diego Padres, spoke at San
Diego State U’s Sport Management MBA inaugural
commencement Ceremony, June 2006.
JUNE 4-10, 2007
natural fit for us.”
In the end, students at the Warsaw Center get
a degree from the Lundquist School of Business
but the words “sport” or “sports” is conspicuously
absent.
“That’s by design,” says Swangard. “Our
degrees don’t typecast students. They leave here
with an undergraduate or graduate degree in
business recognizing they are well-trained business people, not just graduates who have studied
sports.”
San Diego State University
There may be many ways to differentiate one
sports MBA program from another. But the
Sports Business Management MBA program at
San Diego State University (SDSU) boasts a
competitive advantage no other program can; it is
the only sports-focused graduate program that has
a formal partnership with a professional sports
team, the San Diego Padres.
“We wanted to partner with a university
because we see an increasing need for specifically trained executives and business managers in
Major League Baseball and in other professional
sports,” according to San Diego Padres Owner
and Chairman John Moores.
“It’s made a very big difference for us,”
says Karen Courtney, director of Executive &
Specialized Programs at SDSU’s College of
Business Administration. “It’s made a difference
in terms of our Board of Advisors, with our internship program, our guest lecturers, you name it.”
Though the Padres partnership heavily influences the curriculum and is enormously helpful for
the students’ professional development, alumni of
the SDSU program enter the sports world in management positions throughout the industry, not
just baseball. SDSU MBA alumni have gone on to
work with myriad sports organizations, including
the NFL, MLB, NBA, AFL, IMG, Under Armour,
action sports and mixed martial arts.
The ways in which SDSU differs from other
schools doesn’t stop with the Padres partnership, according to Courtney. In its inaugural
year in 2005, the school launched the SDSU
International Sports MBA Case Competition, the
industry’s first sports-specific case competition.
Hosted each year in the Padres front offices at
PETCO Park, this event annually attracts top
domestic and international MBA programs to San
Diego to develop a solution to a multidisciplinary
case study focused on international sports.
The case studies used in the first two case
competitions tasked the students with developing comprehensive business plans for the World
Baseball Classic and the USA Sevens rugby tournament, two international sporting events hosted
at PETCO Park. SDSU looks forward to welcoming top international programs to San Diego for
the third annual competition in November 2007.
SDSU’s Sports MBA program, in two short
years, has established itself among the elite
sports-focused MBA programs in the nation and
is intended for highly motivated students. The program offers an accelerated classroom experience
(12 months) and sports business consulting project (4-6 months) that allow students to complete
their MBA within 18 months.
Finally, one of the major draws for the SDSU
program is its location in San Diego, known as
“America’s Finest City” for its active lifestyle,
average annual temperature of 65 degrees and
over 300 days of sunshine per year.
San Diego is a worldwide destination for all
forms of outdoor sports and recreation, and the
SDSU program offers in-class exposure to industry leaders of every imaginable sports organiza-
STREET & SMITH’S SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL
University of San Francisco student Estelle Collins met
BMX superstar Dave Mirra while doing internship
work at the Toyota Challenge this past April.
tion, including the Padres and Chargers, as well as
golf, triathlon, surfing, sailing, extreme sports, and
other organizations headquartered in the sports
hotbed of Southern California.
“Who doesn’t want to live in America’s Finest
City?” says Courtney, “Even if it’s only for 18
months.”
University of San Francisco
The Master’s Program in Sport Management
at the University of San Francisco got its start
as a relatively small endeavor (35 students), and
was originally created for both working professionals and recent grads looking to beef up their
academic resumes before they joined the working
world.
But, according to Dan Rascher, director of academic programs and an associate professor, the
program’s best value is for the former group, who
are looking to boost their careers in sports management with an MA that they can earn at night
while they continue to work during the day.
“With our applicant pool, we don’t like to
take students right out of undergraduate school,”
Rascher says. “It makes sense for them to have
at least a year of experience. Our students most
often work in sports, and are in lower paying
jobs early in their career. Of course, we also have
occasional early retirement people in their 40s,
investment bankers and lawyers, who come and
do the program to see if they can move into a new
career in sports management. The students are a
diverse group.” In fact, about 12 percent of U of
SF students are international and return to their
home countries upon graduation.
The U of SF MA in Sport Management
36-credit, two-year program is clearly geared
towards working professionals simply by the way
it is structured. Classes meet one night per week
for four hours. Typically, students work full-time
University of San Francisco Sport Management students conducted a research project on motivation and lifestyle at the
2007 Bay Area Senior Games.
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during the day. Internships are also part of the
degree requirements.
“Also, during the two years, they start getting
into sports internships and new jobs,” Rascher
explains. “And by the time they finish, people who
came from outside the sports industry are working in the business, and others have moved to new,
better positions with their current sports industry
employers.”
U of SF started its MA in Sport Management
in 1991 with a single group of students, and
today there are cohort groups of students both on
the main campus near Golden Gate Park and at
the Los Angeles Area Campus at the St. Joseph
Center in Orange County. In all, there are approximately 180 Master’s students in the program during the academic year.
The program has four full-time faculty and
mainly adjunct faculty, an impressive, extensive
list of professionals from area sports enterprises,
Above: As part of its Sports Leadership
degree program, VCU students deliver
a presentation to Richmond, Va.,
professionals. At right: A trip to Colorado
gave SportsCenter students an opportunity
to tour facilities of the Denver Broncos,
Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rockies, the
Denver Sports Commission, the U.S.
Airforce Academy and the U.S. Olympic
Training Center.
teams and sports-related industries.
“For example, we offer a separate accounting
class, and it has been taught by the CFOs from
the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Angels,”
Rascher says, adding that guest lecturers are also
drawn from local sports teams, organizations and
related companies.
Of course, the great City by the Bay location is
also a major draw for students, who mostly come
from other West Coast locations.
“The main thing is our adjunct teachers are all
working in sports,” he says. “And our curriculum
is always changing. In fact, when it comes to electives, our students will donate course ideas, and
many of them are good ideas, so we try our best
to accommodate them.”
Above: To keep pace with the sports industry’s
expanding globalization, Western New England College
(WNEC) hired Curt Hamakawa from the International
Olympic Committee to teach in the former’s MBA Sport
program. At right: WNEC sport management alumni
regularly return to speak at on- and off-campus
events, such as a sports management conference held
in Springfield.
VCU SportsCenter, Sport Leadership
Graduate Program
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Richard Sander had a
vision of creating an innovative learning environment that would help prepare students interested in
the sports industry achieve a successful career path.
In 1999, Sander, who has been Virginia
Commonwealth University’s athletic director for
20 years, turned that thinking into reality, when
the school launched the VCU SportsCenter, an
innovative sport leadership graduate program that
focuses on “experiential” learning using an effective hands-on philosophy.
“The VCU SportsCenter strategy teaches students the necessary skills, giving them ownership
of operational responsibility, while providing access
to upper-level coaches and administrators,” says
Sander. With seven years of history in the bank,
the VCU SportsCenter, in fact, has matured into a
leading “proving ground” for the next generation
of industry leaders.
VCU graduates of the SportsCenter program earn an M.S. in Sport Leadership. They
can choose from two tracks, Coaching or
Sport Management/Administration. The VCU
SportsCenter program is unique in that it is a oneyear program.
“By allowing students to learn within the
framework of this educational paradigm, they are
very successful in making a smooth, successful
transition into the sports world,” Sander explains.
In the European Model of Sport program, for
example, students travel to different countries to
learn through class sessions, tours, “behind the
scenes” access and sporting events.
“It’s an excellent chance to gain exposure to
a foreign market and build contacts, as well as
explore possible internship/job interests abroad or
domestically,” Sander says. The European Model
of Sport has included visiting numerous cities in
Greece, Holland, Germany and Belgium.
For those who are practicing professionals, the
SportsCenter offers the distance learning component to the program.
One of the typical student-run projects, called
The Journey, brings young, successful athletes and
coaches (professional and collegiate) to VCU to
discuss their journeys of individual success, offering
insight and advice to young student-athletes. On
April 17, “The Journey: On the Field and Beyond”
featured Washington Redskins QB Jason Campbell,
San Francisco 49er running back Michael
Robinson, and VCU coaches Anthony Grant (men’s
basketball) and Tiffany Roberts (women’s soccer).
“Our diverse panels have athletes at all levels
of success,” Sander says. “And our students manage it all, from concept to execution. It’s a prime
example of what experiential learning is all about.”
The VCU SportsCenter provides a solid foundation for what promises to be a successful career in
the sports industry. Students not only learn about
the sports industry, domestically and abroad, they
experience it on a first hand basis. The staff of the
VCU SportsCenter understands the importance of
networking in the sports industry, and, as a result,
they have designed a program that encourages
and enables students to start building a strong
network from the minute they begin taking classes.
The VCU SportsCenter is committed to preparing
future leaders in a way that leaves the student feeling not only well prepared but excited to embark
on a career in the world of sports.
Western New England College
At Western New England College, the phrase
that pays is “Show me the money!”
Translated, the Western New England College
MBA Sport Program focuses on revenue development, which, says Dr. Sharianne Walker, chair of
the Springfield, Mass., school’s Management and
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Sport Management Department, is the key to the
sport industry’s success in the 21st century.
“Sports organizations on all levels are hungry
for ways to create new revenue streams, maintain
and build new technologically advanced customer
service-based facilities, and maximize equipment and human resources,” says Walker, who
has worked in marketing and public relations for
the Boston Celtics and Commonwealth Sports
Properties and has consulted with college athletic
programs. “It goes from strategic partnerships
to fundraising, from creative revenue solutions to
effective sales strategies. The sports industry message is loud and clear: They want talented people
who can generate income by either creating new
revenue streams or improving existing ones.”
The Western New England business school is
AACSB accredited. But even more, it offers a flexible delivery model for its MBA Sport program
Walker calls a “flexmodel,” whereby students can
take courses either in person on campus or online.
They can even choose the delivery platform on a
week-to-week basis, as it works for their particular situation.
“Some folks end up taking it completely online,
or mix and match,” she says. “It’s really up to the
individual.”
Of course, the distance learning element, by
design, gives Western New England’s MBASport
an added geographical reach.
The Western New England online experience,
Walker points out, is no “correspondence” type of
program. There are live presentations, Pod casts,
audio chats, etc. In other words, plenty of interactivity.
“We want our students to get the most out of
the experience, so that means creating an online
environment where everyone is connected and
involved,” she explains.
The Western New England College MBA Sport
program also offers a faculty roster of experienced sport industry professionals, small classes
(for non-online students), accelerated 11-week
sessions, and the aforementioned flexibility (“mix
and match” online vs. classroom options).
Finally, Western New England’s MBA Sport
program has really embraced a global business
perspective, so it devotes plenty of course time to
revenue growth opportunities in the international
sport marketplace.
“Many of our graduates working in both amateur and professional sports organizations confirm
that they face major challenges in moving their
businesses into the global sports marketplace,”
Walker says. “We’ll keep improving our courses
to deliver the business savvy and solutions to the
cultural hurdles so our graduates can help their
employers meet that unique set of challenges.”
While the sport management undergrad program at Western New England is 11 years old,
the school launched the “flexmodel” MBA Sport
program just two years ago.
“Our MBA program is the result of talking to
people in the sports industry to find out where
their needs are and then creating a flexible program that will meet those needs. That’s the goal
with MBASport.”
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