Sport Management
The mission of the sport management program is to offer high quality educational experiences to cultivate students' sport management, marketing, communication, and financial skills. These skills are developed in an environment that promotes sound decision-making based on social, psychological and international foundations, recognized management principles, as well as the ethical and legal impact of such decisions. The skills developed provide students with the opportunity to analyze, synthesize, and communicate information in a dynamic global sport industry. The MA-Sport Management program is designed to provide students with opportunities to develop and demonstrate the expertise and research skills which are necessary to enable them to make independent professional contributions in sport management.
Admission Requirements
- General admission to graduate study.
- A minimum GMAT score of 400 or a minimum (verbal + quantitative reasoning) GRE score of 284.
- A minimum 2.5 GPA in a related undergraduate field is required.
- Students may be conditionally admitted to the sport management program after the submission and review of all application materials. Conditionally admitted students may be required to successfully complete selected undergraduate prerequisites and/or maintain additional program conditions.
Program Competencies
- The student will be able to understand people who engage in sports within their respective living environments, thus comprehending their interest and values for sports participation and/or their sport spectator interest.
- The student will be able to manage plans, lead and evaluate efforts in the advancement of an organization through the efforts of others.
- Students will recognize and identify moral problems related to sports in its intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions and develop a personal philosophy regarding social responsibility in the sport management setting.
- The student will be able to apply marketing concepts through utilization, application and initiation of marketing research.
- The student will be familiar with the financial management, planning and the budgetary components of the sports industry.
- The student will be familiar with the legal concepts in those areas that they are most likely to encounter in the workplace.
- The student will develop skills using methods for conducting quantitative and qualitative research in sport management that will be valuable in analyzing research data to predict future managerial strategies.
- The graduate student will benefit greatly from culminating in-depth practical experiences before entering the sport industry. Even if the student has previous experience in sport management, an additional experience may expand the individual's network and enhance job placement.
Assessment
In-class feedback from students will be utilized to improve the curriculum and program.
The on-site supervisor evaluation that is completed on all sport management graduate interns will be a valuable tool in assessing areas for improvement each semester.
A culminating exam will be administered at the end of the student's program to provide feedback on areas for improvement within the program and to demonstrate student achievement of the program goals and student learning outcomes.
Requirements for the Degree
- Satisfy general graduate degree requirements.
- Fulfill stated program requirements.
- Pass a written comprehensive examination over program required curriculum (must have a cumulative 3.0 or higher GPA and no "I" (incomplete) grades to sit for the exam).
- Must have a cumulative exit GPA of 3.0 or above.
- Must be unconditionally admitted to the sport management graduate program.
Dismissal from the sport management program - Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students may not drop below a 3.0 GPA for more than one semester during the program. A student who falls below a 3.0 cumulative GPA for two semesters will be dismissed from the program. The graduate program coordinator, in coordination with the associate dean, will monitor student progress.
Program Requirements
Required:
| SPMT 600 | Research Methods in Sport Management | 3 |
| SPMT 605 | Planning and Designing Sport and Physical Activity Facilities | 3 |
| SPMT 612 | Sport Governance | 3 |
| SPMT 630 | Sport Marketing | 3 |
| SPMT 632 | Management and Administration of Sports Programs | 3 |
| SPMT 635 | Legal Issues in Sports and Physical Activity | 3 |
| SPMT 650 | Financing the Sport Enterprise | 3 |
| SPMT 655 | Leadership and Ethics in Sport and Physical Activity | 3 |
| SPMT 660 | Socio-Cultural Issues in Sport | 3 |
| SPMT 661 | Sport Relations | 3 |
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| SPMT 671 | Sport Management Internship | 3 |
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| SPMT 672 | Research Project | 3 |
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| MNGT 665 | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
Preapproved Graduate Business Electives
Total Credit Hours: 36