Sport Management, Minor

This course is designed to expose sport management majors to the profession by working with and assisting an organization in the sport or recreational industry. This will provide the student with opportunities to apply knowledge and theory related to sport management and help students to understand expectations and responsibilities and the reality of working in the sport industry. This will include, but is not limited to, performing managerial functions, such as planning, organizing, leading and evaluating, as well as, facility and event management, marketing, promotion, and market research. Students are expected to engage in the professional affiliation experience and complete accompanying academic requirements during the semester that they have made application. This experience will carry 3 hours of academic credit and will require a minimum of 100 contact hours at the fieldwork site.  

The study of operating principles for programs in intercollegiate athletics, professional sports, recreational sports, and community sport associations.  This course is recommended prior to courses in the Sport Management Specialization.

Students examine the psychosocial and ethical factors involved in effective sport management. This course examines race, gender, social class, politics, religion, and other factors that affect sport in society.

This course is designed to give sport management majors advanced practice and participation in working in the sport and recreational industry. This will include, but is not limited to, performing managerial functions, such as planning, organizing, leading and evaluating, as well as, facility and event management, marketing, promotion, and market research. Students are expected to engage in the professional affiliation experience and complete accompanying academic requirements during the semester that they have made application. This is an experiential course that allows the mid-level sport management major to build on the competencies developed SMGT 2301 through experience in hands-on supervisory and leadership positions and focused reflection through academic work. Students may have the opportunities available in the course to develop more advanced knowledge, skills and values held by professionals in the sport management industry. The practical work for this course is predominately completed on campus. 

Prerequisite: (SMGT 2301).

The purpose of this course is two-fold: (a) to explore sport communication theories and how they relate to current issues and topics within the sport communication realm, particularly as they address mass media communication and the larger sport environment; and (b) to examine more practical concepts, activities, and behaviors related to sport communication and apply them to professional and collegiate sports.

This course is designed to provide knowledge and awareness of the structures, rules and laws governing various sport organizations as well the participants. 

This course is designed to provide the sport manager with an understanding of the main marketing issues within the sport industry. Special emphases are placed on the application and assessment of marketing sport within the private and public sectors.

Provides general knowledge of the judicial system and current legal issues in sport including risk management, eligibility, discrimination, drug testing, and Title IX.

Introduction of issues related to managing sport and leisure services in a variety of settings such as universities, municipal recreation, corporate wellness centers, in government or private sectors.

The course is designed to provide an introduction to sport events from a tourism strategic planning/marketing perspective.  Throughout this course, students will be exposed to sport event production strategies for tourism and their impacts on event stakeholders.  Students will examine specific sport tourism events and analyze their strategies for destination branding; sport tourism facility and event financing; host-guest interactions; environmental, political, economic, and socio-cultural impacts.

This course will equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the business of college sport. Topics include the governance of college sport, the role of college sport in the university, marketing and management of college sport, finances and operation planning in intercollegiate athletics, compliance and academic integrity, and reform efforts and ethical concerns. The course will also examine critical business issues in college sports, such as conference realignment, sports agents, and name image and likeness (NIL).

This course intends to provide students with an introduction to esports and its ecosystem. This course examines the history, culture, and issues of esports, the levels and governance of esports, and the process of managing financing promoting, and broadcasting esports competitions. Students will be acquainted with various business issues by discussing pertinent theories and case studies within the esports field. The course concludes with a discussion of issues those in the esports industry grapple with and speculation about the future of the esports ecosystem.

This course intends to provide students with a broad overview of the sport industry around the globe, including sports and sport events, governance, key organizations and actors, management, business and financial elements, marketing, key trends and topics, and cultural significance. In particular, this course will examine similarities and differences in organization and management strategies from various countries, regions, and continents. Focus will also be given to international organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, major international sports leagues, and the globalization of sports and sporting goods and production and consumption.

This course will equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the business of sport. In doing so, the course will examine contemporary business issues that influence the sport industry and the people who manage sport organizations. Especially the course will examine the critical business issues concerning the following critical entities in the sport business, including professional sport franchises and leagues, collegiate sports, mega sport events, corporate sponsors, and the media.

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course will introduce students to sport for social change, often referred to as Sport-for-Development-and-Peace. Through this class, students will develop practical and theoretical knowledge of this field by learning about key issues and concepts. The goal of the class is for students to acquire knowledge and skills that they can use in their future career of choice.

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course focuses on the major components of both facility and event management – planning, financing, marketing, implementation and evaluation. This course will provide a working knowledge of how to manage sport facilities and how to plan, manage, implement and evaluate sport events

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course is designed to provide knowledge of financial planning and administration.  This includes, but not limited to, basic budget terminology, sources of financing for operating and capital expenditures, expenditure policies, auditing and the grant process.  

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course will provide an analysis of entrepreneurship in sport and the sport industry. Emphasis will be placed on the structure and framework of entrepreneurial endeavors and the theory and practice of entrepreneurs in sport. Topics covered will include: idea generation, business strategy, entrepreneurial activities, establishing business operations, venture capitalism, business plan writing, financing and marketing a start-up and the legal challenges of growing a business.

Prerequisite: (SMGT 2314).

This course is designed to expand the student's understanding of various management techniques and their application to sport organizations and administration. Topics include organizational behavior, human resources management and labor policies.

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course prepares students to gain an appreciation and knowledge of data analytics in contemporary sports. Students will expand their critical thinking skills with data, explore the current state of sport analytics in various sport segments and functional areas, and summarize and interpret data strategically for data-based decision making in the sport industry.

Prerequisite: SMGT 2314.

This course intends to provide students with a foundation for a broad range of topics related to sales and revenue generation in the sports industry. Areas covered include the sales process, ticket sales, and media revenues, sponsorship sales, fundraising, concessionaire and hospitality revenues, the role of social media, and sales force management. Students will study current issues and explore future directions, trends, and innovations in the context of sales and revenue generation for sport organizations.

Prerequisite: KINE 2314.

This course intends to provide students with key concepts, tools, and principles related to the strategic management of sport organizations. The course addresses approaches to use in determining the strategic direction of sport organizations and how such strategic directions can be most effectively implemented and managed. Key areas and topics include strategic environmental analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and business strategy applicable to sport organizations.

Prerequisite: KINE 2314.

The professional field experience (minimum of 150 hours) is designed to provide the student the opportunity to apply knowledge and theory related to kinesiology, health, physical fitness and sport.  The underlying objective behind the fieldwork and internship assignments is for students to gain on-the-job opportunities to integrate their classroom knowledge with professional responsibilities. Students must enroll in both SMGT 4693 - Professional Field Experience I and complete requirements of this course.

(minimum 150 hours) is designed to provide the student with additional opportunities to apply knowledge and theory related to kinesiology, health, physical fitness and sport that was gained in SMGT 4393 Professional Field Experience I.  Students must be enrolled in SMGT 4693 Professional Field Experience I simultaneously with SMGT 4694 Professional Field Experience II.

(DIS) in Sport Management is designed to allow the student to work independently on a research project, service learning, or literature review on a topic relevant to the student’s major and special interests. The student works under the supervision of a faculty member and negotiates the individualized instruction and requirements with that faculty. All DIS proposals, including an outline and assessment deadlines, must be approved by the faculty member and the department chair and be appropriate for the semester credit hours (SCHs) applied for.