Curriculum

This course examines contemporary and productive management principles and concepts used throughout the sports industry and various sport organizations and settings. Through this course, students will acquire skills related to creative problem solving and strategic planning, while developing the skills to lead, organize and delegate in managerial and leadership positions.

The course is designed to educate and equip future leaders in the sport industry with a solid ethical foundation to empower them with the study of tangible and positive examples of leaders in the sport industry. The course explores differences in leadership styles and by the end of the course, every student develops one’s own philosophy of leadership.

This course examines the financial tools that sports managers use to run their sport businesses. It explores traditional and innovative methods of revenue acquisition and financial management in sports organizations; the financial business structure of sports organizations; and the financial planning and forecasting processes that make organizations effective. Various other aspects of finance are discussed as they relate to sports organizations with a special focus on strategy.

This course explores social processes and core concepts in the sociology of sport from a social problem perspective. Topics to be discussed include complex and contradictory relationship between sport and society issues, such as gender, representation, sexuality, homophobia, commercialization and college sport, race, inequality, social activism, the Olympic movement, sport washing through sports events, sport and nationalism.

This course explores different elements of substantive law and their application in the context of the sports industry. The complex network of legal and contractual relationships in the sports industry. This includes the interactions among athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, sports facilities, licensees, broadcasters and fans. These interactions are examined through the lens of various legal areas, including contract law, antitrust law, labor law, intellectual property law, constitutional law and tort law.

Students will be equipped with a substantial knowledge of the legal environment in which financial and business structures specific to the sports industry operate. They will also understand the structural changes introduced by name, image and likeness (NIL) legislations.

This course is designed to introduce students to “real world” sport marketing strategies and challenges sports organizations encounter on a regular basis. The essential components of sport marketing which includes planning, promotions, operations and market analysis are discussed. The fundamental principles used in the marketing of sport, products, events, organizations and the importance of service quality are also examined. Students will critically analyze current sports industry issues and devise practical solutions that can be employed in sport settings.

This course covers sport communication theory and provides instruction, analysis and training in the principles and practice of public relations in sports organizations across a variety of sports settings. An emphasis is placed on the importance of media relations and skills essential for sports communication professionals, including handling media interactions across platforms, navigating challenges and crises and the integration and alignment of positive communications strategies with strategic goals of sports organizations.

This course provides students with comprehensive theoretical and strategic foundations for understanding the behavior of sport consumers. Students are introduced to a large array of sport consumer behavior current trends and theories. The course provides students with current case studies, events and new developments illustrative of how consumer behavior concepts and principles are applied to sport, to sport consumers and business managers. Particular attention is given to sport consumer learning, normative and behavioral decision-making, sport consumer cultures, social media behavior, impact of information and technology and sport consumption cycles.

This course explores the global sport marketing environment, its current trends and challenges. Students are equipped with theoretical and conceptual knowledge to help them identify specific features of sport marketing, analysis and strategies for global sport business environment, sport marketing research, marketing mix, sport sponsorship and sport branding in global contexts.

This course covers the use of current advanced media techniques and data analytics developed to measure, market and promote sports commodities including events and branding strategies. Particular attention is given to the analysis of the challenges faced by brands operating in sport related markets that are animated by fierce competition.

The course provides a theoretical and empirical review of sports branding, the evolution of the North American and global media landscape, core performance indicators for brands and sport governance, sponsorship, promotion, licensing, endorsements, naming rights, media monopolistic tendencies and media buying and selling. Students also become familiar with the legal and financial implications of sport media strategies.

Event management has emerged as one of the most sought-after skills in the sport and entertainment industry. This course provides students with the necessary foundations of event management, including conceptualization, staffing, budgeting, financing, promoting, securing and managing. Upon completion of this course, students will possess the competencies necessary for managing and operating local, regional, national and global sport events through theory and application.

This course prepares students to develop a culturally informed approach to the understanding and analysis of global sport business and data analytics by providing them with comprehensive theoretical and practical frameworks required for global business. It covers sport management theories, concepts, frameworks, methods and strategies crucial to the functioning and management of global sports.

At the end of the course, students will be prepared to think critically about the differences between Northern American and global sports and identify fundamental concepts, issues and terminology necessary in the management of sports organizations, governance, business activities, events, media and multicultural contexts of modern sport on a global level.

This course is designed in a seminar-like style and focuses on understanding, drafting and negotiating certain sports law-related transactions. This course will review existing regulations, statutes and laws in the areas of contract law, sport agency and intellectual property rights. Students will apply acquired legal knowledge to specific cases and situations related to sport through classroom discussions and preparation of legal documents, memos and letters.

This course introduces students to sustainability theory and its practice in the context of sport within the framework of the sustainable development goals formulated by the United Nations (UN). The course examines the relationship between sport structures and the natural environment. Through a variety of approaches, students will learn how sport can become a catalyst for innovative global sustainability projects capable of prompting changes in individual and collective behaviors. The course prepares future sport managers and leaders to promote ethical practices and trends in the sports industry.

The internship provides students with practical and hands-on experience in a sports organization of their choice. Students will be required to efficiently engage in a set of responsibilities for a sport centered structure. Students that select the internship capstone will work with a faculty advisor available to assist and advise on their internship expectations and responsibilities.

This course is designed to assist graduate students in the acquisition of the fundamental research skills in order to develop their own empirical research to guide effective decision-making. This course introduces students to research methods and methodology that have sport as an object of study.