Sport Management Program

The undergraduate Sport Management degree program offers students a broad base educational foundation to prepare them for a career in Sport Management.

Sport Management is one of the fastest-growing specializations in sport, fitness, and physical education in recent years. Sport Management programs currently attract large numbers of women and men who want a career in a sport-related field but have no interest in teaching. The Sport Management industry is a 217 billion dollar plus industry surpassing the insurance and automobile industry.

The sport and activity industry can be divided into 7 segments

• Professional sport entertainment (MLB, NFL, NASCAR, minor leagues, etc.)
• Amateur sport entertainment (college and high school sport, Olympic-related events)
• Sport services (agents, event management, resorts, cruises, law, marketing, etc.)
• Sport and activity participation, for-profit (golf courses, fitness and martial arts centers)
• Sport and activity goods (manufacturers, retail, distributors, etc.)
• Sport and activity participation, nonprofit (parks and recreation, YMCA, hospital, etc.)
• Sport media and communication (TV, radio, print, web, public relations, sport info, etc.)

In 1993 the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) joined with the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) to develop competency standards for sport-management curricula at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. More than 200 colleges and universities offer Sport Management degrees. MSU Sport Management faculty are members of NASSM/NASPE and base the MSU Sport Management curriculum on NASSM/NASPE standards. The competency standards for the master's degree include 10 areas.

The Minnesota State University, Mankato Sport Management program includes an internship in which the student actually performs the skills necessary for the various roles. MSU is located near the Minneapolis-St. Paul area which affords a wide variety of internship opportunities (NBA Timberwolves, WNBA Lynx, MLB Twins, NFL Vikings, NHL Wild and others). These may range from assisting an athletic director or working at a fitness center, to helping in the promotions department of a pro sport.

Graduates of Minnesota State University, Mankato Sport Management work in such fields as

• National Basketball Association
• National Football League
• High school athletic director
• College athletic administration
• City recreation department management
• Communications director for college athletic programs
• Player personnel with Arena Football League
• Minor League Baseball
• College recreation department
• Sporting goods manufacturer representative
• Facility management
• Event management

Required for Major

• HP 160 – Introduction to Human Performance Studies (2)
• HP 290 – Psycho-Social Aspects of Sport (3)

Sport Management Core (29 credits)

• HP 360 – Foundations of Sport Management(3)
• HP 435 – Planning Sport Facilities(3)
• HP 462 – Sport Administration(3)
• HP 464 – Analysis of Sport Data(3)
• HP 465 – Legal Aspects of Physical Education and Sport (3)
• HP 468 – Sport Marketing (3)
• HP 469 – Event Management in Sport(3)
• HP 496 – Internship (8)
  
        Internship Guidelines
        Internship Handbook
        Supervisor's Internship Evaluation Form

Required Support Courses (21-22 credits)

• IT 100 – Introduction to Computing and Applications (4) or 
  ISYS 101 – Personal Productivity with Info. Sys. (3)
• HLTH 210 – First Aid and CPR (3)
• ACCT 200 – Financial Accounting (3)
• BLAW 131 – Consumer Law and Ethics (3) or
  BLAW 200 – Legal, Political, and Regulatory Environment of Business (3)
• ECON 201 – Principles of Macroeconomics (3) or
  ECON 202 – Principles of Microeconomics (3)
• MRKT 100 – Global Business Concepts (3)
• SPEE 102  – Public Speaking (3)

Required Minor

Sport Management majors will be required to minor in one of the following areas

• Business Management – 21 credits
• Accounting – 21 credits
• Business Law – 21 credits
• Marketing – 18 credits
• Economics – 18 credits
• International Business – 18 credits
• Finance – 18 credits

For further information contact: Dr. Suzannah Armentrout, Dr. Soonhwan Lee (soonhwan.lee@mnsu.edu), Dr. Jon Lim (jon.lim@mnsu.edu), Coordinator of Sport Management, or Dr. Gary Rushing (gary.rushing@mnsu.edu).