Sport Management Programs Research Articles

Women and Members of Socially Diverse Groups in a Sport Management Program: Key Lessons From Creating and Leading a Student-Led Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Club

This manuscript shares insights on the process of creating and operating a student-led equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) club centered in a sport management program through five reflective stories (i.e., three students and two faculty members). Sport Helps Everyone Make Allies is a student-led EDI club created at one of the largest sport-management-specific degree programs in North America. Based on critical reflections from the five stories, we identify key lessons for the creation and management of student-led EDI clubs: (a) resisting the chilly climate, (b) EDI initiatives within hierarchal systems, (c) EDI initiatives and the challenges of performative allyship, (d) EDI initiatives as agents of change, and (e) the essential role of faculty. By sharing our insights and reflections, we hope to help future social-justice-focused student groups navigate the development of a student-led EDI club.

Framing Course Content on Diversity and Inclusion: Varying Outcomes From Teaching on Disability in Sport Management

Diversity and inclusion are identified as necessary for enhancing the sport industry. Undergraduate sport management programs play an important role in educating aspiring sport professionals with respect to these topics. However, the literature indicates that sport management education can improve with respect to this work. Therefore, the purpose of this instructional technique review is to discuss two comparable teaching activities that sought to incorporate diversity and inclusion education into the content area of disability and sport-related compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Student feedback showed that despite similarities between the activities (i.e., active engagement with the Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to sport facilities), students had substantially different reported learning outcomes related to diversity and inclusion. This review is thus designed to illustrate the importance of deliberate framing decisions in the sport management classroom, which can have a transformative impact on students’ learning around diversity and inclusion content.

A Snapshot of Sport Management Courses in Australia

To prepare sport management students, curricula should align with industry. Given recent changes in sport management, the first step in aligning curricula with industry is to review current curricula. This study reviewed Australian sport management curricula using content analysis of the Common Professional Components based on the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation. From 39 universities, 11 (28%) undergraduate sport management programs were identified. The most common required sport management course was management concepts, followed by sport marketing and finance, budgeting, accounting, and economics. Public relations and ethical aspects were the least common required courses. Technology and sport sales were not offered. Results indicate that the current curricula may not be keeping pace with the sport management industry.

From the Classroom to the Industry: An Exploration of Sport Management Students’ Transitions to Employment

Thousands of students graduate from academic sport management programs annually with hopes of breaking into the sport industry. However, securing full-time employment becomes a challenge for many sport management graduates. To examine the transitional period in which graduates seek employment, the current study interviewed people who had recently earned a sport management degree (n = 16) to explore their experiences during the job search process. Given the racial demographics of participants (eight Black, eight White), the findings provide particular insight regarding racial differences and barriers Black graduates face. Findings illuminate the importance of sport management graduates strategically networking, developing targeted experiences, and considering a realistic entry point when transitioning from the classroom to the industry.

Sport Management: Lessons From Yesterday, Applications for Today, Thoughts on Tomorrow

Sport management programs continue to expand and be a popular major in institutions of higher education. The aim of this article is to share the contributions made by National Academy of Kinesiology fellows to the growth of sport management. A brief background of sport management is presented followed by an overview of each fellow’s unique contributions. More specifically, lessons learned from our first three fellows in sport management and contributions made by current members are highlighted. Next, a discussion of the current status and critical issues facing sport management is presented. The concluding section includes scholars’ thoughts and directions for future scholarship in sport management.

Faculty Diversity, Accreditation, and Sport Management

The lack of racial and gender diversity of faculty within sport management programs has been an area of concern for years. This is an exploratory longitudinal study that compared sport management faculty diversity over the course of five-years to investigate and understand how racial and gender diversity within Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) accredited sport management programs has evolved over the years. A content analysis based on the Racial and Gender Report Card (RGRC) created by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) was used to determine faculty diversity amongst COSMA accredited sport management programs. Results indicated the sport management discipline still needs to be proactive in recruiting and retaining women faculty members, as well as expanding to make programs more racially diverse when it comes to Black and Latino/a/x faculty. The implications of this study highlight how accrediting bodies such as COSMA, have the potential to play a key role in keeping sport management programs accountable for diversity initiatives through the self-study process. The Racial and Gender Report Card (RGRC) created by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) was used to determine faculty diversity amongst COSMA accredited sport management programs. Results indicated sport management discipline still needs to be proactive in recruiting women faculty members, as well as expanding to make programs more racially diverse. The implications of this study highlight how accrediting bodies such as COSMA, have the potential to play a key role in keeping sport management programs accountable for diversity initiatives through the self-study process.

Sport Management Experiential Learning: Faculty Perceptions of Opportunities, Benefits, and Support

Experiential learning is an important aspect in any learning program, but in sport management programs, it might be considered essential to the learning process and post-graduation career success. There are several types of experiential learning which include in-classroom activities, internships, practicums, cooperatives, and service learning. In many instances, more than one type of experiential learning is being used to enrich the student’s experience and prepare them for post-graduate careers. The purpose of this study is to understand the experiential learning opportunities available in collegiate sport management programs in the United States. This study utilizes interviews and open-ended questionnaire responses to look at experiential learning in sport management programs within the United States. Overall, there were 30 participants, ranging from small to large institutions, public and private, as well as teaching and research. Four themes were present after reviewing the data: a variety of internships and experiential learning opportunities, practical application, networking, and resources available to faculty. The themes presented showed the importance of experiential learning opportunities, the range of experiences in sport management programs, and the perceptions of the faculty.

Sport Management Research Productivity and Impact for Ranking Considerations

The present essay aims to promote further dialogue within the sport management community about research productivity and impact by outlining various considerations that should take place within any potential ranking attempt. Some may question why examining research production and impact matters to sport management education, but the mission of many institutions of higher education is not exclusively centered on teaching and training the next generation of leaders. In many instances, sport management programs and faculty are collectively compelled by their host institution to develop theory and search for answers to important questions that can shape future sport management practices, including classroom activities and materials. In the present essay, a rationale is provided for why sport management programs and individual faculty should be interested in developing their own tailored research output and impact rankings. Next, a list of research product variables is offered for consideration, and a conversation is provided about their need and impact with respect to the uniqueness of sport management—a multi-interdisciplinary field. Finally, recommendations for the weighing of such variables to tailor an approach best suited to programs based on college or department home, faculty appointment/workload, and faculty-to-student ratio are submitted.

Hard or Soft: An Exploration of What Skills a Sport Management Student is Lacking

An important measure of success of sport management programs in higher education is how prepared students are for their professional careers. Programs often include various experiential learning opportunities such as internships in their curriculum to improve student employability. However, there is still concern that students may not be prepared for success in their internships and in the field. The purpose of this study was to identify which skills sport management student interns needed the most improvement, according to their intern supervisor. Using a single institution, this study analyzed intern supervisor’s questionnaire responses from 2017-2022 at a small, private college in the southern United States. The questionnaire consisted of open-ended questions aimed to determine what areas that the sport management intern could improve professionally. The findings show that students needed the most improvement in areas related to soft skills, rather than hard skills. When asked what areas the intern could improve professionally, 8.3% of internship supervisors listed a hard skill, while soft skills were emphasized 91.7% of the time. The results of this study provide information that sport management programs can utilize to better prepare students for internships and the industry.

Administering Internships in Sport Management: Comparing Practices in the Discipline

This study examined how academic programs administrate their internships, including implementing and executing their philosophy and internship rationale, and connecting with and managing relationships with internship agencies while accounting for contextual information (e.g., geography, size, and research vs. teaching focus). Using a case-study methodology, 12 sport management programs’ internship approaches were analyzed, leading to several cross-case themes and larger interpretations useful for advancing future research and practice related to internships. Several commonalities and differences were observed that offer insight important for interpreting existing research and recommending practices across programs.

The VALUE of COSMA Outcomes: Student Learning Outcomes, Transferable Skills and Taxonomy Levels

Using a content analysis of all published Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) of Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) accredited programs, the current study analyzes SLOs to assess the most frequently used measurable verbs (utilizing a revised version of Blooms’ Taxonomy) and transferable skills (utilizing the definitions provided by AAC&U’s VALUE Outcomes and their corresponding rubrics) emphasized by accredited programs. An analysis of the most common Taxonomy Levels is presented at the aggregate level as well as a comparison between undergraduate and graduate education to provide a case study of SLO measurable verb alignment across accredited sport management programs. Further, content areas of the SLOs were analyzed to understand what transferable skills and specialized knowledge are focused on by sport management degree programs. The emphasis on the Apply Level verbs overall and the Create Level verbs at the graduate level provide insight into the degree of proficiency expected amongst accredited programs. The emphasis on Oral Communication in SLOs may indicate that it is the most valuable transferable skill for future sport managers according to sport management faculty. Finally, a simplified version of Bloom’s Taxonomy focusing on the verbs most frequently utilized in COSMA accredited Sport Management program SLOs is proposed.

Using Student Choice for Engaged Learning in Sport, Tourism, Recreation, and Live Entertainment Education

Fostering engaged learning in higher education contributes to students’ lifelong learning. Additionally, engaged learning prepares graduates to transfer their learning to the workplace, which is particularly important in pre-professional sport, tourism, recreation, and live entertainment (STRLE) programs. Engaged learning entails students actively and intentionally participating in their own learning, and learning autonomy is fundamental to their ownership of the learning enterprise. Student choice can be implemented as an engaged learning pedagogy by supporting student autonomy. Offering students choices in the classroom can increase engagement, enjoyment, and motivation; build competence and higher order thinking skills; and improve student success. Faculty engaged in this praxis in a sport management program at a small, private college. To further enhance student success, STRLE faculty can implement student choice following the recommended best practices. Offering choices that align with student interests and values, and provide connection and competence, best support autonomy. Faculty should also demonstrate warmth, flexibility, and consistency to increase the effectiveness of providing student choices. This commentary explores the literature on student choice as an engaged learning practice, illustrates a practice example, and makes recommendations for effectively applying student choice in the STRLE classroom.

Are we (in)visible?: Toward a critical understanding of Asian women faculty experiences in U.S. sport management

ABSTRACT Research question How do Asian women faculty’s intersecting identities influence the ways in which they identify, fulfill, and negotiate their roles in the White and masculine field of sport management? Research method We used collaborative autoethnography in which the researchers themselves were the method and the participants for this study. The purpose of using this method was to use systematic introspection and retrospection to understand the researchers’ collective experiences. Results and Findings We provide four narratives of the researchers as the findings. Themes from the narratives included masculinized, Westernized sport as an oppressive institution, forever unsettled between insider and outsider, gendered and racialized/ethnicized immigrant women. Implications Theoretically, this study extends the use of intersectionality to an understanding of Asian women experiences in the racialized and gendered space of sport. Practical implications include that sport management programs must be designed with Asian and minoritized women in mind and provide relevant resources such as support networks, therapy groups, informal mentoring, and targeted Ph.D. recruiting.

Specifications Grading in the Sport Management Classroom: Breakdown of the System and Reflections Upon Implementation With Relation to Outcomes Assessment

With increased interest in outcomes-based assessment in sport management programs, the Specifications Grading model can be implemented within individual courses to facilitate the process. Specific requirements that are articulated at course onset with explicit directions, samples of high-scoring work, and access to evaluation rubrics can set students on the path for achieving measurable benchmarks. Thus, the submissions become objective expressions of learning instead of a points-based bargaining tool. Implemented into an Introduction to Sport Management class, the model provided opportunities for consistent engagement with assessment tools in which students had agency and multiple chances to focus on improving the assessment to meet the benchmarks. The instructor reflected upon the experience, noting administrative elements to change to assist the overall implementation of the system but discovered that the Specifications Grading model centered the students in the learning process while providing meaningful outcome data for assessment purposes. Recommendations are provided for faculty interested in implementing it in their own classrooms.

Transferable Skills: Preparing Sport Management Students for Careers Both Within and Outside the Sports Industry

Sport management programs have a long history of incorporating experiential learning practices into curricula for the purpose of cultivating students’ practical competencies, both applied and transferable. However, research considering the concept (and value) of transferable skills in sport management education is notably absent. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to understand the salient, transferable skills that sport management students acquire during their undergraduate education and how these are applied to careers both within and outside the sports industry. This research is based on qualitative data collection intended to assess the impact of sport management education on career preparedness. Major findings include the importance of skills in the following areas: teamwork/collaboration, critical thinking/comprehension/analytical skills, general business knowledge, time management, public speaking/presenting, and leadership/management. This research offers important implications regarding the preparatory role of sport management academic programs and educators moving forward.

Historically Black College and University Faculty’s Perception of Commission on Sport Management Accreditation and Perceived Barriers

Program-level accreditation ensures that students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in a career that is based on industry standards. Numerous researchers have reported the cost and benefits of pursuing specialized accreditation in different disciplines. There is a dearth of research related to specialized accreditation at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in general and none specifically for sport management accreditation. Therefore, this study aims to fill the void of research on the perception of the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) by faculty and administrators at HBCUs. The researchers were given permission to utilize an existing survey. Results of this study found that the top benefits of accreditation were accountability for program improvements and recognition as a superior (elite) program/institution. Cost and redundancy were reported as major barriers to COSMA. Although HBCUs must deal with fewer resources and a lower budget than most predominantly White institutions (PWI), they are evaluated using the same accreditation standards as PWIs. Therefore, if HBCU sport management programs are going to seek accreditation with COSMA, they must be understood within the context in which they are operating—and how that may be different from PWIs.

Longitudinal Analysis of Stakeholder Attitudes Toward External Review of Sport Management Master’s Degree Programs

The trio of assessment, accreditation, and accountability is at the forefront of higher education today. National organizations serving specific disciplines often establish curricular elements, review degree programs, and provide external accountability of program quality. Sport management has had two external review options in its history, yet few studies have addressed stakeholder attitudes toward these options. Using longitudinal data, this study explored attitudes and familiarity of external review and the impact that formalized accreditation has had on sport management master’s programs. Reasons for seeking or refraining from external review remained consistent, as did familiarity with external-review standards. Results suggested a general satisfaction with the evolution from the Sport Management Program Review Council to the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

Curriculum Representation in Programs Accredited by COSMA

The curricular content of sport management degrees has been scrutinized and criticized by internal and external stakeholders. Before specialized accreditation, individual institutions decided the content of their degrees. Accreditation established a baseline of curricular content known as the Common Professional Component. To add to the body of literature on undergraduate sport management curricular development, this study analyzed the content of accredited sport management programs and the impact of institutional forces on that content. Despite institutional differences, results show consistency across the curricula of accredited programs, with experiential learning, management concepts, and sport marketing appearing most frequently.

Measuring the Yard Lines: A Discussion on Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment in Sport Management

Student learning outcomes and assessment of those outcomes have become standard in almost every accreditation, reaffirmation, and most annual reports for accrediting bodies. Additionally, outcomes and assessments are vital to continuous improvement of sport management programs. This interview was conducted with an expert on outcomes and assessment at the national level, who can provide insight from an expert on the “outside looking in.” The purpose of this interview is to discuss broader standards in educational assessment and how those standards can be applied specifically to sport management. This resource is most useful for those early in the process of outcomes and assessment creation, those who may not already have Commission on Sport Management Accreditation and training opportunities, or those who simply want to improve their classes.

Contemporary Developments in Sport Pedagogy and Their Implications for Sport Management Education

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the contemporary developments in sport pedagogy and their implications for sport management education. Sport pedagogy, as a field of study, focuses on the various teaching and learning strategies employed in sports education. It encompasses principles and approaches that aim to optimize the learning experience, enhance skill development, and create a positive and inclusive learning environment within sports settings. This paper explores the intersection of sport pedagogy and sport management education, highlighting key trends and advancements in sport pedagogy and their relevance to preparing future sport managers. The paper discusses the integration of technology in sport management education, the incorporation of experiential learning, and the promotion of inclusion and diversity in sport management programs. By embracing these contemporary developments, sport management education can enhance the learning experience, prepare students for the dynamic sports industry, and foster inclusive and culturally sensitive practices. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of integrating contemporary sport pedagogy in sport management education and outlining potential benefits for students, educators, and the sports industry. Furthermore, it identifies future directions for research and practice in this area, highlighting the need for ongoing evaluation, innovation, and adaptation to meet the evolving needs of the sports industry and its stakeholders.