Students who want to combine their love of sports with career plans to manage athletic organizations can sign up for a new track within the management major.
A sport management track will now be offered for the B.S. in management program, following recent approval from the New York State Department of Education (NYSED). Enrollment will be open for the fall semester.
Adam Pfleegor, Ph.D., associate professor of management and coordinator for the program, said a growing worldwide fascination with sports is opening up career opportunities for future professionals who work in the front office rather than on the court or field.
“It’s no secret that fans in America and around the world have a thirst for sports ranging from the youth level, to intercollegiate athletics, to professional sport,” he explained. “Due to the growing, dynamic, and marginally recession-proof industry, sport organizations across the globe are in need of skilled employees and managers.”
Fleegor said global sports industry revenue is just shy of $400 billion, with $100 billion of that being contributed by the United States alone. Modern sports management programs are academically rigorous with a focus on career preparation and experiential learning.
Management majors who select the sport management track at Siena will gain an understanding of sport management principles, how to operate and maintain modern sporting venues, sport’s importance in modern society, and how to navigate ethical and legal decisions in the sport workplace. The track will prepare students to enter the workforce in a variety of industry segments including professional sport, intercollegiate athletics, interscholastic sport, community sport and recreation, not-for-profit sport organizations, and sport consulting agencies.
The acknowledgement of sports as a popular area of interest for current and prospective students continues across academic disciplines at Siena: the College already offers a sports track within its B.A. in communications program, and a concentration in sport management for the B.S. business major will be submitted soon to NYSED for approval.
What’s the difference between a “track” and a “concentration”? Although NYSED does not technically distinguish between the two, Siena defines them internally as such: a track must be taken as part of a major, while a concentration can be taken as a stand-alone group of courses.