Why Choose Sport Management at Bethel University?
The sports world runs on more than talent. It runs on the people who market the teams, manage the venues, sell the sponsorships, and lead the organizations behind the games. Bethel University's Sport Management Emphasis puts you on that side of the industry, pairing a real business education with specialized coursework in sport marketing, finance, governance, law, and event management.
What makes this emphasis stand out is how hands-on it is. Beyond the classroom, you will complete guided field experience and an internship in an actual sport management setting, so you graduate with a resume that already shows industry experience. At a university where athletics is woven into campus life, you will learn the business of sport in a place that lives it.
What You’ll Learn
In this program, you will learn:
- A foundation in sport management principles applied to professional sport and recreation organizations
- Sport marketing skills, including market research, public attitudes, and corporate sponsorship proposals
- The ability to develop and manage sport sponsorships through sales and promotions
- Event planning expertise across researching, coordinating, marketing, and evaluating sporting events
- Sport finance knowledge for increasing revenue and controlling costs in the sport industry
- An understanding of sport governance, including the politics, ethics, and leadership of sport organizations
- A working knowledge of sports law, including liability, contracts, athletes' rights, and risk management
- Leadership skills tailored to developing effective leaders in sports management
- Insight into the relationship between sport, society, leisure, and recreation
- Applied data analytics skills for turning sport and business data into usable insight
- Real industry experience through guided field work and an internship
Courses You'll Take
These are the core sport management and business courses that define the major:
SPM 240, Sales and Promotion in Sports
SPM 303, Sports Management
SPM 306, Event Planning and Fundraising in Sports
SPM 309, Society and Sport
SPM 315, Sport Marketing
SPM 400, Sport Governance
SPM 401, Sport Leadership
SPM 405, Sport Finance
SPM 410, Applied Data Analytics
SPM 452, Experiential Learning in Sports Management
SPM 460, Internship
PED 413, Organization and Administration of Health & Physical Education
PED 416, Sports Law
BUS 310, Business Law I
Plus 6 hours of upper-level electives, chosen from any ACT, BUS, CIS, ECO, or SPM course numbered 300 or above; Options include Media and Public Relations in Sport along with a range of upper-level business courses.
Career Possibilities
Athletic Administrator
Manages the operations of an athletic department or program, including staffing, budgets, scheduling, and compliance.
Sports Marketing Coordinator
Develops and executes marketing campaigns that build fan engagement, ticket sales, and brand awareness for teams or events.
Facility Operations Manager
Oversees the day-to-day operations of arenas, stadiums, or recreation facilities, including events, staffing, and maintenance.
Sports Information and Public Relations Specialist
Manages communications, media relations, and public messaging for a team, athletic department, or sport organization.
Recreation Director
Leads recreational and sport programming for a community, campus, or organization, including staffing and budgets.
Sport Organization Manager
Applies business and management skills to lead the staff, finances, and strategy of a sport or recreation organization.
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