UMass Amherst
Isenberg School of Management UMass Amherst About IsenbergContact UsMap & DirectionsTour Isenberg
Isenberg HomeUndergraduate ProgramsMBA ProgramsMaster's ProgramsDoctoral ProgramsAcademic Departments
Isenberg School of Management Department of Sport Management


2006-07
University of Oklahoma
Monmouth University

2005-06
University of Maryland
Virginia Commonwealth University

UMASS SPORT MANAGEMENT Turnkey COLLEGE PRISM AWARD

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Sport Management department, located within the Isenberg School of Management, has expanded its annual PRISM Award program to include annual awards recognizing excellence in the management of Division I intercollegiate athletics programs.
Since 2000, the PRISM Awards have served as the only industry-wide award program recognizing professional sport organizations, at both the major and minor league levels, for their demonstrated excellence and innovation in sport management.
Beginning in March 2006, PRISM Awards will be presented annually to both Division I-A and Division I-AA/AAA athletic departments that best exemplify the PRISM ideals. Institutions that apply for the PRISM Awards will be assessed on the basis of the following five criteria: 1) Advancement and management of constituent relationships; 2) Student-athlete development programs; 3) Innovative marketing; 4) Fundraising and Development strategies; and 5) Employee development. The criteria for the college PRISM awards have been modified from that of the professional PRISM Awards to better reflect the mission and structure of intercollegiate athletics.
“Having established the PRISM Awards as one of the most coveted awards that a professional sport franchise can earn, we felt the time was right to expand the award program to the college ranks,” said Lisa Pike Masteralexis, Chair of the UMass Sport Management department. “While occasionally the few negative aspects of college athletics receive more media attention, the PRISM Award program provides the opportunity to recognize those institutions that at the forefront of applying the best in sport management practices to intercollegiate athletics, similar to what we have been doing on the professional sport level for the past five years.”
In addition to recognizing overall PRISM Award winners each year, honorary mention awards will also be given to those collegiate institutions that are demonstrating excellence and innovation in each of the five individual areas of assessment.
“As in the case of the PRISM Awards on the professional level, we see these new awards as a vehicle for recognizing and sharing best practices,” said Steve McKelvey, UMass Sport Management assistant professor and director of the PRISM Awards program.