Experiential Learning Classes
The UMass Amherst Sport Management Faculty prides itself on actively involving its students in the classroom environment. Our faculty don't just stand up and lecture - they challenge students to answer questions about how theory applies to the real world. A direct outcome of this philosophy are the experience-based classes we offer where students actually gain real-world experience. It all started in 1990, when Professors Glenn Wong and Peter Thomsen conceived and created "Sport Event Management" as a class that would create, market, and manage a live sporting event. Over the next 15 years, we have gradually added more of these classes to the point where we now offer many experience-based classes.
Those who qualify academically can gain on-the-job experience through an internship with any of a wide variety of sport organizations. Those who complete an internship usually have a distinct advantage when seeking a job. You can also take experiential learning classes which give you the edge when it comes to a real-life work environment. Whether it is working on the SoccerFest Event or doing Community Service Learning, such as Key Players, undergrads can hone strong skills for your future in the industry.
Another experiential option is to spend a semester studying abroad at Deakin University in Australia, The University of Brighton's Chelsea School of Physical Education in the United Kingdom, and the University of Stirling in Scotland. Overseas study inspires some students to seek work in international sport management.
Experiential Classes:
Sport Event Management- our first action-oriented class still exists today. Every Spring semester students organize and promote a 3-on-3/6-on-6 grassroots soccer tournament named SoccerFest. Students learn about event management and then gain practical experience marketing the event, soliciting and working with sponsors, recruiting and managing volunteers, and planning and managing all of the logistics associated with the event.
In the Fall Semester, students form their own marketing "agency" to develop and implement a marketing campaign that supports Mount Snow and the AST Winter Dew Tour. The goal of the agency is to draw in action sports fans to the main event: the Mount Snow stop of the tour. Students develop and exercise entrepreneurial, management, and marketing skills by creating promotional and internet marketing initiatives and developing local, regional, and national partnerships.
Sport Event Sponsorship - based on the success of the Sport Event Management class, this class was created as a Fall semester class where students learn about sponsorship and sales, then sell and renew sponsorships for SoccerFest. Some students are fortunate enough to sell sponsorships during the fall semester and then oversee that sponsor's activation plan associated with the event when they take the Sport Event Management class.
Community Relations in Sport - to the best of our knowledge, this is the only Community Relations course in sport management. In this class, students learn the theoretical underpinnings of cause-related marketing and corporate social responsibility, as well as the mechanics of a successful community relations program. Students then apply their knowledge to the management of a community relations program entitled Key Players Project affiliated with the Boston Celtics, whereby influential men of color in Springfield, Massachusetts are recognized for their contributions to society
Advanced Sport Marketing - Sport Sales - in response to industry's call for more experienced and trained sales professionals, this class takes a practical approach to the sales process, puts students through a sales training program, and then challenges students to sell tickets and sponsorships for a local sport organization. Organizations include UMass Athletics and the Holyoke Giants of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Applied Sport Marketing Research - graduate students have the opportunity to not only learn about marketing research, but to implement what they have learned by conducting a marketing research program for a sport organization. Projects have included: in-stadium intercepts for the Basketball Hall of Fame; benchmarking, telephone surveys, and focus groups for Boston College Athletics; an Internet survey for US Soccer and its sponsor for Philips Electronics that was posted on the US Soccer website; and benchmarking, surveys, focus groups, and observational analysis for UMass Athletics. In every case, students planned the data collection effort, implemented the data collection, managed the data, analyzed the data and prepared recommendations based on the findings that were presented to executives from each of the sponsor organizations.
