Mark H. McCormack Department-Sport Management

Sport Management

Cherington Joins Blue Jays as VP, Baseball Operations

Ben Cherington (MS 1997) has been named as Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Toronto Blue Jays. He will work with many facets of the front office’s baseball side, with an emphasis on player development. Cherington, began his career in 1998 with the Cleveland Indians as an advance scout, & led the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2013 while serving as the Executive VP and GM.

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McCormack Sport Management Department Ranked #4 Globally

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management has been ranked as the #4 graduate-level sport management program in the world by Sports Business International. The department also received the global #1 ranking as Course Leaders Choice

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SBJ Recognizes McCormack Sport Management for leadership in International Education

In an article in its July 25th issue entitled “Programs build out international focus,” SportsBusiness Journal featured the McCormack Department of Sport Management’s partnership programs with Uninove, a Brazilian university, and the J.League, Japan’s premier professional soccer league.

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BS in Sport Management

Sport management students are collaborative leaders and well-rounded achievers. They want to take their passion for sports to the next level, and they’re willing to practice hard to succeed. They understand that having a business background will help them deliver.

What will I learn?

The curriculum offers a foundation of principles in marketing, law and management as applied to the unique aspect of the sport industry. Offering:

Core courses in Sport Sociology, Sport History, Sport Law, Sport Marketing, Sport Management, Sport Finance and Business, and Management of Events

Electives in College Athletics, Sport Communications, Sport Analytics, Arena/Stadium Management, Sport Agencies, Sport and New Media, Sport Economics, Sport Marketing Research

How will I learn?

The Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management faculty prides itself on actively involving its students in the classroom. Our faculty challenge students to answer questions about how theory applies to the real world through experiential learning.

Students can participate in SoccerFest event management, sales training with local organizations such as UMass Athletics & the Boston Bruins, or the NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion Program through an independent study.

What will do with my degree?

Sport management majors take positions in a broad spectrum of industries, including professional sports, amateur sports, marketing agencies and event management companies.

Recent graduates have been placed at companies that include:

Major League Baseball - New York Mets - Boston Red Sox - Madison Square Garden - T3 Travel - ENERGYbits - New England Revolution - Philadelphia Flyers - Reebok - NASCAR - Philadephia Flyers

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MBA/MS Dual Degree in Sport Management

Widely respected for the breadth and quality of its faculty, curriculum and research, the McCormack Department of Sport Management has been hailed by The Chronicle of Higher Education, SportsBusiness Journal, The Wall Street Journal and other publications as a world leader in its field.

Key attributes of the program

Our affiliation with a highly-ranked business school -- Isenberg School of Management
Our program has among the world's largest, most professionally diverse faculty devoted exclusively to sport management creating a veritable sports think-tank that includes experts in law, marketing, finance, sociology, economics, and collegiate sports
Our international stature is confirmed by the fact that our program boasts graduates from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and more
Our emphasis on active, experiential learning
Our close, diverse, and symbolic ties to the spectator sport industry and a network of over 3,000 alumni

Curriculum

Teaming up with the Full-time MBA Program the student will receives two degrees over approximately two years. Some courses offered are:

MBA Program
Strategic Information Management
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Human Resource Management

MS Program
Sport and the Law
Applied Sport Marketing Research
Socio-Historical Foundations of Modern Sport

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Student Insight

“I chose the Sport Management program because of its unmatched support and alumni connections. I have been blown away by how deeply professors and McCormack alumni care for students and how willing they are to help. Academically, I have been challenged to think beyond the classroom and apply knowledge to real client projects. To top it all off, working with classmates from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities has afforded me a much broader perspective on the sport industry.”

- Rachel Lee, '17 MBA/MS Candidate

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MS in Sport Management

Get a competitive edge with a graduate degree from the "Business School for Sport Business."

The Master of Science in Sport Management requires 35 credits, and students generally complete the program in 1 year. Through course work and a wealth of experiential learning-based projects, students will gain an in-depth understanding of business in the sport industry across a multitude of topic areas.

Our Curriculum, Your Future

Our rigorous curriculum - taught by one of the largest full-time faculties in the country - is specifically designed to blend theory with practice. We offer the broadest selection of experiential learning classes in the country. You will acquire real-world experience from our classes, including sport marketing, sport communications, sales promotion, and sport analytics.

Our commitment to diversity is also found in the array of career interests we help foster. The field of sport management is thriving, and there is a driving demand for sport business-trained professionals. Having students pursuing careers in a wide range of industry segments not only adds to the classroom dynamic, but also begins to build each students' long-term network.

Student Insight

"I chose UMass to assist with my professional pivot because of the exceptionality of the faculty, the strength of the alumni network, and the high esteem that the program holds in the sport management sector. The cherry on top is the engaging community that fosters growth through collaboration in a non-competitive space."

- Kellen Williams, '15

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MBA with a focus in Sport Management

The Isenberg MBA program is flexible enough to fit your needs and rigorous enough to make you competitive.

Our comprehensive, experience based programs offer best-in-class curriculums, and exposure to instructors and alumni from the highest levels of sports. Earn an Isenberg MBA with a focus in Sport Management and kick off your career today.

Offered Online & In-Person

Pursuing an Online MBA or Full-time MBA with a Sport Management focus can provide the next step in changing or elevating your profession. Our high-energy, high-intensity program provides you with the core business skills as well as the high-level understanding and insights into cutting-edge issues and trends in sport management that can best prepare you for a leadership position in the sport industry.

Program Requirements

To earn an MBA with a focus in Sport Management, students take core curriculum classes as well as electives for a total of 45 credit hours. To achieve the 45 credits, students will take the core MBA curriculum, 36 credit hours as well as 9 credit hours of Sport Management electives for the focus. There will also be an option for students to complete a practicum for additional credits.

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PhD in Sport Management

Isenberg’s PhD in sport management is a full-time, residential program that prepares students for careers in academia.

Nefertiti A. Walker

Assistant Professor

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Research

Isenberg has a strong focus on research. Faculty members are working on a wide variety of research projects, investigating such topics as:

Gender and race dynamics in sport
Economic testing of ethnicity discrimination amongst referees
Federal regulation of sports agents
Impact of social media on companies and athletes
Ticket price strategy
Sport leadership development
Ambush marketing
Labor relations in professional sports

Degree Timeline

Students must take 48 credits of coursework. Students must pass both a qualifying and comprehensive examination, and must complete three years of teaching at Isenberg. During the final years, students research, write and defend a dissertation.

YEAR 1: Coursework, including statistics, research methods and sports management core courses; Qualifying exam

YEAR 2: Coursework, including statistics, major field electives and minor field courses; Comprehensive exam

YEAR 3: Development of dissertation proposal; Teaching

YEAR 4-5: Dissertation research; Teaching

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Our Faculty

Todd Crosset

Undergraduate Program Director & Associate Professor, Sport Management

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Elizabeth B Delia

Assistant Professor, Sport Management

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Janet S. Fink

Department Chair & Professor, Sport Management

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Matthew Katz

Assistant Professor, Sport Management

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Tony Lachowetz

Director Internships & Senior Lecturer, Sport Management

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Neil Longley

Professor, Sport Management

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Lisa Pike Masteralexis

Associate Dean for Administration & Associate Professor, Sport Management

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Mark McDonald

Associate Professor, Sport Management

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Steve McKelvey

Associate Department Chair for External Relations & Associate Professor, Sport Management

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E. Nicole Melton

Assistant Professor, Sport Management

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William Norton

Lecturer, Sport Management

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Nefertiti A. Walker

Assistant Professor, Sport Management

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Sport Management

Cherington Joins Blue Jays as VP, Baseball Operations

McCormack Sport Management Department Ranked #4 Globally

SBJ Recognizes McCormack Sport Management for leadership in International Education

BS in Sport Management

What will I learn?

How will I learn?

What will do with my degree?

MBA/MS Dual Degree in Sport Management

Key attributes of the program

Curriculum

Student Insight

MS in Sport Management

Our Curriculum, Your Future

Student Insight

MBA with a focus in Sport Management

Offered Online & In-Person

Program Requirements

PhD in Sport Management

Research

Degree Timeline

Our Faculty

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