Today there are hundreds of sports administration programs. In 1966, there was only one: ours.
The undergraduate sport management program at Ohio University will give you the academic preparation and practical training required for success in the sport industry. Because we believe hands-on experience is the best way to learn, we provide a variety of ways to get you involved and active through our AECOM Center for Sports Administration. The center will connect you to internships, job opportunities, and unique experiences, like the San Diego Consulting Project. Additionally, our student organizations support classroom work by providing volunteer experiences and management of their own events. Active organizations include Sport Business Administration, Sports Law and Labor Society, Sigma Alpha Sigma Mu, and Sports Analytics Team.
Students that major in sport management will graduate with a Bachelor of Sport Management (BSM).
85% of our 2021 sport management graduates experienced positive outcomes such as employment or continuing education within six months after commencement. Many students have even accepted offers during their senior year.
Our AECOM Center for Sports Administration connects students to internships, job opportunities, and exclusive sports industry experiences. Learn about some of the unique on and off-campus opportunities that we offer.
Our Career & Student Success Center is ready to help you understand how to use good career marketing strategies beginning in your freshman year. We’re ready to help you find the perfect internship or job. In addition to business career fairs and career coaches, you’ll have access to Handshake and Teamwork Online, web-based systems where employers post positions, review resumes, and connect with candidates. Plus, participate in workshops, seminars, and even one-on-one coaching to make sure you’re presenting yourself the right way and achieving your career goals.
View the Sport Management Major profile page in OHIO's Undergraduate Catalog to see additional requirements, such as Individual Core Requirements or Introductory Cluster Requirements.
All BSM students will complete an experiential learning opportunity, including one of the following:
Please complete one of the following options. Please contact your advisor or the BSM program director for additional information about these options.
Careers in the sports industry vary greatly. With a sport management degree from Ohio University’s College of Business, you’ll have the business acumen combined with an understanding of the special nature of the sports industry that will prepare you for the competitive world of sports business. Examples of careers our graduates pursue include:
Questions about career opportunities in the sport industry? Contact Annie Valeant at valeant@ohio.edu or 740-597-9008.
VP of Business Development
Richard Childress Racing, North Carolina
Jason Golden graduated from Ohio University in 2001 with a bachelors in sport management.
Prior to coming his current role, Jason served as the general manager of the Marshall Thundering Herd Sports Properties for IMG College, and previously managed corporate partnerships with ISP Sports at University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as well as the the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
Since we know that hands-on experience is the best way to learn, our students are encouraged to participate outside of the classroom in a variety of activities.
A career expo that provides an in-depth look at professions within the sports industry. This forum is designed to bridge the gap between the undergraduate, graduate, and professional sports administration students for professional development, networking, and access to industry experts.
Provides students the opportunity to put their classroom knowledge into practice. The students, along with select students from around the country, act as business consultants for the San Diego Padres and work over the course of the trip to develop new, unique ways to drive ticket sales.
Takes students to Bayreuth, Germany to work with students at our partner institution, the University of Bayreuth. Here, the students engage in consulting projects with executives from adidas, Puma, and our academic partners to create an intensive and immersive experience.
The Southern Ohio Copperheads are a summer, wood bat baseball team offering professional-style baseball entertainment in the Athens area. OHIO students perform in key administrative roles and general game day staff creating a unique learning laboratory for the application of classroom work. This experience adds to the general education of our students and fulfills practicum credit.
Once students are enrolled in the Sport Management major, they may be pre-selected for the Double Degree Program. In this program, students earn two bachelor's degrees from two different universities (Ohio University, and the University of Bayreuth in Germany) within the regular four-year period of their undergraduate studies, gaining enriching and memorable international experiences along the way. This exceptional Double Degree program is offered through the Department of Sports Administration.
Sigma Alpha Sigma Mu (SASM) is the first and only professional Sport Management fraternity in the nation. The purpose of a SASM Chapter shall be to provide a platform for highly involved and academically excellent undergraduate Sport Management students to prepare and develop professionally for a career in the sports industry.
SASM Website, Faculty Advisor: Matt Cacciato
The Ohio University Sports Business Association (SBA) helps connect aspiring sport professionals through sport-based opportunities, meetings, and social events.
Faculty Advisors: Jim Kahler, Annie Valeant
The mission of Women in Sports (WIS) provides the resources to prepare undergraduate and graduate students exploring a career in sports by focusing on workshops, networking opportunities, empowering personal development opportunities to better enable students to thrive and succeed in the sports industry.
Faculty Advisors: Christina Wright and Melissa Davies
Ohio University's Association of Multicultural Sports Professional (AMSP) was established to support and promote diversity in the sport workforce. It is our duty to build each other professionally through workshops and events to successfully transition into a graduate program or professional sports career.
Faculty Advisor: Brandon Wright
The Ohio Sports Analytics Team (OSAT) meets weekly to discuss and investigate developments in the field of analytics. The organization works with students to develop case studies looking at recent works in sports analytics and encourages members to develop their own insights.
OSAT Website, Faculty Advisor: Liz Wanless
Our vision is to allow Ohio University student members to have a comprehensive understanding of how professionals working in sports agency got their jobs. Through listening to our members’ interests, we will direct, and seek out, information to be learned in each society meeting.
Faculty Advisors: Brandon Wright and Kelley Walton
The purpose of Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) is to help students pursuing a career in sports journalism to become better journalists. We do this through workshops, guest speakers and weekly meetings in order to help our members improve their craft and build connections within the sports journalism field.
Faculty Advisor: Matt Cacciato
OHIO's undergraduate and graduate sport programs are accredited by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA), a specialized accrediting body that promotes and recognizes excellence in sport management education in colleges at the baccalaureate and graduate levels.
Contact department chair Jim Strode at strode@ohio.edu or 740-593-9319 to learn more about OHIO's Sport Management program.
