The sports leadership specialization curriculum provides professional preparation for management and leadership positions with professional sports teams, intercollegiate and intramural athletics and recreation programs at secondary and post-secondary institutions, colleges and universities and amateur athletic organizations.
Offered as a specialization within the EdD/PhD program in leadership, the sports leadership specialization provides profession preparation for careers in private and public health and fitness clubs, corporate fitness and wellness programs, sports stadiums and arenas, and the sports marketing, management and communications firms that service the larger marketplace.
Doctoral candidates must complete:
in subject areas covering:
Candidates must also complete:
Pick four:
Choose one:
For the EdD, Practitioner Track (10 hours)
For the PhD, Researcher Track (16 hours)
The analysis of the methodological and statistical components of existing research data to enhance and facilitate the educational decision making process. Particular attention is given to applications regarding issues of educational policy.
This course is designed to emphasize the practical application of concepts, principles, and practices between sports organizations and community associations as it relates to the role of sport leader and administrator. Students will be required to review course materials, participate in discussion forums, and conduct research to acquire a thorough understanding of sports administration principles and theories.
In this course, concepts, skills and strategies for the enhancement of personal and professional leadership are examined. One’s fundamental leadership beliefs and assumptions are explored along with organizational performance and achievement.
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the critical issues faced by leaders in every organization in the 21st century. Current, relevant, and timely resources are explored to provide students with opportunities to analyze both organizations and their leadership.
In this course, students explore and examine contemporary and classical leadership theories and their application to a variety of professional settings; students assess and evaluate organization’s leadership platform, policies and professional practices.
In this course, students examine and explore human resources policies and practices; administrative supervision strategies and effective communication techniques; job performance, employee development and deployment, diverse work force, employment law, training and development, harassment and health issues and disabilities and discrimination.
Leading the Knowledge Enterprise is a course that introduces students to the exciting and sometimes hard to define field of knowledge management. The role of the leader is emphasized, especially as it relates to identifying and leveraging the intellectual capital of an organization; promoting and facilitating knowledge sharing and innovation; intellectual assets, knowledge management strategy, knowledge management cycle and knowledge taxonomies.
Effective change leadership requires an understanding of the basic principles and practices underlying innovation, change processes and sustainability in organizations. The focus of LDR-7030 is initiating, implementing and ensuring continuation of change as a key leadership challenge. Various change theories and principles are examined with an emphasis on the leader’s role in capacity building, creativity, organizational strengths and style. Participants are encouraged to develop a more situated and experience informed approach to change in the organizational front lines.
In this course, students explore and examine the five disciplines of learning organizations; characteristics of learning organizations, growth cycles, building capacity and sustainability.
This course examines strategic planning models, forecasting methods, trend analysis, futuring, problem-based learning, return on investment, organizational health and effectiveness, cost/benefit analysis and research and planning.
This course introduces legal issues, and professional ramifications in field of sports management through the examination of regulations, government intervention, and ethically pertinent scenarios. This course allows learners to acquire a thorough understanding of legal considerations, which affect the interaction of league officials and athletes, their professional behavior, and what laws are established to protect their rights and assure they accountable for their actions.
The domain of sports, most notably, professional sports, has been elevated to one of the highest rungs of the financial ladder by having entered the world of professional entertainment industry. In the 21st century, sport has secured its place as one of the paramount forms of entertainment from Friday night high school football games to the Olympic venues. To function as an administrator within this profession, it is imperative to have a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic role of economics. In this course, students explore and examine the concepts and models of micro and intermediate economics as related to the business of sport.
In this course, students develop a framework with an in-depth analysis of the various tools, techniques, ratios, formulas, and other finance-related information, complex financial concerns in the sports workplace.
This course introduces students to the valuable change management process in the dynamic world of sports leadership and management, preparing them to use and apply these skills practically with an understanding of varying concepts, theories and opinions.
This course is designed to teach students what diversity is and how it applies to sports in general and more specifically to gender, race, and various cultures. The course will help Learners understand the unique challenge for sports leaders to better understand diversity and through this understanding help “level the playing field.”
Explore and examine the relationship between the mass media and the sports industry. Topics include sports broadcasting, print media and the development of public relation tools such as media guides and press releases, effective principles, theories, practices and methods involved with all aspects of sports communications.
Examines the principles and practices necessary to plan, develop, promote, operate and maintain sporting events, athletic centers and recreational facilities. Emphasis is on issues concerning personnel, finance, profitability, security, concessions, convention centers, event scheduling, equipment management, facilities maintenance and topics related to liability and risk management.
Coaching requires leadership abilities, social awareness, expertise in athletic components, and the ability to transcend these principles through recognized methodologies. This course focuses on the major coaching theories and models, methods, practices, and outcomes. Topics include study of first principles in coaching, coaching cases and analyses, great coaches, coaching decision making, and other contemporary issues.
Sports are integrated into society and enjoyed throughout the world on a cultural and competitive level. This course examines the social, political, cultural, philosophical, psychological, historical and practical aspects of sport history and evolution.
This course provides an overview of principles and practices related to effectively managing a recreation and leisure program. Issues of branding, marketing, media, and personnel selection and development are considered.
This course will build on Foundations & Theoretical Perspectives and provide students academic opportunities to identify and establish their personal and professional ideals and dispositions in relation to the academic literature and the mission/vision of their educational, recreational, and professional setting. Academic/co-curricular connectivity of sport and society.
This course explores and examines the purpose and added value of assessment and evaluation in the recreation/leisure settings. Basic procedures and designs are used to develop a professional program evaluation/assessment plan. Cycle of evaluation/assessment, needs assessment, program planning and design, outcomes, objectives, findings, reporting for data driven decision-making.
Application of change theory to large and small organizations. Leadership strategies for successful change implementation.
Educational policy-making at the macro (national, regional and state) and micro (local and institutional) levels. Selected educational policies.
Ethical theories and practice of school district leadership.
Sports Leadership and Ethics is designed to prepare learners to evaluate business principles, theories and responsibilities in the field of sports management, with an increased understanding of acceptable practices, human capital, and professionalism. In addition, this course provides learners with an understanding societal reasonability, common moral and ethical values, and how they are applied to varying sports leadership scenarios.
In this course students will examine the ethical dilemmas of leadership, the foundations and context of moral choice and the moral implications of decision making. In doing so, the purpose is to make visible the ethical challenges and decision criteria facing leaders, the role of politics and power in organizations and the leader’s ability to promote and infuse organizational ethics and integrity into the culture.
Principles and application of action research planning, implementation and reflection in educational environments. Exploration of collaborative, participatory and individual approaches to action research methods that can be utilized to improve schools and/or organizations.
This course introduces students to survey and instrument development including issues related to operationalizing variables, survey construction, sampling, coding, analysis, and evaluating the reliability and validity of survey research methods.
Principles of research theory, methods, inquiry, problem formulation, data collection, literature searches, and ethical considerations. Emphasis on how to design a doctoral-level research study.
An introduction to quantitative analysis of data. Statistical software will be used to explore descriptive and inferential statistics using both non-parametric and parametric techniques.
An examination and application of qualitative research approaches with focus on research design, the role of the researcher, data collection and analysis, and writing from a qualitative perspective.
This course explores the theory, design, and application of mixed methods research.
An introduction to advanced statistical concepts including multivariate analysis, linear models, hierarchical linear models, factor analysis and data management. Students will use statistical software packages and will learn to write basic syntax for custom analysis.
This course will prepare students to utilize naturalistic inquiry in their own research, most immediately, the dissertation experience. Students will be able to reflect on choices of inquiry paradigms, the goodness of fit between the problem and the approach chosen to explore it, the selection of appropriate instruments, and the role of the writer in the presentation of findings.
The specialization in sports leadership is designed to equip students with the ability to:
In addition to the overall objectives of the Leadership department and its programs, students will acquire the following knowledge, skills, and competencies in the Leadership program’s specialization sports leadership:
Students who successfully complete this degree program will:
The doctoral degree specialization in Sport Leadership provides working professionals and sports enthusiasts the opportunity to achieve both personal and professional goals in today’s growing sports industry. Doctoral degree candidates typically pursue careers or attain academic credentials with the objective of working in a sports or educational environment in an administrative/leadership role.