By Rick Smith, Associate Professor of Sport Management
In 1999, the first MC student earned a sport management credential when they earned a minor in sport management. Twenty five years later, the growth of sport management at MC mirrors the growth nationally, as now more than 500 colleges and universities have a “business of sports” degree. Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) is credited as creating the first sport management degree program created in the 1970s.
Today’s sport management program is one of MC’s most enrolled programs, busting at the seams with nearly 60 students enrolled, and is starting to be discovered nationally with the work the students do “Outside Of The Lockerroom.”
That tagline has become a rallying cry for sport management students who understand that to get a job in sport, you must have a resume that shows professional experience. At a minimum, each sport management student must complete one internship (for the minor) or two internships and the capstone (for the major) to earn the credential. But to be competitive, more is needed.
Sophomore Adi Heath entered MC as a marketing major and has added sport management to her academic resume. She completed one internship in the summer and two job
shadow work experiences with the Savannah Bananas. “I didn’t choose Marietta because i was recruited to play a sport. I chose Marietta to prepare me better for my future.” said Heath who is a member of the softball team. She added about the shadow experience: “I learned a multitude of things that you cannot learn by studying. I learned about Fan Engagement, Merchandising, Human Resources, and, most importantly, being ‘Fans First’.”
Students who want to be competitive for admission to graduate school or an entry-level job after graduation know it takes more than internships. Each year, the program works at two ESPN-owned and operated college football bowl games: The roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl and the Myrtle Beach Bowl. They also have worked with the Savannah Bananas since 2022, often going to Savannah during spring break to work games, and then meeting them in cities around the country to work on their “World Tour” including cities in California, Maine, Florida, and Iowa, as well as Cleveland, Columbus, Washington D.C., and Charleston (WV).
The students have also worked at an NCAA Men’s Final Four, (and plan to work the 2025 event in San Antonio) and they have worked the NCAA Women’s Final Four the past two years – 2023 in Dallas and 2024 in Cleveland. The marketing firm that the NCAA hires to help manage the fan experience at the NCAA Women’s Final Four called MC students “The Gold Standard” of workers, and that sentiment is echoed by other industry professionals who interact with the students.
Recently, students have earned admission into very competitive graduate school programs such as Ohio University (often ranked #1 or #2 in the world), Florida Atlantic University (top 15 in the world), Georgetown University and Providence College, in part because of their professional experience that sets them apart from other applicants. Additionally, recent graduates have worked for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rapids, PGA Tour, and Cleveland Guardians, work for agencies that service sports teams, and are graduate assistants and / or full-time employees at colleges and university’s athletics departments, among other segments of the industry.
As the program looks forward on the next 25 years, professional experience will be the cornerstone of the program, while still maintaining the strong base that has been established and sets Marietta apart: a contemporary liberal arts education, with a business curriculum as the base for the sport management curriculum.
Do you or a fellow MC alumnus you know work in sport? If so, please send Associate Professor Rick Smith an email at rcs003@marietta.edu. He is building a database of Long Blue Line members who work in the sport industry, regardless of their undergraduate degree.