Sports Management

SPMT 200     Introduction to Sports Management     3 Credit Hours

This course will provide students with an overview of sport management and leadership concepts and practice. Course content will represent a variety of sport management concepts, segments, theories, and applications. Topics include the history of sport management, youth, community and scholastic sport and recreation, professional and international sport, the relevance, and practice of managerial and leadership concepts within sport, typical settings and opportunities for sport leaders, diversity and ethical issues in sport, sustainability practices in sport, as well as a discussion of sport management education and research. Topics will be presented, explored, and measured through a combination of lectures, discussions, readings, videos, guest speakers, individual and group activities, quizzes and exams. (F, W, S).

SPMT 300     Introduction to E-Sports Management     3 Credit Hours

This course will provide students with an overview of sport management and leadership concepts and practice. Esports has transformed gaming into a global spectator sport capturing the attention of people worldwide. Facilitating the growth of esports has been the introduction of ‘franchising’ and creating official leagues for teams, owners, advertisers, and publishers to build professional organizations. This class will investigate various aspects of esports, including communication methodologies, team structure, player management, social media strategies, and league regulations. Students will explore the financial, legal & ethical, marketing, and operational issues surrounding the Esports industry. Finally, students explore career opportunities in Esports management. (F, W, S).

SPMT 310     Sports Event and Facility Management     3 Credit Hours

This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the theories, practices, and applications involved in the planning, execution, and evaluation of sport events and facility management. Students will explore the interplay between event operations and facility operations, including budgeting, marketing, legal responsibilities, staffing, risk management, and post-event evaluation. Practical application will be emphasized through case studies, group projects, and experiential learning field trips. (F, W, S).

SPMT 320     Student Athlete Development, Health, and Wellbeing     3 Credit Hours

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the nature and experience of collegiate student-athletes on college campuses This course will also examine a variety of health, sociological, psychological, academic, and cultural topics impacting collegiate student-athletes and personnel working with this population, while also addressing potential resources that target these areas. This course will also examine the role athletic identity plays in an athlete’s personal, social and professional development. (F, W, S).

SPMT 330     Research Methods in Sports Management     3 Credit Hours

This course is designed to provide the fundamentals of the research process, starting with an overview and ending with presentation of results in oral and poster format. As the course progresses, students will first learn specific details regarding all aspects of the research process. Then they will also learn the current research topics in the sports management field and discuss the applications to their professionals. (F, W, S).

SPMT 340     Sport and Exercise Psychology     3 Credit Hours

This course examines the effects of psychological factors, such as personality, motivation, group dynamics, psychomotor activity, and other psychological aspects of sports on participation and performance, as well as examining the effects of participation on the psychological make-up of the individual. (F, W, S).

SPMT 350     Sports Officiating     3 Credit Hours

Officiating is an introductory course for students interested in sports officiating. Topics include the rules and their interpretations, definitions, signals, mechanics, ethics, exceptions to the rules and positioning. The course covers football and men’s and women’s basketball. Registration with the Michigan High School Athletic Association will be available. The course would also be valuable to those students who are interested in coaching, as the coach-official relationship is a valuable tool in one’s coaching background. The sports covered are: basketball, football and track and field, baseball and softball. There will be a practical phase as well as a lecture phase of instruction. (F, W, S).

SPMT 360     Sports Governance, Regulation, Law and Policy     3 Credit Hours

The goal of this course is to introduce students in issues of governance in various societal settings as viewed through the lens of sport. Through readings, discussions and individual and group projects students will engage a wide range of scholarly literature and film to critically engage important issues that arise in the governance of sport. In this year’s course case studies that we will engage include the role of technological augmentation in sport, policies delineating participation eligibility in the Olympics according to gender, societal and policy responses to concussions in the NFL, equity in journalism related to sports reporting, genetics and athletic performance, doping in sport, sport as a laboratory for understanding prediction and decision making, and gender equity in sport and beyond. The student should emerge from this class with tools of critical thinking and analysis, along with greater substantive knowledge of various interesting and important cases in the governance of sport. (F, W, S).

SPMT 390     Special Topics in Sports Management     3 Credit Hours

Examination of problems and issues related to Sports Management. Title as listed in Schedule of Classes will change according to specific content. Course may be repeated for credit when specific topics differ. (OC).

SPMT 393     Applied Ideation in Sports     1 Credit Hour

This course explores the rapidly evolving intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and the global sports industry. Students will engage with cutting-edge innovations—from wearable performance technologies and esports platforms to AI-driven analytics, NIL marketplaces, and Web3 ventures. Guest speakers, including entrepreneurs, startup founders, and scholars (with an emphasis on highlighting Michigan talent and initiatives), will bring real-world insights into how technology is transforming the business, practice of sport, and communities. (OC).

SPMT 402     Sports Management Internship     2 to 6 Credit Hours

SPMT 402 is the Sports Management Internship Course with online instruction and onsite and/or virtual internship experience. It is a three-credit, self-paced course which is intended to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity that combines theories, principles, ideas, and skills taught in the classroom. The internship course is designed to provide skill-based experiences to prepare students for employment or further education in a broad range of professions and disciplines. Internships create avenues for students to obtain a better understanding of sports organizations, their culture, operations, resources, management systems, in addition to providing networking & possible employment opportunities. An internship application is required for registration and must be submitted by July 15th for Fall, October 15th for Winter, or March 15th for Summer. The internship application and clearance documents can be found at: https://umdearborn.edu/cehhs/cehhs-office-student-success/field-placement-office/health-and-human-services-field-placements. Students complete a relevant, pre-approved internship which may correspond to their academic program and/or career plan. (F, W, S).

Prerequisite(s): SPMT 200

SPMT 410     Inclusion and Ethics in Sport     3 Credit Hours

This course evaluates diversity, inclusion, and equity in predominately domestic and international sport organizations. The course provides students with an understanding of how differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical and mental ability, class, and sexual orientation, among others, impact and intersect the organizational experience. It allows students to explore tensions through the range of diversity dimensions among a variety of stakeholders in professional sport settings. Diversity is also assessed as an asset to enrich the professional environment. Inclusive practices are also examined in the context of policies, systems, and processes in places of employment in sport settings. (F, W, S).

SPMT 420     Principles of Coaching     3 Credit Hours

This course introduces athletic coaching. Emphasis is on a comprehensive approach to the foundations and theories of coaching including developing a coaching philosophy, sport psychology and sport physiology. Topics include coaching, goals, styles, equipment, budgeting, communication, motivation, team management, teaching sport skills, conditioning, sport specific training, nutrition, skill progression, ethics, recruiting, leadership, safety and injury prevention. (F, W, S).

SPMT 430     Leadership Development in Sport     3 Credit Hours

An examination of leadership theories and their application for effective Sport Management. There are many different leadership approaches that have been considered effective. This course will provide an overview of these approaches based on a comprehensive review of case studies and research related to the field. The primary goal of this course is to guide current and aspiring students interested in the sport industry to gain a better understanding of effective leadership. It also seeks to provide the necessary tools in developing effective leaders. (F, W, S).

SPMT 440     Sports Nutrition and Health Promotion     3 Credit Hours

This course provides a study of sports nutrition science with a dual focus: (1) understanding nutrition across the lifespan and athletic contexts, and (2) preparing students for the ISSN Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN) exam. Students will explore macronutrients, micronutrients, hydration, supplementation, weight management, and nutrition strategies for various populations. Practical skills will be developed through case studies, a practicum, and exam-style assessments modeled on the ISSN-CISSN exam. (F, W, S).

SPMT 460     Sports Promotion and Communications     3 Credit Hours

This course explores real world sport marketing with a strong emphasis on the technological, legal, and strategic shifts transforming the industry. Students will analyze the foundational principles of sport marketing while applying them to contemporary challenges. The course blends theoretical frameworks, case studies, and practical projects, preparing students for leadership in the evolving sport marketing landscape. (F, W, S).

SPMT 482     Advanced Sports Management Internship     3 Credit Hours

SPMT 482 is the Advanced Sports Management Internship Course with online instruction and onsite and/or virtual internship experience. It is the second internship requirement for the Sports Management Bachelor’s degree. The goal of the advanced internship is to offer an experiential learning opportunity that will provide students with pre-professional, practical experience within a sport business/sport management setting. This course is designed to expand students’ skill set and facilitate their career readiness. Internships create avenues for students to obtain a better understanding of sports organizations, their culture, operations, resources, management systems, in addition to providing networking & possible employment opportunities. Students will also focus on their own career readiness through the capstone portfolio project. An internship application is required for registration and must be submitted by July 15th for Fall, October 15th for Winter, or March 15th for Summer. The internship application and clearance documents can be found at: https://umdearborn.edu/cehhs/cehhs-office-student-success/field-placement-office/health-and-human-services-field-placements (F, W, S).

Prerequisite(s): SPMT 200 and SPMT 402