Event planners who would like to advance their careers into the management realm can give themselves a significant boost with a new Master of Science degree program in sport and entertainment management offered at Southern.
And since many in the field are already working long hours – sometimes at night and on weekends – the 36-credit program will be entirely online.
Jim MacGregor, chairman of the Recreation and Leisure Studies Department, says there appears to be an increased demand for such programs – especially in the Northeast. “Our location in between Boston and New York – a hotbed for sports and entertainment – is ideal,” he said. “We will be one of only a handful of universities across the country to offer a graduate degree in this discipline.”
Students will complete an 18-credit core and then choose 6 credits from either the sport or entertainment option. They will also take 6 credits in the Master of Business Administration program, as well as a 6-credit capstone, which could be either a thesis or internship with a special project.
The program will feature many new “core courses,” among them:
- Sport and Entertainment Finance
- Sport & Entertainment Law
- Marketing and Sales in Sport and Entertainment
- Global Issues in Sport and Entertainment
- Facility and Event Management
Careers in sport management include such jobs as venue managers, marketing and sales staff, recreational sport directors, higher education recreation/student affairs managers, public relations specialists, human resource managers and finance managers.
MacGregor said careers in entertainment management include jobs with artist or event management companies, talent booking agencies, marketing and merchandising firms, promotional companies, public relations firms, performing arts centers and cultural heritage sites and museums.
The program will include full-time faculty, as well as Donna Lopiano, founder and president of Sports Management Resources, former chief executive officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation and former director of women’s athletics at the University of Texas; and Constance Zotos, an associate professor at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, and former director of athletics at several colleges and universities.
For additional information contact Lee deLisle, program coordinator, at (203) 392-7159.
