Program Overview

Sport Administration (SPAD)

Course Fees

Some courses may carry fees beyond the standard tuition costs to cover additional support or materials. Program-, subject- and course-specific fee information can be found on the Office of the Bursar website.

Course List

• SPAD 502. NIL in College Athletics
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: We will explore the evolution of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes in the United States. You will learn about the various legal, marketing, branding, and ethical issues shaping the current NIL environment in college athletics. This course will place an emphasis on conversational dialogues related to NIL within college athletics and will allow students to reflect on these conversations through video discussions. The course will culminate with each student developing an NIL Marketing Strategy document.
• SPAD 509. International Sport
  • Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course is designed to examine sport from an international perspective, identifying differences in governance structures, business practices, and social issues affecting sport managers working in the global sport marketplace.
• SPAD 510. Entrepreneurship in Sport Business
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior Standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide an analysis of entrepreneurship in sport and the sport industry. Emphasis will be placed on the structure and framework of entrepreneurial endeavors and the theory and practice on entrepreneurs in sport.
• SPAD 521. Independent Study in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor
  • Description: Independent examination of selected topic(s) in Sport Administration.
• SPAD 524. Management of Professional Baseball
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course is designed to examine the professional baseball segment of the sport industry from a managerial perspective, identifying the sports history, governance structures, and the social issues affecting sport managers.
• SPAD 525. Sport Event Planning and Management
  • Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course is designed to introduce students to principles and practices of planning, funding, operating, and evaluating events within the sport industry. This course includes actual hands-on involvement with event planning and management.
• SPAD 529. Women and Sport
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: An effort to understand the role of the American woman in sport. Studies concepts about women, sport, and society in contemporary and historical perspectives.
• SPAD 530. Sport Sales and Fundraising
  • Prerequisite(s): C- or better in SPAD 281 and C- or better in SPAD 284; admission to the College of Education and Human Development or College of Business or officially accepted as a Sport Administration minor
  • Description: Covers the application of various promotional strategies such as advertising, direct sales, sales promotion, and publicity and examines how those strategies are integral to a sport organization's marketing plan.
• SPAD 536. Sport Administration in Nonprofit Organizations
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles of management and their practical applications to sport, leisure and recreation organizations in the nonprofit sector.
• SPAD 561. Special Topics in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: To enable students to gain knowledge, skills, and competencies on topics related to Sport Administration. Provide advanced study on selected topics or emerging issues related to the management, administration, or culture of sport.
• SPAD 571. Sport for Development and Peace
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will introduce students to sports for social change, often referred to as Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). Through this class, students will develop practical and theoretical knowledge of SDP by learning about key issues and concepts. The goal of the class is for students to develop an understanding of how SDP relates to their future career of choice in the sport industry.
• SPAD 604. Sport Finance and Economics
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: Examine advanced financial and economic concepts necessary for financial literacy in the sport business industry. Special emphasis placed on reading and analyzing financial statements, incorporating the time value of money into the financial decision-making process, and critically assessing economic impact analyses.
• SPAD 605. Sports Facility Management
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
  • Description: Investigates the design and development of various athletic facilities in diverse settings. Examines corporate, community, and commercial facilities for strengths and weaknesses in design and management procedures.
• SPAD 625. Sport Management and Leadership
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to MS program or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course is an overview of the nature and scope of the sport industry. This course will expand the students' understanding of management theories and their application to sport administration.
• SPAD 635. Research in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: A critical analysis of current research and literature in Sport Administration and the sport business industry for practical application. Students will identify a research question; develop a review of literature; develop a research design; and identify possible implications and applications.
• SPAD 637. Sport Analytics
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: An in-depth exploration of analytical methods applied within the sports industry. This course provides students with hands-on experience using quantitative data to analyze sports-related problems and design effective solutions. Students will develop proficiency in both interpreting and producing sports analytics, utilizing descriptive and predictive techniques to address a variety of challenges in the field.
• SPAD 645. Sport Communication Theory and Practice
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: The purpose of this course is three-fold: 1) to explore sport communication theories and how they relate to current issues and topics within the sport communication realm, particularly as they address mass media communication and the larger sport environment; 2) to gain a firm understanding of how media theory is applied to peer-reviewed research in the realm of sport communication; and 3) to examine more practical concepts, activities, and behaviors related to sport communication and apply them to professional and collegiate sport.
• SPAD 653. Sport and Film
  • Term Typically Offered: Summer Only
  • Description: An examination and critical analysis of sport in film. This course uses popular sport films to investigate the role of sport in our culture, encourage critical thinking, and appreciate issues of diversity.
• SPAD 661. Special Topics in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Description: To enable students to gain knowledge, skills, and competencies on topics related to Sport Administration. Provides advanced study on selected topics or emerging issues related to the management, administration, or culture of sport.
• SPAD 680. Athletics and Higher Education
  • Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
  • Description: Examination of the historical development of athletics within American institutions of higher learning with an emphasis upon concept and ideas that underlie the developments and the major problems affecting contemporary intercollegiate athletics.
• SPAD 683. Strategic Sport Marketing
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: This course focuses on marketing and sponsorship concepts across a range of sport contexts. A special emphasis is placed on developing effective marketing strategies in the modern sport industry.
• SPAD 684. Sport Policy
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: Provides an overview of sport governance structure, and evaluates policy trends and issues of importance to the practitioner in sport administration.
• SPAD 685. Case Studies in Sport Administration
  • Prerequisite(s): SPAD 618, SPAD 625, and SPAD 683
  • Description: Applications of critical analysis and decision making models to sport industry settings; focus on management and social issues.
• SPAD 689. Legal Aspects in the Sport Industry
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  • Description: Examines legal issues involving athletes, administrators, athletic trainers, coaches, equipment manufacturers, officials, operators of sport facilities, physicians, and the spectator.
• SPAD 692. Internship in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Prerequisite(s): 12 hours in SPAD, and consent of instructor
  • Description: Supervised practical work experience in an organization or business related to student's academic field, area of specialization, or career interest. Students enrolled in class must work a minimum of 300 hours at their internship site.
• SPAD 699. Directed Readings in Sport Administration
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Prerequisite(s): Fifteen graduate hours and consent of sport administration instructor
  • Description: Supervised readings and written project relating to a specific research topic in physical education.
• SPAD 701. Doctoral Seminar in Sport Administration Research
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to PhD program or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze and discuss theories related to behavior of individuals and groups in sport and exercise organizations.
• SPAD 702. Research Colloquium in Sport Administration I
  • Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to PhD program or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze emerging research with other students, faculty, and guest researchers/presenters.
• SPAD 703. Doctoral Seminar in Sport Consumer Research
  • Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to PhD program or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze and discuss theories related to the marketing of sport and exercise organizations.
• SPAD 704. Research Colloquium in Sport Administration II
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to PhD program or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze emerging research with other students, faculty, and guest researchers/presenters. Students will also work with faculty on their dissertation topic and drafts of their dissertation proposal.
• SPAD 705. Doctoral Seminar in Social Issues in Sport
  • Term Typically Offered: Spring Only
  • Prerequisite(s): Admission to PhD program, or consent of instructor
  • Description: This course will provide students with the opportunity to analyze and discuss theories related to social issues in sport.