Sports Management

Get on-the-job experience, including two 50-hour practicums with our own Department of Athletics, working alongside those who manage our Division I sports programs in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Sports Management major prepares leaders to work in the business side of sports, where you will use the same management, financial, operational and marketing skills as any other business industry.

It's an exciting, in-demand industry, one the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts will see expansion through the end of the decade.

Choose one of four career-oriented disciplines

A business degree at its core, our Sports Management majors choose an area of concentration from one of four business disciplines:

Accounting
Finance
Human Resource Management
Marketing

Our program offers a balance between business theory and sports management, preparing you for a variety of career opportunities, such as:

management and executive positions with professional sport franchises or collegiate athletics
sports facility and event management
sports marketing, sales, promotion and advertising
student-athlete affairs
sports information, fundraising and development
hospitality management
nonprofit sports organizations

Acquire skills that make you job ready

You will be equipped with knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles required for success in the profession, including:

practical knowledge and skill competencies for facility and event management
an introduction to game and event administration
successful sales and promotion behaviors for meeting organizational goals
sport organization management
effective leadership
strategic planning and creative problem solving

What's more, the university's Franciscan values and mission are incorporated into our curriculum. You will be equipped to analyze moral and ethical issues related to sport, and to develop a personal philosophy regarding social responsibility and moral commitment in a sports management setting.

Serve an internship and two practicums

All Sports Management majors will complete a three-credit, 150-hour internship, and two one-credit, 50-hour practicums, which are essentially mini-internships.

The internship is served with an organization that will provide the student with practical sports industry experience directly related to the business world of sports. Students will seek internships on their own, with guidance from the School of Business internship coordinator. Learn more about School of Business internships.

The two practicums are served with the university's Department of Athletics, assisting with the planning, organization and conducting of activities in St. Bonaventure's highly respected Division I athletic programs. These are invaluable experiences that provide direct exposure to the business world of sports.

Upon successful completion of the Sports Management program at St. Bonaventure University, graduates will:

identify the benefits and challenges of diversity in a sport/recreation workforce, among clientele, and on a sports team'
explain how the four functions of management apply to various sport businesses;
describe the sports marketing environment and explain the trends influencing marketers;
analyze and assess marketing strategies for the internationalization of sports activity;
explain and evaluate the core areas of finance and economics in sports business;
demonstrate the ability to assess financial systems, markets, and basic business organizational structures in the sport context;
identify and understand sport event operations, the steps in planning and producing an event and event logistics;
have a basic understanding and knowledge necessary to effectively manage a venue;
identify theoretical concepts in sport management and decision making;
evaluate the complexities of managerial positions in sport organization and classify the characteristics of a successful leaders.

Paper by SBU's Foos and Trivedi presented at annual conference

May 01, 2025 | A paper co-authored by Dr. Adrienne Foos, assistant professor and Marketing Department chair, and Dr. Dharti Trivedi (pictured), assistant professor of Marketing, was presented at the Business Research Consortium of Western New York's annual conference on April 26.

Case study by SBU's Foos and Ryan takes Distinguished Writing Award

May 01, 2025 | Dr. Adrienne Foos, assistant professor and Marketing Department chair, and Kristen Ryan, Marketing lecturer, co-authored a case study titled "Got Bugs? Pioneering The Future of Sustainable Protein Sources," which was presented at the Institute for Global Business Research (IGBR) conference in Nashville in April. The case study won the Distinguished Case Writing Award.

SBU's Tripathi publishes paper that examines U.S. equities markets

May 01, 2025 | Dr. Janhavi Shankar Tripathi, assistant professor of Finance, has published a new paper titled “FinTech, Fractional Trading, and Order Book Dynamics: A Study of US Equities Markets” (with Dr. Erick W. Rengifo, Fordham University) in FinTech.