Program Objectives

Objectives of the Sport Management program at WKU

The primary objective of the major in Sport Management is to provide students with a broad-based education in Sport Management. Specifically the program will adopt the criteria being established by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). This body is part of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and has been charged with establishing the accreditation guidelines for Sport Management programs both at the National and International level

Currently COSMA has identified the following as criteria being the minimal needed in order to adequately prepare students for entry level positions within the sport industry. The COSMA guidelines state:

Excellence in sport management education at the undergraduate level requires coverage of the key content areas of the sport management field.  Thus the Common Professional Component (CPC) topical areas, as outlined below, should be adequately covered within the content of undergraduate sport management degree programs.

A) Social, psychological and international foundations of sport, B) Management to include 1) Sport management principles, 2) Sport leadership, 3)Sport operations management/event & venue management, and 4) Sport Governance, C)Ethics in sport management, D) Sport Marketing, E) Finance/Accounting/Economics to include 1) Principles of sport finance, 2) Accounting, and 3) Economics of sport, F) Legal aspects of sport and G) Integrative Experiences, such as: 1) Strategic Management/Policy, 2) Internship and 3) Capstone experience (an experience that enables a student to demonstrate the capacity to synthesize and apply knowledge, such as a thesis, project, comprehensive examination or course, etc.)