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The SDSU Sports MBA Curriculum
The curriculum is composed of core MBA courses tailored to the sports industry, a set of sports industry-specific courses selected to meet the demands of the modern sports marketplace, and a 6-month, full-time consulting project with a sports organization that meets the student's career goals.
The most valuable feature of the SDSU Sports MBA program is the core MBA curriculum provided for the students, as this program is an AACSB accredited graduate business degree. The MBA core courses are business focused, heavily quantitative, and taught by some of the top faculty within the SDSU College of Business Administration. When applicable, members of the faculty cater the presentation of traditional business concepts to sports business, and provide students with analytical tools applicable to the sports industry. While laying the foundation of a solid graduate business education, these courses are supplemented with sports-specific case studies and executive guest lecturers drawn from sports organizations.
BA 650 Financial Reporting and Analysis
Students in Dr. David DeBoskey’s course are given an all-around, intense education in financial accounting. The class begins with basic accounting principles and progresses to deeper analyses of financial statements. Dr. DeBoskey guides students through the process of understanding the language of accounting with the expectation that they finish the course capable of making sound financial decisions in future professional situations.
BA 651 Organizational Behavior
Dr. Amy Randel challenges the SMBA cohort to think critically about all aspects of interpersonal communication in the workplace. After introducing the class to the various theories and strategies associated with successful leadership, students study the management practices of local sports-related businesses and provide analysis and feedback based on their research. Past projects have included companies such as SkinIt, Bamboo Skate, US Olympic Training Center, and the San Diego Padres.
BA 652 Statistical Analysis for Sports
Statistical Analysis, taught by former Associate Dean Dr. Jim Lackritz, introduces new SMBA students to the principles of statistics as they apply to sports business. Students in this intensive course are expected both run and interpret statistical information in sports-specific contexts to mimic real life decision-making processes used by leaders in the industry. Dr. Lackritz combines his own research in sports business with texts like Moneyball to provide SMBA students with the foundation for critical thought in the sports industry.
BA 653 Sports Economics
Students in sports economics are taught by Dr. David Ely to use microeconomic principles to make and defend decisions in the sports industry. The course includes vibrant debates on the subject of the students’ choosing. Each team must support its position on a sports-related subject using economic reasoning and principles. Discussion topics include stadium financing, player salaries, and athlete representation.
BA 655 Sports Marketing
The first portion of this two-part class is taught by visiting professor Dr. Vassilis Dalakas, who provides a thorough introduction to key marketing principles as they apply to sports business. Interactive lectures combined with in-depth case study analyses prepare students to submit their own original marketing proposals at the end of the class.
The second part is taught by industry expert Dan Bruton, who draws on his extensive experience in the sports industry to teach students about sports marketing, particularly as it relates to licensing. Throughout the course, students participate in mini case competitions at the end of each lecture to simulate the fast-paced decision-making necessary to succeed in sports marketing. The class culminates with group presentations to industry professionals about various licensing challenges.
BA 662 Operations Management
Dr. Bruce Reinig made his Sports MBA debut in 2011 with his course on operations management. This class trains students to use traditional business tools to design customer-facing processes. Students also learn how to integrate tools such as SAS to design experiments relevant to sports organizations. Potential project topics include the secondary ticket market, concessions, waiting lines, and apparel storefront displays.
BA 665 Financial Management I
SMBA students begin their Financial Management I course with a basic foundation of the principles of corporate finance. Applying recently-acquired knowledge from their accounting class, students learn about the decision-making processes that shape balance sheets and income statements. Once the groundwork has been laid, students apply these principles to analyze sports business topics such as franchise valuation and stadium financing.
While students are complete the bulk of the core MBA in their first semester, the summer session and fall semester courses feature a more sports-focused classroom experience with a heavy emphasis on developing practical skills designed to be implemented once the student enters the industry as a graduate consultant in the final semester. During this portion of the program, a number of guest lecturers and visiting industry professionals work with students to complement the syllabi of courses taught by SDSU College of Business faculty.
FIN 617 Financial Management II
In Frank Ryan’s inaugural year with the Sports MBA Program, students build upon the foundation set by Financial Management I. They are expected to understand the impetus behind major financial deals in the sports world, such as stadium financing and franchise valuation. In order to prepare students for tasks they will face in the sports industry, this course is heavily based in Excel.
FIN 604 Sports Business Management/Sports Law
Visiting professor Scott Rosner from the Wharton School of Business provides SMBA students with an immersion into sports law. Over the course of two weeks, the class introduces students to nearly all aspects of sports business, covering league structures, collective bargaining agreements, player compensation, and college athletics, among other topics. As part of this in-depth course, students are paired off to participate in a simulated player contract negotiation. Upon completion of this class, students have a working knowledge and understanding of all major players in the sports industry.
Mgt 669 Global HR Management
The highlight of Global HR Management, taught by SDSU College of Business Administration Associate Dean Dr. Gangaram Singh, is Sports MBA’s annual trip to the San Diego Padres training facility in the Dominican Republic. Prior to departure, students learn about global human resource practices and the challenges that can arise when companies choose to send expatriates abroad. Once on the ground in the Dominican Republic, students apply that knowledge to develop suggestions that would allow Major League Baseball to see greater personal and professional success from its Dominican players. The course concludes back in San Diego with a simulated collective bargaining agreement negotiation.
MGT 710 Seminar in World Business Environment
Dr. John Francis leads this course, which studies the globalization of sports with an emphasis on the theories and trends that shape the evolving relationships between the international environment and sports organizations. The complexities of national and regional politics, economies and cultures produce both opportunities and challenges for firms operating across national boundaries. This course intends to provide students with a broad view of these relevant and comparative differences with an emphasis on understanding their impact on the nature of international sports management.
MGT 724 Entrepreneurship
Michael Brower brings several years of start-up experience to the classroom as he guides students through the process of launching a new business, and provides an overview of best practices for students in working with the number of sports industry startups and growing companies located in San Diego. Emphasis is placed on creating compelling business plans and raising capital. A board member of San Diego Sport Innovators, Brower brings a guest speaker from his industry network to each class period so that students may see as many entrepreneurial perspectives as possible. As a final project, students develop a business plan and make an investor pitch for a new product or service to a panel of industry executives, venture capitalists, attorneys, and other experts.
MKTG 729 Contemporary Topics in Marketing (Market Research, Customer Relationship Management, and Technology & New Media in Sports)
This course takes an in-depth look at specific skills in three of the most rapidly growing sectors of the sports industry—market research, customer relationship management (CRM), and technology & new media. The course is led by Marketing faculty Dr. Vassilis Dalakas and is complemented by two sports industry executives. Students learn to design and analyze comprehensive surveys, use relevant analytic instruments and software programs, and create engaging web-based content on social media platforms.
MKTG 762 Integrated Marketing Communications
This course, taught by Sports MBA veteran faculty member Dr. Joe Belch, is designed to introduce students the field of integrated marketing communications and its role in sports marketing. Dr. Belch emphasizes the role of advertising and other promotional mix elements in integrated marketing communications program (IMC), highlighting sports organizations and companies involved in the world of sports. Students leave the course with an understanding of the overall marketing process, customer behavior, communications theory, and the changing media environment.
After completing the 12-month classroom portion of the Sports MBA curriculum, students are prepared to work with a sports organization on a full-time basis. The MBA candidates have a faculty mentor oversee their work during their final semester, with the goal of providing their host organization with a comprehensive consulting report on a specific sports business field at the end of the term. The courses in which the student is enrolled represent a six unit course load, which is carried remotely by many students who choose to pursue a consultancy outside of San Diego. Classes do not meet during this term, so students are encouraged to pursue full-time job opportunities during this portion of the program.
BA 780 Field Studies in Business |
6 month internship |
BA 795 Integrative Business Analysis |
Final MBA thesis report |
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