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Thousands of students graduate from academic sport management programs annually with hopes of breaking into the sport industry. However, securing full-time employment becomes a challenge for many sport management graduates. To examine the transitional period in which graduates seek employment, the current study interviewed people who had recently earned a sport management degree (n = 16) to explore their experiences during the job search process. Given the racial demographics of participants (eight Black, eight White), the findings provide particular insight regarding racial differences and barriers Black graduates face. Findings illuminate the importance of sport management graduates strategically networking, developing targeted experiences, and considering a realistic entry point when transitioning from the classroom to the industry.

This case provides students with an opportunity to observe RunCzech, a historically successful sport event organization, as they navigate a crisis and strive to satisfy all stakeholders, with emphasis on the sponsor stakeholders. Students are familiarized with the challenges facing RunCzech and their corresponding response. The event organizers strive to mitigate these challenges with their crisis management strategy. This strategy includes creating new events in partnership with their sponsors while remaining in compliance with changing government restrictions. RunCzech’s crisis management, and the communication surrounding it, is framed in terms of Coombs’s situational crisis communication theory. The students see innovative crisis management, with a primary focus on sponsors as stakeholders, before being tasked with communicating these crisis management efforts to one specific sponsor, adidas.

Mental health is an emerging area of interest in sport, but there is a paucity of educational initiatives in sport management curricula to train the next generation of sport managers to address the mental health needs of athletes, a type of knowledge that the mental health literature operationalizes as mental health literacy. One goal of accrediting bodies such as the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation is for excellence in sport management education; thus, due to the changing landscape of sport, sport management curricula should incorporate mental health literacy competencies. This educational research review provides justification for the inclusion of mental health literacy competencies in sport management curricula and accreditation standards, as well as pedagogical strategies for implementation.

To prepare sport management students, curricula should align with industry. Given recent changes in sport management, the first step in aligning curricula with industry is to review current curricula. This study reviewed Australian sport management curricula using content analysis of the Common Professional Components based on the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation. From 39 universities, 11 (28%) undergraduate sport management programs were identified. The most common required sport management course was management concepts, followed by sport marketing and finance, budgeting, accounting, and economics. Public relations and ethical aspects were the least common required courses. Technology and sport sales were not offered. Results indicate that the current curricula may not be keeping pace with the sport management industry.

Student learning outcomes and assessment of those outcomes have become standard in almost every accreditation, reaffirmation, and most annual reports for accrediting bodies. Additionally, outcomes and assessments are vital to continuous improvement of sport management programs. This interview was conducted with an expert on outcomes and assessment at the national level, who can provide insight from an expert on the “outside looking in.” The purpose of this interview is to discuss broader standards in educational assessment and how those standards can be applied specifically to sport management. This resource is most useful for those early in the process of outcomes and assessment creation, those who may not already have Commission on Sport Management Accreditation and training opportunities, or those who simply want to improve their classes.

With increased interest in outcomes-based assessment in sport management programs, the Specifications Grading model can be implemented within individual courses to facilitate the process. Specific requirements that are articulated at course onset with explicit directions, samples of high-scoring work, and access to evaluation rubrics can set students on the path for achieving measurable benchmarks. Thus, the submissions become objective expressions of learning instead of a points-based bargaining tool. Implemented into an Introduction to Sport Management class, the model provided opportunities for consistent engagement with assessment tools in which students had agency and multiple chances to focus on improving the assessment to meet the benchmarks. The instructor reflected upon the experience, noting administrative elements to change to assist the overall implementation of the system but discovered that the Specifications Grading model centered the students in the learning process while providing meaningful outcome data for assessment purposes. Recommendations are provided for faculty interested in implementing it in their own classrooms.

A routine critique of programmatic accreditation in the academic discipline of sport management is the tangible return from investment in specialized accreditation. As the sole accrediting body offering programmatic accreditation in the field of sport management education, the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) provides members with a systematic outcome-oriented approach to assist in the development of holistic sport management undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A strategic emphasis on professional competencies’ (e.g., Common Professional Components) and student outcomes’ assessment positions COSMA to be of unique value to accredited programs, specifically in the area of curriculum development. Utilizing direct student feedback, this study examined student perceptions of a sport management undergraduate curriculum at a COSMA-accredited institution. Results indicated that undergraduate students found COSMA-accredited sport management courses to be enjoyable, relevant, and of practical value. Findings are illustrative of the significance of programmatic accreditation through COSMA to the sampled institution in both systematic curriculum development and student perceptions of quality.