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To meet the growing and innovative career opportunities in technology and sport, particularly in electronic sports, both practitioners and scholars must engage in an iterative process to analyze, design, and evaluate educational interventions and innovations with design-based research. Being in a young academic discipline, sport management faculty shape the next generation of practitioners, so the purpose of this research was to examine faculty’s openness to innovation through an andragogical teaching approach and the incorporation of the business of electronic sports within the curriculum. Through a two-part study, results revealed that faculty had a balanced teacher- and learner-focused approach, which demonstrated that advancement of electronic sports can transcend all types of faculty in a young field. Implications from this novel, yet extremely relevant, research will help both practitioners and scholars innovatively and collaboratively navigate institutional complexities.

Sport management is a rapidly changing and highly competitive field. With over 200 graduate and over 400 undergraduate degree programs in the United States, faculty are tasked with regular assessment of their program’s curriculum to ensure that students graduate with the knowledge, skills, values, and opportunities that make them marketable in a competitive marketplace. The purpose of this study was to describe and identify trends in the admission requirements, coursework, and culminating experiences for degree completion in sport management graduate programs in the United States. Content analysis was used to collect data from university websites and course catalogs on 230 sport management master’s degree programs. Minimum grade point average (GPA) standards were listed for 52% of programs, 44% required test scores for admission, and 28% did not require either a test score or GPA. Law, marketing, and research methods were the only three courses required by more than 70% of programs. At least one research-related course (research methods, statistics, or sports data analytics) was required by 78% of programs. One third of programs prescribed a specific course sequence to earn a graduate degree, while two thirds provided students with options on how the degree could be completed. Only 7% of programs required students to complete a thesis, and 27.8% required a comprehensive examination.

In line with trends in sport management education that have encouraged a transition from traditional forms of passive and depersonalized learning to active and motivated learning, this essay draws on theoretical and applied insight to provide sport management educators with actionable information related to gamification. In educational contexts, gamification involves using game elements such as narratives, teams, and badges in the classroom as a way to support students’ intrinsic motivation and basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness). This essay presents a case for gamification as a high-impact pedagogical approach that can help sport management educators replicate the global, complicated, and dynamic nature of the sport industry, thus creating more authentic, engaging, and influential experiences for students. Accordingly, this essay outlines gamification in education, discusses game elements and design, and provides a thorough description of a gamified sport psychology course. It concludes with future considerations and key takeaways for sport management educators.

What makes an effective university instructor? Are there transferable practices and strategies that relate to success in the classroom? The recipient of the 2022 North American Society for Sport Management Distinguished Sport Management Educator Award reflects on his 38-year career and concludes that teaching has been his most rewarding activity. Like him, colleagues typically have little preparation for the role, so they often rely on exceptional role models and influential mentors. He reflects on the impact that significant role models and mentors had on his development and teaching practices. He shares insights, experiences, and teaching strategies that sport management colleagues may wish to adopt to heighten their efficacy and impact with their students.

This article identifies an innovative solution to improve global sport management learning. Building on continued calls to include both experiential and international sport business curricula in the sport management classroom, this article shows how institutions from different countries can collaborate virtually to provide students with practical international perspectives through an applied sport globalization project. Findings from 30 American and 13 German student reflections were analyzed to reveal the project- and course-related outcomes through this collaborative class project between Ohio University (United States) and the University of Bayreuth (Germany). Students not only identified both soft skills and an appreciation of international sport business endeavors but also noted challenges like the logistics of communicating with groupmates abroad and the challenges within the assignment itself as they considered sport consumption abroad. Beyond the learning outcomes within the course, this article also explores program-level outcomes for the involved institutions and their sport management programs.

This simulation scenario is based on the events surrounding Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open tennis tournament, in which Osaka chose not to participate in media obligations due to mental health concerns. Tournament officials attempted to address her concerns, but Osaka did not find the response substantial enough and viewed the response as worsening the situation. Sport managers, athletes, and other stakeholders have responsibilities toward one another that may be best viewed through deontological ethics. Students will analyze the situation from the perspective of a sport manager using deontology as their guiding ethical framework. Learning objectives include developing a deeper understanding of Kant’s categorical imperative and Ross’s prima facie intuitionism, as well as providing opportunities for students to practice ethical leadership in a classroom setting.