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Internships are crucial in many sport management students’ paths to the sport industry. This mixed-methods case study sought to understand the nature of events occurring in sport management internships and the impact on two outcomes: student career decision making and subjective well-being. Pre–post internship surveys (n = 23) and follow-up interviews (n = 21) identified stimulus events, if intern expectations were met, and if career intentions or subjective well-being were shifted. For participants, stimulus events involved different aspects of the internship (e.g., tasks, supervisor, social interactions, inclusivity, and the environment), and the perceptions of outcomes related to internships varied. In line with image theory, participants followed four impact pathways, with the focus on stimulus events influencing career intentions and then well-being as a result, or conversely well-being then career intentions. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications for both sport management educators and organizational supervisors that can help ensure mutually beneficial experiences for all parties involved.

As internships are typically off-campus experiences with minimal supervision from educators, the legal role and responsibilities of educators in protecting and responding to such issues are not always clear, especially pertaining to the application of Title IX. Given the growing prevalence of internships in sport management, a historically male-dominated industry, the issue of sexual harassment is particularly important for this discipline. Through this article, the authors seek to provide the knowledge and perspective of 3 subject-matter experts speaking to legal and practical considerations regarding the design and implementation of sport management internships. Their collective perspective offers insights on following the law and preparing students for potentially hostile environments.

Sitting at the intersection of the sport management workplace and educational setting, internships are both an important curricular component within undergraduate sport management programs and a common entry point for people beginning careers in sport. Drawing from the literature on diversity and inclusion pertaining to the sport industry, sport management education, and internships, we discuss existing pedagogical and systemic barriers to student learning and professional development within internships. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of the Universal Design for Learning framework for addressing the pedagogical barriers and how it can help to improve sport management policies and practices.