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This study specifically determined (a) employer expectations of sport managers, (b) employer evaluation of educational sport management programs and curricula, (c) college/university faculty/student evaluation of components of existing sport management programs, and (d) the interrelationships among these groups. The results of this study identified the commonalities within and between business/agency groups and college/university faculty and students. Results of the business/agency needs assessment indicated major differences across settings for academic/experiential requirements, employment needs, workload distributions, and job evaluation criteria. Evaluation of the commonalities/ differences provide indication for curricular planning. Also, differences were apparent between the curricular evaluations of the college/university faculty and business/agency personnel, suggesting the need to evaluate curricular content and determine where changes should/should not be made. There is support for the theoretical conjecture that one concentration will not meet the needs of personnel for all business/agency settings.

The purpose of this paper is to present undergraduate and graduate sport management curricular models which provide a perspective that higher education sport management professionals can use to solve curricular problems described in the literature and to implement the NASPE/NASSM guidelines. The five sport management concentrations, which have similar objectives and services but occur in different settings or serve different clientele, include (a) Sport for Leisure/Recreation, (b) Sport and Athletics, (c) Sport Merchandising, (d) Hostelries/Travel, and (e) Recreation Agencies. The models (a) differentiate purposes, content, and entry-level positions for each degree level; (b) provide evidence for which concentrations need to be part of each curriculum; (c) define a professional core; (d) describe the concentration specialization requirements; (e) differentiate the culminating experiences for each degree; and (f) provide the distinctive characteristics of undergraduate and graduate programs.