Since the 2016 spring semester began, more than 30 students at the University of Vermont have declared a new minor in Sports Management (SMGT).

The new SMGT minor reflects a unique cross-campus collaboration among the Rubenstein School’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (PRT) Program; Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE) in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; the Grossman School of Business; and the College of Education and Social Services (CESS). 

Why Sports Management? “Across the higher education community nationwide, the field has gained in popularity in recent years,” notes Dave Kaufman, PRT Program Director in the Rubenstein School. “Sports are important in the lives of most people, whether as participants, observers, or often both. From professional sports that are national pastimes, to amateur sports within or outside the educational system, to public municipal recreation programs, sports are integral to the use of leisure time and increasingly a career option.”

The UVM undergraduate student body is a recreation sports-oriented group of more than 10,000 students with a passion for their favorite recreational activities and sports. In recent years, students in various majors with a desire to convert this passion to a profession, have inquired about a Sports Management major or minor.

“As soon as I heard of the new Sports Management minor I was intrigued,” states junior Ally Stacey. “I am very interested in the field of business but also sports and recreation. My major, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, covers mostly the recreation part but little of the sports aspect. This new Sports Management minor will help me understand more about the field and which careers are associated with it. I'm really excited to start learning more about this field while also getting hands-on experience, which is easy with our big sports community here at UVM.”

Other likely companion majors on campus, besides PRT, include Business Administration in the Business School, Physical Education in CESS, and Community Entrepreneurship in CDAE. A minor in Sports Management can lead students into careers managing mountain resort ski and ride schools, ice hockey schools, youth sports camps, and professional sports teams or marketing for ESPN and other sports broadcasting networks, among other career opportunities.

In addition, states Kaufman, “Most major communities have municipal parks, athletic fields, and recreation departments hiring recreation directors.”

Led by Krista Balogh in UVM Athletics, Dave Kaufman, and others in CDAE, the Business School, and CESS, a working group created the new Sports Management minor on campus. The effort culminated with approval of the new minor by UVM’s Board of Trustees at their fall 2015 meeting.

The minor’s sponsoring unit is the PRT Program in the Rubenstein School, a practical place for the minor because of the crossover between recreation management and sports management. Questions related to the minor and administrative needs, such as approval of a course substitution, may be directed to the PRT program or the administrative staff in the Rubenstein School.

Minoring in SMGT requires eighteen credits; three required core courses and three selected from a specific group of course options in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. For the complete list of SMGT courses, see the Rubenstein School website under Undergraduate Minors.