Explore the Sport Management degree program
The popularity of sports is in full force in today’s culture. But sports is more than just the game. The world of sports and athletics is made up of not just the teams, but also the event facilities, support staff and trainers, fans, marketing, sports information, ticketing and operations, and media relations. All of these things contribute to success in sports – and need managers to guide such success.
With a Sport Management degree from Wayne State, you’ll be prepared to take on any career related to athletics and sporting events. You’ll get to understand the ins and outs of athletics, how to build a fan base, and how to manage an event facility. You’ll understand the needs of athletes and teams and how best to meet those needs. If you have a passion for anything sports-related, a sport management degree from Wayne State is the right choice for you.
Fast facts
Program options:
- B.A. or B.S. in Sport Management
- Minor in Sport Management
Delivery format: On campus (Wayne)
Program credit hours: 57
Note: Students must also take 30 credit hours of General Studies courses. A total of 120 credit hours are needed to graduate from WSC. Additional majors or minors can be added to help meet graduation requirements.
School: Science, Health, and Criminal Justice
Department: Health, Human Performance, and Sport
Opportunities and outcomes
Sport management topics covered
- Facility and event management in sport and wellness
- Management and leadership in sport organizations
- Media and public relations for the sports industry
- Financial management and economics for sport business
- Legal processes and ethical procedures in sports management
- Sports writing, marketing, and promotion
- Sport in American culture
Student learning outcomes
- Explain skills, roles, and functions of sport managers.
- Apply ethical concepts to issues in the sport workplace.
- Apply fundamental marketing concepts to the sport industry and the unique aspects of sport markets.
- Explain legal concepts and basic risk management issues as they relate to the sport workplace.
- Demonstrate the ability to use technology effectively in the application of sport management practice.
Sport management internships
Our outstanding Career Services Office is available to help you find sport management internships and career opportunities. Students recently completed internships at the following locations:
- Creighton University
- Kenosha Kingfish
- NCAA Volleyball Tournament
- South Dakota State Athletics
- Sporting Kansas City
- Sporting Nebraska FC
Graduates of the Sport Management degree program work in their chosen field using the skills they learned while at Wayne State College. Each year, eager employers welcome WSC graduates into their organizations.
Jobs of recent graduates:
- Activities Director – Hastings Senior High School (Hastings, Neb.)
- Assistant Director of Corporate Competition – Iowa Sports Foundation (Iowa City, Iowa)
- Assistant Golf Superintendent – Prairie Club Golf Course (Valentine, Neb.)
- Assistant Volleyball Coach – Iowa Central Community College (Fort Dodge, Iowa)
- Athletics Event Supervisor – Creighton University (Omaha, Neb.)
- Course Director – Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (Breckenridge, Colo.)
- Fitness Team Leader – Lifetime Fitness (Des Moines, Iowa)
- Game Day Staff/Facilities Manager – Creighton University (Omaha, Neb.)
- Operations Manager – L.A. Fitness (St. Louis Park, Minn.)
- Recreation Specialist – Nebraska Dept. of Correctional Services (Omaha, Neb.)
- Sports Site Supervisor – YMCA (Valley, Neb.)
- Ticketing Account Executive – Lincoln Salt Dogs (Lincoln, Neb.)

job or grad school placement rate
within six months of graduation
Data based on most recent
employment outcomes survey
After graduating from Wayne State College, recent grads pursued advanced degrees at the following schools:
- Athletic Administration (MSAA) – Concordia University (Seward, Neb.)
- Coaching Leadership (M.E.) – Mount Marty University (Yankton, S.D.)
- Law (J.D.) – University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.)
- Sport and Recreation Management (MSOM) – Wayne State College (Wayne, Neb.)
- Sport Management (M.A.) - Tusculum University (Tusculum, Tenn.)
- Sport Management (M.S.) – University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)
- Sports Performance and Leadership (M.S.) – Northern State University (Aberdeen, S.D.)
2024-25 Estimated Annual Cost of Attendance
cost per credit hour
Tuition: $5,880
Fees: $2,290.50
Food plan: $4,690
Housing: $4,730
Most Affordable College in Nebraska
- College Affordability Guide, 2024
Wayne State is considered the most affordable four-year college or university in Nebraska. With same rates for in- and out-of-state students, our tuition guarantee, and our generous scholarship packages, it is clear to see how WSC earned the title. In fact, the average remaining annual cost of attendance for 2024-25 is $2,268 for undergraduate students after financial aid and scholarships.
Sport Management degree program courses
Students must complete 57 credit hours for the Sport Management major. In addition to courses for your major, you will complete 30 credit hours of General Studies courses. A total of 120 credit hours are needed to graduate from WSC. Additional majors or minors can be added to help meet graduation requirements.
Credits: 3
Description: A course for non-business majors to study the role of accounting as an information development and communication function that supports economic decision-making. This restricted overview of accounting emphasizes development of knowledge and skills to perform basic financial analysis, derive financial information for personal or organizational decisions, and utilize information for better understanding of business, governmental, and other organizational entities
Credits: 3
Description: Develops the management art and science of planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling through people to make ideas materialize within economic constraints of a business enterprise. Develops ability to construct policy, to make scientifically sound decisions within that policy, and to establish ethical procedures to insure organized productive effort to intended objectives. Develops a management attitude, outlook, and ability.
Credits: 3
Description: This course facilitates students in conquering the essential concepts of product, price, promotion, distribution, segmentation, ethics, and social responsibility, while addressing the evolving digital and social media influences. The fundamentals will be stressed allowing for useful decision processes by managers while encouraging the development of the marketing specialist as one of the key decision makers in a firm. Marketing is critical to implementing strategy, gaining competitive advantages, and ensuring positive organizational results.
Credits: 3
Description: A study of the history and philosophy of sport including the emergence of the field of sport management. Surveys of the sub-fields of sport psychology, sociology of sport, sport marketing and promotion, economics of sport, sport media, professional sport and collegiate sport are investigated along with a strong emphasis of ethics in sport.
Credits: 3
Description: An examination of the role of the sport information department in relation to media, coaches, athletes, and society. The course will focus on oral and written communication, statistics, and ethical dilemmas. Case studies and current events will be stressed.
Credits: 3
Description: A course designed to provide the student with skills and technical knowledge required for desktop publishing, multimedia presentations, web page production and incorporating internet sources into presentations. Includes a variety of software and hardware to produce graphics, text documents and page formatting programs. New techniques and software are updated to match requirements within the field. Meets the computer requirement for all HHPS majors.
Credits: 3
Description: Studies the nature and function of communication and public relations in sport management. Emphasis on personnel, time and conflict management, mass media relations, interviewing, technology, and the use of computers in the sport industry.
Prerequisite: PED 277 Media Relations in Sport
Credits: 3
Description: A study of ethical procedures and behaviors in sport management. Emphasis on the areas of academic counseling of student-athletes, diversity, stereotypes, media, athletes as role models, career development, and developing the overall benefits of athletics.
Prerequisite: Junior standing
Credits: 3
Description: A study of finance and economics in sport including budget development and management, funding, capital improvements, supply and demand trends, and economic impact of sport and leisure events.
Credits: 3
Description: Shows the impact of the legal process on sport. Collective bargaining agreements, agent representatives, liability concerns, control of amateur, professional, and school sport, risk management.
Credits: 3
Description: The economic, social, and political forces that affect sport. Analysis of successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns. Integration of the elements of marketing segmentation, product, price, and communication into sport marketing.
Credits: 3
Description: An overview of the total management responsibilities in sport and leisure service organizations. Program philosophy and development, personnel management, leadership, strategic management, public relations, and technology in sport receive specific attention.
Credits: 3
Description: This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of conducting needs assessments, planning, constructing, equipping, staffing, programming, and managing facilities in sport, and wellness.
Credits: 3
Description: The course is a study of sport and the ways in which it influences people in America.
Credits: 12
Description: A supervised field-based experience to familiarize the student with the conditions, practices, and environmental settings where the aspired vocational roles are conducted. Students, with the help of their advisor, must find an internship site. The site must be approved by the student’s advisor and department chair.
Choose one of the following courses:
- CNA 392 Sports Writing (3 credits) - Introduction to theory and practice of sports writing in various media. Students will analyze exemplary literature in the field as well as write game reports for publication in the college newspaper. Useful for students interested in such areas as critical sports studies, sports management, and journalism.
- GEO 325 Geography of Recreation, Tourism, and Sport (3 credits) - A survey of the applied and academic aspects of indoor/outdoor recreation, international/regional tourism, and professional/amateur sports. The course will examine the distribution of legalized gaming, ecotourism and leisure travel, as well as the preservation and study of cultural and natural heritage.
- PED 288 Sport Tourism and Event Management (3 credits) - This course introduces students to the nature, structure, and complexity of the sport tourism and event management industry. Topics covered include: economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts, traveler motivations, marketing, bidding, staffing, and development principles.
- CNA 392 Sports Writing (3 credits) - Introduction to theory and practice of sports writing in various media. Students will analyze exemplary literature in the field as well as write game reports for publication in the college newspaper. Useful for students interested in such areas as critical sports studies, sports management, and journalism.
Popular pairings
Many students at Wayne State will add a second major or a minor to complement their program of study, or to focus their studies on a specific topic. Students who recently majored in Sport Management at Wayne State also paired this major with one or more of the following programs:
- Business Administration (minor)
- Coaching (minor)
- Exercise Science (major or minor)
- Marketing (major)
- Promotion and Media (minor)
Related programs
Students interested in the Sport Management program may also be interested in:

Transfer to Wayne State
Our generous transfer credit policy will allow you to get credit for what you've already earned.
- If you've taken courses at other institutions, you can transfer those credits to Wayne State.
- Already have an associate degree? Seamlessly transfer your full degree through one of our transfer pathways.
- Military or veteran student? You may be able to get credit for your military experience and training.
While most NFL fans were huddled around their televisions during Super Bowl LVII, Wayne State graduate student Preston Davis was hard at work at the game. Davis was part of a small army of nearly 6,000 volunteers at the game in Arizona. Davis earned bachelor's degrees from Wayne State in Sport Management and Exercise Science in May 2021. Davis credits the skills he learned at WSC for being prepared for the event.
"Everything from the classroom allowed me to use these skills to provide a better experience for the fans as well as the talent I was taking care of!" he said.
Preston Davis, '21
Mondamin, Iowa
Major: Sport Management

While most NFL fans were huddled around their televisions during Super Bowl LVII, Wayne State graduate student Preston Davis was hard at work at the game. Davis was part of a small army of nearly 6,000 volunteers at the game in Arizona. Davis earned bachelor's degrees from Wayne State in Sport Management and Exercise Science in May 2021. Davis credits the skills he learned at WSC for being prepared for the event.
"Everything from the classroom allowed me to use these skills to provide a better experience for the fans as well as the talent I was taking care of!" he said.

Preston Davis, '21
Mondamin, Iowa
Major: Sport Management
Health, Human Performance, and Sport Department faculty

Barbara Engebretsen, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Barbara Engebretsen is an exercise science and public and global health professor at Wayne State College. She is active member of professional and service organizations, including the American Physiological Society, American College of Sports Medicine, the American Public Health Association, and Rotary International. She helped developed the Public and Global Health minor and One Health Studies major.

Kris Fox, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Kris Fox is an exercise science professor at Wayne State College and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in applied human and sport physiology, exercise science, and human performance.

Cameron Geisert, Ed.D.
Professor
Dr. Cameron Geisert is a sports management professor at Wayne State College. His teaching interests are sociology of sport, sport law, sport event and facility management, ethics in sports, and sport marketing.

Kevin Hill, Ed.D.
Professor
Dr. Kevin Hill is a physical education professor at Wayne State College. His academic interests include rural health and sport skill instruction, as well as physical and health education.

Chad Maas, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Chad Maas is a sports management professor at Wayne State College. He is a certified instructor for Red Cross First Aid and CPR.

Paul McCawley, MSE
Assistant Professor
Paul McCawley is an exercise science professor at Wayne State College. His teaching interests include strength and conditioning, as well as overall health and wellness.

Blaine Meyer, MSOM
Instructor
Blaine Meyer teaches sports management at Wayne State College, including courses such as Introduction to Sport Management, Sport Marketing and Promotion, Physical Health and Wellbeing, Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries, Public Relations in Sport, Sport Business, Leadership in Sport Organizations, and Ethics in Sport.

Bobby Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Bobby Smith is an exercise science professor at Wayne State College. He teaches undergraduate courses in exercise physiology, fitness assessment and evaluation, athletic performance and nutrition, as well as physical health and wellbeing.
Get in touch
Department of Health, Human Performance, and Sport
Rice Health and Physical Education Building, Room 013H
Phone: 402-375-7301
Student clubs for sport management majors
Exercise is Medicine - Works toward improving the health and well-being of the campus community
SPORTS Club - A club for Sport Management majors or minors

Rankings and accolades
Recognized for excellence
Best Colleges for Sports Management
College Factual ranked WSC as one of the top colleges in Nebraska for a Sport Management degree based on 11 factors including student resources, demand, and successful graduate outcomes.

A Top Public College in the Midwest
WSC was identified as one of the top public universities in the Midwest for 2025 by U.S. News & World’s Best Colleges ranking report.

A Best College of Distinction
Wayne State was recognized as a Best College of Distinction for our excellence in student engagement, teaching, community, and successful graduate outcomes.

Where you'll learnDepartment facilities

Gardner Hall
Gardner Hall is home to the Department of Business and Economics at WSC and connects to advanced computer labs in the Center for Applied Technology by skywalk.

Rice Health and Physical Education Building
Rice serves as the home for WSC's athletic teams, and also houses classrooms and facilities for students in Health, Human Performance, and Sport programs.
Your next steps
