School of Kinesiology and Recreation

Sport Management

The mission of the Illinois State University Graduate Sport Management Program serves to provide students with the educational background necessary to excel as a professional in the highly-competitive sport industry. The role of scholarship and focused disciplinary study is emphasized. This advanced knowledge prepares these graduates to think conceptually and analytically, and to positively impact professional practices and policies in their field.

Courses taught in the sport management curriculum include content areas such as marketing, management, finance, and law, and place an emphasis on both theoretical and practical aspects of the sport industry. Additionally, the sport management faculty place a strong emphasis on the value of practical experience and most students will complete at least one meaningful field experience, typically a full-time internship, during their program of study at Illinois State.

Students in our program pursue career opportunities in a wide variety of sport industry settings. Recent graduates of the program have secured job placements in college athletics programs, ranging from large Division I schools to small Division III programs, college athletics conference offices, major and minor league professional sports teams, national sport governing bodies, as well as other sport industry firms including Nike and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sport Management Faculty and Research Interests

Chad McEvoy, Ed.D., University of Northern Colorado
Revenue production in collegiate and professional sports, fund raising in intercollegiate athletics, legal aspects of collegiate and professional sport

Brent Beggs, Ph.D., Indiana University
Recreational sports, field experiences, and leisure behavior

Nels Popp, Ph.D., University of Louisville
International student-athletes, national sport policies, and media relations wth sport

Sport Management Curriculum

Students admitted to the graduate sport management program must complete a minimum of 33 total credit hours, including 6 credit hours in the research core, 15 credit hours in the sport management sequence, 3-6 credit hours of an advisor-approved culminating experience, and 3-9 hours of cognate, or elective, courses selected by the student and his/her appointed advisor in order to best position the student to succeed in a management career in the sport industry. This curriculum is outlined below:

Research Core - 6 hours

  • KNR 497, Introduction to Research Methods
  • KNR 445, Statistics in Applied Science and Technology

Sport Management Sequence Studies - 15 hours

  • KNR 455, Fiscal Management in Sport and Recreation
  • KNR 462, Principles of Sport Law
  • KNR 466, Marketing of Sport and Recreation
  • KNR 467, Advanced Topics in Sport Management
  • KNR 475, Management of Sport and Recreation

Cognate Area - 3-9 hours approved by the sport management faculty advisor

Culminating Experience - 3-6 hours approved by the sport management faculty advisor

  • KNR 498.30, Professional Practice, 6 hours
  • KNR 499, Thesis, 6 hours
  • KNR 400, Independent Study, 3 hours

Admission to the Sport Management Program

Applications for admission to the sport management sequence are first sent to the university Graduate School and then are reviewed by the sport management faculty and the school graduate program coordinator. Admission to the program is competitive and admissions decisions are based on a variety of factors, including undergraduate grade point average, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, past work experiences, and future career goals. The ideal candidate will have experience, such as an internship, in a sport management setting, possess a bachelor's degree in an area such as management, business, or communication, have strong GRE test scores and undergraduate grades, strong recommendations, and be clearly pursuing a career in the managerial/administrative aspects of the sport industry. Applications will not be considered until all materials have been received.