Sport Management Overview

At Wichita State, we combine classroom and real-world learning opportunities to give students the skills they need to succeed in the sports industry.

Students pursuing a degree in Sport Management complete a curriculum of courses including sport marketing, sport law, sport governance, and sport facility management as well as complete an extensive internship requirement. Graduates of this program work in a variety of sport settings including intercollegiate athletics, major league and minor league professional sports, fitness, recreation, and specialized sport business.

The quality of instruction and experience-based learning opportunities at WSU are well-known in the field of sport management education. WSU is among a select number of universities in the world with multiple programs accredited by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

The SMGT Advisory Council is a group of alumni, practitioners, faculty, and students that review the learning and operational goals of the sport management programs (B.A. and M.Ed.). It is important that our programs work to support the sport industry.

The mission of the SMGT Advisory Council is to support the learning and operational goals of the sport management programs by reviewing key department actions each year, offering suggestions and insights, and indicating its relative level of satisfaction with the department’s effectiveness. The SMGT Advisory Council consists of two sport management practitioners, two sport management graduate candidates, two sport management undergraduate candidates, two sport management program alumni, and full-time members of the sport management faculty. Total membership shall not exceed 15. Members of the SMGT Advisory Council are appointed annually by the department chair.

The council meets once annually. During this meeting, the SMGT Council’s annual “satisfied/unsatisfied” vote will be in the sport management annual report. SMGT Advisory Council feedback, insights, and suggestions will be given full consideration by the faculty (i.e. Sport Management Program Committee) when developing its annual report and recommendations for the next academic year

The Department of Sport and Leadership Studies is one of five academic departments within the College of Education. The department houses the B.A.—Sport Management and M.Ed.—Sport ManagementSport Management degree programs. There is a long history of training sport professionals here at Wichita Sate University. Here is a brief snapshot of our story:

• 1970s: The programs’ origins can be traced back to faculty initiatives emphasizing the unique nature of sport and the need to train professionals, including those working in the interscholarshic, intercollegiate, youth, and minor league sport industries.
• 1992: The Kansas Board of Regents formally recognized the M.Ed.—Sport Management (known at the time as Sport Administration).
• 1998: The Kansas Board of Regents formally recognized the B.A.—Sport Management degree (known at the time as Sport Administration).
• 2008: After previously having its degree programs housed in the Department of Kinesiology and Sport Studies along with four other academic programs (Physical Education, Athletic Training, and Exercise Science graduate and undergraduate programs), the decision was made to (1) change the name of the degree programs from Sport Administration to Sport Management; and (2) to separate these degree programs into their own Department of Sport Management. Dr. G. Clayton Stoldt was named the first chair within the Department of Sport Management.
• In 2018 the College of Education, where the sport management programs have always been housed, changed its name to the College of Education.
• 2024: With the inclusion of the B.A.S. in Organizational Leadership and Learning within the department (along with several minors and certificates not explicitly directed to training sport professionals), the department's name was changed to the Department of Sport and Leadership Studies.

From the very beginning, the Sport Management programs, regardless of degree names or where they were housed, valued both applied learning and industry best practices. Students and serving our industry partners are at the core of everything we do, and our sport management programs have been recognized for their quality and impact on the local, state/regional, and national levels.