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Bachelor of Arts

The sport management major is designed to provide professional preparation that develops competitive sport management leaders to meet the demands of a booming sport and recreation industry. The program prepares students through a comprehensive program of both theory and application. Students will study sport business concepts in the areas of management and organization, marketing and promotion, communication, legal issues, facilities, and media relations.  

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Professional Core
SPM-1610	Introduction to the Sport Industry and Career Explorations	4
SPM-2210	Sports in Society	4
SPM-2620	Sport Marketing and Sales	4
SPM-3045	Sport Law and Ethical Decision-Making	4
SPM-3640	Sport Finance and Budgeting	4
SPM-4115	Sport Management Capstone	4
SPM-4370	Facilities and Special Events	4
SPM-4945	Sport Management Internship	4
Professional Support Courses
BUS-1020	Foundations of Management	4
MKT-2300	Principles of Marketing	4
Total Credits		40

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

A student who graduates from Aurora University with a baccalaureate degree will have met the following requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for an approved major (with no grades lower than “C”).
2. Overall completion of at least 120 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (a course may be utilized only once in application toward a degree requirement, unless otherwise noted in the academic regulations). The 120 semester hours of coursework must include:
   • At least 52 semester hours completed at a senior college.
   • Residency Requirement - At least 30 semester hours completed at Aurora University, including the last 24 semester hours in the degree, and including at least 18 semester hours in the major. (Portfolio assessment credit, life and vocational experience credit, off-campus experience credit, examination credit, participation credit, and block credit, shall not count toward the residency requirement).
   • Upper-Division Requirement - A minimum of 30 semester hours numbered 3000 or above. Of these 30 semester hours, 15 semester hours must lie within the major and 15 semester hours must be completed at Aurora University.
3. Completion of all General Education requirements (with no grades lower than “C”), as follows:
   • Quantitative and Formal Reasoning competency requirement
   • ENG-1000 Introduction to Academic Writing
   • IDS-1200 Discover What Matters or IDS-3040 Global Justice
   • IDS-1150 First Year Experience - Not required for Transfer or AU Online students)
   • Satisfactory participation in the junior-year mentoring and assessment process designed to guide students to successful completion of their degree and to encourage planning for next steps beyond graduation. (IDS-3500 Junior Mentoring Program I and IDS-3550 Junior Mentoring Program II - Not required for ADC or AU Online students but may be designated electives for AU Online students admitted with fewer than 15 hours of transfer credit.)
   • Distribution Requirements
     Students will complete one approved course¹ from each of the following categories:
     • Artistic Literacy
     • Cultural Literacy
     • Human Inquiry
     • Scientific Inquiry

In addition to the above, ADC and Online students will also complete one approved course¹ from the following category:

• Discovery and Reflection

¹

Only courses that are approved to meet the distribution requirement can be used toward this requirement. See the list of approved courses  for available options. Courses taken to meet distribution requirements are 4 semester hours apiece, with the following exceptions:

• An approved transfer course of at least 2.50 semester hours can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
• Courses with co-requisite laboratory components may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement, provided that the student successfully complete both the three-credit-hour course and the single-credit-hour lab component.

Learning Outcomes  

1. Students will be able to articulate a chosen career aspiration within sport management and the required skills and abilities to achieve that aspiration. 
2. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how regulations and laws are used to govern the field of sport management. 
3. Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to utilize the skills needed to manage a sport facility and/or event. 
4. Students will be able to apply marketing concepts used to develop successful sport marketing plans.