Sports as a market is constantly evolving. It was once about the 'game', but it is now a package that combines sports and entertainment. It was evident with the 2012 Superbowl, which was watched by around 166 million people around the world, and showcased performances by American Idol Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, country musicians Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, LMFAO and Cee Lo Green. Not surprisingly, commercials were sold out by November 2010, at an average price of $3.5 million for a thirty-second ad. Formula One races this year have seen performances by Linkin Park, Lady Gaga and Shakira. Another case in point is in USA's National Football League (NFL) - the Dallas Cowboys is the highest earning team, with revenues of $2.1 billion, even though it hasn't been among the top-2 in terms of on-field performances for 17 years.
The revenues generated by the Sports industry have reached staggering proportions. It generated $122 billion in 2010, and is expected to hit $145 billion in 2015, an annual growth rate of 4.5%. The income is a mix of Gate Revenues, Media Rights, Sponsorships and Merchandising. While Gate revenues have been traditionally the main source of income, Sponsorship revenues are expected to overtake it by 2015. Media rights revenues are also growing at a very fast rate and together with Sponsorship forms the prime income stream. While North America continues to dominate the market, Latin America with a predicted growth rate of 4.9% and Asia-Pacific with 4% are rapidly growing. Market values by 2015 are Expected to be North America - $60 billion, Europe, Middle East & Africa - $49 billion, Asia Pacific - $27 billion and Latin America $7billion.
The global sports market is dominated by Soccer, helped by its global appeal. In 2009, it was worth $26 billion, followed by American Football with $7.6 billion, Baseball with $7.1 billion and Formula 1 with $4 billion. Rugby is the fastest growing sport, followed by Soccer and Formula 1. The list of the top sports teams in the world reflects this, with Manchester United (Soccer) leading at $2.23 billion, followed by Real Madrid (Soccer) at $1.88 billion, the Dallas Cowboys (American football) and the New York Yankees (Baseball) at $1.85 billion each, and The Washington Redskins (American football) at $1.55 billion. While Real Madrid and the Yankees topped their leagues last year, none of the other teams topped their respective leagues last year. This goes to prove that it isn’t about the game anymore - it is about the total entertainment value that influences earnings. This is exactly why management professionals are in high demand. What's more, the highly competitive industry faces a dearth of top-class MBA programs that specialize in this niche field.
Job opportunities include working in management at teams, leagues & stadiums; media, marketing or finance roles, and working as an agent for athletes or sports management companies.
Here are our picks for the top 7 Sports Management MBA:
1) Columbia University Sports Management
Columbia University offers a Master of Science (MS) degree in Sports Management and is the only non-MBA program in our top 7. It is a Part-time program that must be completed within 4 years in New York City, a major US sports hub. The program is designed for the US sports market. It educates students with a broad understanding of the Industry, followed by management skills in finance, law, sports personnel management, facility/event superintendence and sports marketing. Most courses last for 14 weeks, with classes on weekdays, 6:10 - 8 p.m.
The program's foundation course is Social-Historical Foundations of American Sport. This is followed by the Finance Sequence, and the Sports Marketing Sequence that includes one advanced course chosen from Sports Marketing, Sponsorship & Sales, Sports Media Marketing and Sports Business Communications and Public Relations. Students next complete the Leadership and Management course and two from Facility and Event Management, Sports Law and Ethics, and Intercollegiate Athletics Administration. Students can then do an elective, chosen from the program, or an approved elective from anywhere in the university.
Finally, students can take up an internship or a project. The Internship is meant for students who are not working in the industry, who must complete a project in a sports company. The Supervised Project in Sports Management is for students already employed in the industry. Here, student teams take up a research project under faculty supervision.
2) European University Business School
The European University Business School offers a Sports Management MBA, which is essentially an MBA with a concentration in Sports Management. It teaches management skills for the sports industry, like sports marketing, sports management, media relations, sports advertising and sports sponsorship. The university has campuses in Barcelona, Geneva, Munich and Montreux. Students can complete program terms at any of the campuses. There is also an exchange program with schools in USA, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, South Africa, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Turkey, China, Mongolia, Malaysia, India and Thailand. In addition, students can get Double Degrees - a second degree from Nichols College, Massachusetts or The College of Charleston, South Carolina.
The program can be completed in 1-year on a Full-time basis, or in 2-years on a part-time basis. The Full-time program consists of 3 terms, with the first 2 terms dedicated to the core MBA curriculum, industrial visits and guest Managers' Lectures. A recent example is Pau Serrancanta, Director, Dorna Sports (MotoGP). The third term concentrates on Sports Management, covering subjects like Sports Marketing Management, Financial Management Applications to Sport, Sports Sponsorship, Sports Management Issues and Crafting Unique Sports Events. The program ends with a Research Report on the industry.
3) The University of Liverpool Management School - Football Industries MBA
The Football Industries MBA (FIMBA) program is run in conjunction with the British Football Association (FA) and is designed for a career in soccer or football in non-American terms. The program can be completed on a Full-time basis in 1 year or on a Part-time basis in 2 years. The program stresses on professionalism, business & marketing, and leadership skills for the global soccer industry. It offers careers with clubs/teams, governing bodies, soccer marketing firms, media companies or sponsoring corporates.
High profile personnel from the soccer industry who have visited campus as speakers include Peter Kenyon CEO, Chelsea, Manchester United, David Dein, Former Vice-Chair, Arsenal FC, Neil Doncaster, CEO, Scottish Premier League, Gordon Taylor, CEO PFA & President of FIFPro, Steve Nuttall, Communications Manager, BSkyB, Dan Jones, Deloitte's Sports Business Unit and Andy Korman, Partner, Sports Law Unit, Couchman Harrington.
The curriculum is made of subjects like Managing Financial Resources, Managing the Environment, International Football Industry, The Organization in the Strategic Context, Becoming a Football Executive, Sports Operations Management, Change and Innovation, Football & the Law, and Football & Finance. Students are also involved in a Dissertation and a Work Based Project in the soccer industry.
4) Coventry University - International Sport Management MBA
The International Sport Management MBA is a 1-year program on a Full-time basis, or a 2-year program on a part-time basis. It is designed to take advantage of developed markets such as USA, Canada and UK as well as emerging economies like China, India and South Africa. The program equips students with knowledge of sports law, sports broadcasting, sport marketing & sponsorship, sports organizing bodies, event management, impact assessment, and sport operations in large facilities.
The curriculum covers subjects like economic environment of business, Strategic management, contemporary issues in international sport management, managing facilities and stadia. Students also have the option of doing a dissertation or company internship - a workplace project developed with sport industry experts in North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Far East. The Global Leaders Program offers career workshops to develop leadership skills that work across cultures.
5) UMass Amherst - MBA/MS in Sport Management
The Isenberg School of Management teams up with the Mark McCormack Department of Sports Management at UMass Amherst to offer a dual degree that comprises an MBA and a MS in Sports Management. The program can typically be completed in 24 to 27 months. On completion, both MBA and MS degrees are offered.
Besides the core MBA program, students learn Sports Management courses like Sport Marketing, Sport Finance and Business, Sport and the Law, Sport Organizational Behavior and Development, Socio-Historical Foundations of Modern Sport, Applied Sport Marketing Research and Sport Management Electives. The highlight of the program is the opportunity to complete a 13-week internship of at least 40 hours per week in a relevant position in the sports industry.
6) USF College of Business - MBA in Sport & Entertainment Management
USF's MBA in Sport & Entertainment Management is a 2-year program developed in conjunction with Tampa Bay Lightning - A National Hockey League (NHL) team. This is a Full-time, cohort program and students who do not have an undergraduate degree can still do the program after taking 7 foundation courses.
Besides the regular MBA core programs, students study Sport & Entertainment Law, Sport & Entertainment Marketing Strategy, Sport Business Analytics, Contemporary Issues in Sport and Entertainment Management. During the Internship in Sports & Entertainment Management, students will be placed at local sports or even family entertainment companies.
7) SDSU Sports Business Management MBA Program
The San Diego State University's Sports Business Management MBA has been developed in collaboration with the San Diego Padres - a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. The program is made of two parts - a 1 year classroom schedule and a 6-month internship.
The sports related subjects in the curriculum include Statistical Analysis for Sports, Sports Economics, Sports Marketing, Sports Business Management/Sports Law and Integrated Marketing Communications. The internship allows students to work with a sports company or organization on a full-time basis, overseen by a faculty mentor.
Reference
1) Outlook for Global Sports Market - PWC
2) The Sports Market - AT Kearney
Recommended Resources
1) SDSU Sports Business Management MBA Program
2) USF College of Business - MBA in Sport & Entertainment Management
3) UMass Amherst - MBA/MS in Sport Management
4) Coventry University - International Sport Management MBA
5) The University of Liverpool Management School - Football Industries MBA
6) European University Business School
7) Columbia University Sports Management
About the Author
I am Atul Jose - the Founding Consultant at F1GMAT.
Over the past 15 years, I have helped MBA applicants gain admissions to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Yale, NYU Stern, Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, IE, IESE, HEC Paris, McCombs, Tepper, and schools in the top 30 global MBA ranking.
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Winning MBA Essay Guide - A Complete Guide for M7 and Top 15 MBA Application Essays
F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay guide will teach you how to transform your essay into a life journey with trials and tribulations that will move the admission team.
+ Over 245 Sample Essays (Read Previews of F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay Guide Sample Essays here)
+ Top 15 MBA Programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, MIT, Kellogg, Yale, Haas, Darden, INSEAD, LBS, NYU Stern, Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Ross)
+ The Art of Storytelling
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
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Harvard MBA Essay Guide (20 Sample Essays)
Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)Example #1: Persistence Narrative
Background Information: The applicant – a design and music talent, shares her journey through several setbacks. She attributes curiosity to her growth.
Curiosity: Philosophy
Curiosity (Explained): Curiosity as a philosophy is tough to translate into a narrative unless you are from the creative industry or your contributions had an influence on a solution or an initiative.
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to capture the humanity of the applicant and her influence in music instead of just highlighting how she overcame multiple roadblocks to gain attention as a designer.
Theme: Persistence
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Life Starts at NO (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #2: International Community Building
Background Information: The applicant, a Machine Learning (ML) entrepreneur specializing in healthcare diagnostics, shares how his curiosity to learn other ML algorithms’ evolution in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease transformed his platform into a global community.
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to show the applicant’s contributions in diagnostic from 2020 to 2024 by citing two events. Such examples build credibility instead of engagements that were recent. The evolution of the platform from an AI development community to a community for discussing the application of AI in diagnostics is captured through a ‘curiosity’ angle.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Growth through Collaboration (AI in Healthcare) (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #3: Culture
Background Information: The applicant, an Entrepreneur from India narrates his first entrepreneurial experience – facilitating exchange of stamps in the late 1990s.
Theme: Culture
MBA Essay Strategy: Instead of addressing the biases in the investor community that could turn preachy, I wanted to focus on the applicant and his entrepreneurial journey by citing two entrepreneurial experiences – a platform(club) for stamp collection and his Grocery delivery App.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – The American Dream (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #4: Addiction
Background Information: The applicant – a beneficiary of the foster home system, captures the sacrifice his adopted grandparents made to save him from a path of addiction. Paying it back through early intervention among teenagers and community engagement is the curiosity narrative.
Theme: Addiction
MBA Essay Strategy: My strategy is to capture a gratitude narrative in the first one-third of the essay to demonstrate motivation for starting the venture and dedicate the latter part of the essay to the unique solution
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Drug Addiction and Gaming (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #5: Scarcity
Background Information: The applicant, an education major, recognizes that 70% of all students in Kenya don’t have a computer. The curiosity that drives him to pivot from one solution to another is the growth narrative.
Theme: Innovation
MBA Essay Strategy: Often, innovation is captured with a ‘hero’ narrative where the applicant is the sole originator of an idea. I wanted to break that cliché and include a person from whom the applicant learned to use a concept called ‘scaffolding.’
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Scarcity (Growth-Oriented HBS Essay Example)Example #6: FinTech
Background Information: The applicant captures a vulnerable moment of a beneficiary to compare his journey of side hustle before a technology giant noticed his talent. Although cryptocurrency is not a flavor for the year, capture niches where innovation is still happening.
Theme: Education, Child Welfare
MBA Essay Strategy: Empathizing with a techno solution is tough without a strong backstory around the beneficiary. For the essay, I wanted to clearly establish the beneficiary – Rami, before the applicant narrates the similarities to his journey and finally shares the solution that emerged from his curiosity.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – FinTech as a Tool for Good (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #7: Learning from the best
Background Information: The applicant – a Remote Engineer in the Oil and Gas industry, reflects on a value that has helped her learn from the best regardless of her geographical limitations.
Theme: Learning
MBA Essay Strategy: The effectiveness of the case-study method depends on the assumption that peers in a Harvard MBA class will help elevate your learning experience. For the essay, I have highlighted the applicant’s recognition of this value proposition with three examples.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Learning from the Best (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #8: Military & Search for IMPACT
Background Information: The most common narrative for US military applicants is to quote 9/11 and the reaction your immediate family had while watching the events unfold. The horrifying moment is captured as a motivation to join the Military. On digging deeper, most applicants would share that their motivations were diverse.
Theme: Career Choice
MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to quickly highlight that the applicant had the choice of entering any industry. One achievement to demonstrate his curiosity that I shared in the first half is the invention of a game. Since the game is mentioned in the resume and verifiable through search, I didn’t quote the name. By clearly highlighting the person’s curiosity and career options, the family legacy is used as a factor in joining the military.
Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Career Choice after a Military Career (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)
Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)Example #9: Small Business Values
Background Information: The applicant - a second-generation Asian American, is familiar with the values of fiscal conservatism, building relationships, and understanding the daily struggles of the community through his family’s department store.
Theme: Customer-Centric
MBA Essay Strategy: The applicant’s role in developing an App for the store is highlighted in the essay at a crucial part of the narrative so that the essay is not all about his father. I have also humanized the journey – by sharing how upset the father was when the revenues fell by 40%. The essay is about the transformation in the applicant’s value from a person chasing productivity and optimization technique to someone who is truly thinking about the customers.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Small Business Values (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #10: Breaking Away from Family Business
Background Information: A unique challenge that applicants whose parents are public figures or CXOs of businesses or entrepreneurs are the pressure to live up to the parent’s standards or milestones. For the leadership narrative, the burden of legacy is established before the narrative addresses his leadership principles.
Theme: Authenticity
MBA Essay Strategy: For the essay, I want to capture an entrepreneur’s journey to rise above his entrepreneur father’s image. But I didn’t want to make the entire essay about this complex dynamics. The narrative is around the applicant’s focus on customers and surrounding with teams who keeps him grounded.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business(Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #11: Creativity and Communication
Background Information: When the overall percentage of users with internet access is 62% in South Africa and the inequality accentuated by the rural and urban divide, the applicant endured the lack of digital infrastructure, and spending close to 22% of the family income on gaining relevant information on schools, global exams, and financial assistance.
Theme: Creativity, Communication
MBA Essay Strategy: The strategy is to share why the applicant values no distraction in a child’s home for optimum education experience. Then I highlight the many roadblocks the applicant’s non-profit faced in receiving fee waiver for their cooperative run ISP.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Non-Profit (Telecom) (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #12: Mental Health
Background Information: The applicant like most didn’t pay much attention to the mental health epidemic until tragedy hit home.
Theme: Communication, Innovation
MBA Essay Strategy: A question we frequently get from applicants is whether they should cite tragedy in the family as a motivation for a venture or a non-profit initiative. As long as you don’t linger too much on the tragedy and offer a balanced narrative, there are no restrictions on leveraging unique stories from your life.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Mental Health (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #13: Trauma, Healing & Finding Authentic Self
Background Information: The applicant narrates the absurdity of war in the narrative about the duties in Kabul, and the trauma. Instead of wallowing in on the horror, the applicant takes what makes military applicants strong and guides unprivileged children build life and leadership skills.
Theme: Resilience
MBA Essay Strategy: Capturing PTSD in an essay, the healing process, and the cues that helped the applicant are too sacred to be shared in a Harvard MBA application essay. However, with the right motivation and narrative arcs, you can capture the essence of your journey without sharing the darkest secrets. That is what I did by merging two stories – the horrors of the war with a non-profit engagement.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Military & PTSD (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #14: Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra
Background Information: In this narrative, the applicant captures Peru’s Silver mining boom of 2006. The growth experienced in her father’s business shifted the family’s economic status to a new stratosphere. Through the changing economic and family dynamics, the applicant finds her voice in a unique way, initially to record her unheard voice but later as one of the youngest subject matter experts in mining and commodities.
Theme: Failure
MBA Essay Strategy: For the essay, the strategy is to show how life’s unpredictability is a blessing. By narrating two setback events, the essay demonstrates the applicant’s resilience and her acknowledgment of people who made a comeback possible.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Example #15: War, Immigration and Starting Over Again
Background Information: Despite a raging war in Syria, the family of the applicant was unblemished by the chaos. The strategic government assets near the applicant’s house would have made the region an easy target, but it was not. The calmness of her journey is shattered in one event. From the privileges of a cocooned life, the applicant is forced to think about survival, her sister’s future, and her future in the US. The second half of the narrative captures the change that was forced on her.
Theme: Gratitude, Resilience
MBA Essay Strategy: I consciously chose not to start the essay with a dialogue or trauma. Two lines are allocated to set up the narrative before the trauma event.
Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – War, Immigration and Starting Over Again (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
Example #16: Creative or Finance
Background Information: The applicant starts the narrative with the origin of her talents. The unbridled enthusiasm receives a reality check when in high school, the applicant’s father has a conversation with her about academics. While the applicant picked up her quant skills, she was reaching over 50,000 loyal fans, and her videos captured 1 million views.
Theme: Passion, Talent
MBA Essay Strategy: Capturing vulnerability is the toughest part for Harvard MBA applicants. For this essay example, I have captured the applicant’s uncertainty about career choice throughout the essay. Here the goal is to show vulnerability in the career choice essay while for leadership and growth essay, I could capture one example each from creative and PE industry respectively to balance the narrative. So don’t follow this example without a strategy.
Read: Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay – Creative or Finance (Business-Minded HBS MBA Essay Example)- Stanford MBA Essay Guide (24 Sample Essays)
- Columbia MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
- Wharton MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (19 Sample Essays)
- Darden MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
- Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- Tuck MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
- Haas MBA Essay Guide (18 Sample Essays)
- NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays + 6 Examples - Visual Essay)
- LBS MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Essays)
- MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Cover Letters + 3 Sample Video Statement Scripts + 3 Sample Optional Essays)
- Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays)
- Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
- Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays)
- Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (10 Sample Essays + Two 25 Random Things Samples)
- Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
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