BSc (Hons) in Sport Management

• Take a course where every lecture incorporates a discussion of relevant real-world examples and employability is an integral goal from Year 1
• Gain an understanding of the complex and varied sports industry combined with a sound knowledge of key areas in business and marketing
• Previous graduates have worked at Wimbledon, the Australian Open and national rugby unions, as well as at Premier and Championship football teams

Over the past five years, the business of sport had become a £20 billion-a-year industry in the UK, supporting some 450,000 jobs. From the Premier League to the Women’s Cricket World Cup, sport builds into a global and expanding industry. As such, the world of sports provides not only potentially lucrative opportunities but also a diverse and rewarding context within which to apply your business and marketing skills.

Our Sport Management course focuses on current issues such as the growth and importance of sponsorship, the building of the sports brand in its many guises, and a critical analysis of the use of digital channel distribution. It also takes an in-depth look at innovation in products and stadia and the power of social media, underpinned by a strong understanding of business and marketing principles and practices.

This programme has been designed with employability firmly in mind and the contemporary nature of the modules, structure and teaching strongly reflect this. Ambitious and motivated students will have opportunities to contribute directly to areas of staff and departmental research that continually provide subjects for debate at the cutting edge of the study of sport and exercise.

This course also uses a range of innovative approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. For example, students have explored and applied the principles of sport facility planning and operation management using Minecraft to design stadiums, arenas, sports halls and swimming pools. Examples of student work illustrate how serious play can enhance creative and collaborative learning.

There are four key strands as well as optional modules and a final-year dissertation gives you the chance to build extra knowledge in specialist areas.

• The Sports Marketing strand examines sports as big business. You consider how to build a valuable brand; the use of social media as part of marketing implementation and the evolving nature of sponsorship.
• In the Sports Studies strand, you look at the complex interactions of sport within society; its relationship with the media and other major issues impacting sport.
• The Management, Marketing and Events strand is delivered in collaboration with the Winchester Business School. You focus on a range of specific factors including management and leadership, sports and mega-events, relationship marketing, consumer behaviour, strategic marketing, digital marketing and financial management. Its aim is to boost your employability options within business overall, as well as within sport.
• Finally, in the Research Methods strand, you develop a familiarity with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and apply these to various sporting and exercise contexts as well as to your dissertation.

Exciting opportunities exist for graduates with an understanding of the complex and varied sports industry combined with knowledge of marketing, branding, business, finance, organisation and management. Graduates pursue careers within sport, leisure, tourism, business, management, education, research, health, sponsorship, hospitality, events and marketing.