UWF to launch graduate program in sport administration

“Graduate sport administration programs are in high demand nationally, and UWF is well positioned to be a strong choice for students locally, nationally, and around the world,” said Dr. Gary Liguori, provost and senior vice president. “Led by an accomplished faculty, the UWF program will distinguish itself by including aspects of analytics, esports, wearables, sustainability, and other emerging technologies, so that prospective students will find UWF as a top choice for a master’s degree in sport administration.”

The master’s degree will prepare students for careers in the growing global sport market through business management fundamentals and sport-focused courses emphasizing marketing, analytics, emerging technologies, sustainability, wagering and esports.

The sport administration graduate program is guided by an advisory board of sport industry experts and focuses on applied experiential learning through internships, career coaching, career placement assistance and mentorships. Dr. Gil Fried, chair of the Administration and Law Department, developed the program and authored the sport analytic book used for it.

“We took an interdisciplinary approach to the degree with classes from the College of Business and the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering to supplement the sport administration courses we developed specifically for this program,” Fried said. “Having some specific stat courses designed for sport managers really gives the program much more breadth than some programs that claim to offer sport analytics, but do not train professionals on how to find data, analyze data, develop data supported options, and most importantly help sport organizations make the right decisions.”

Graduates of the program can expect to enter the workforce with skills to analyze effective leadership and management strategies to run sport organizations; demonstrate how data impacts most sport business decisions; apply theory learned in the program to a real-life setting; analyze how technology is changing the nature of the sport industry; effectively communicate in sport management practice; and apply ethical judgment and analysis to managerial decisions made in the sport industry.

For more information about UWF’s sport administration graduate program, visit uwf.edu/sportadministration.