Sport Business Leadership

From Seattle University's 2023-2024 Graduate Catalog.
All graduate courses are 3 credits, unless otherwise noted.

SBLR 5000 Introduction to Sport and Entertainment Management

After successful completion of this course, students will establish themselves as individuals who belong to a cohort (group), sharing a common goal to understand emerging challenges of the sport and entertainment industry. They will develop foundational skills in inquiry, analytical thinking, and collaboration to build effective teams and effect innovative change in organizations through various leadership models. Majors only.

SBLR 5010 Diversity and Inclusion for Sport Management

Students will identify the dimensions of diversity that matter most in organizations and why as well as examine the difference between diversity and inclusion. They will learn to recognize unconscious bias, stereotypes, and prejudices that can influence behavior within a workgroup. They will explore how to identify interventions that can help override judgment and decision-making errors due to biases. Finally, they will explore ways to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace climate through social connections, openness to learning, and a commitment to growth in DEI at the organizational, supervisor, and individual levels.

SBLR 5030 Sport Business Strategic Thinking

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand what it means to be a strategic thinker, and how to apply this framework across all parts of sport business, as well as their own career. Specifically, this course will dive into various verticals of sports business - marketing, ticket sales, sponsorship/media, and finance/venue operations - and show how strategic thinking can be applied in each area. In addition, a portion of the course will be devoted to providing an opportunity for students to be introspective and think about how to use strategic thinking in their careers and lives.

Prerequisite or Co-requisite: SBLR 5120 and SBLR 5140

SBLR 5040 Legal Issues in Sport

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand fundamental legal concepts relevant to tort law, contract law, and constitutional law; identify potential liability situations in the supervision, management and conduct of sport, recreation and physical activity (including situations regarding discrimination in terms of race, sex, and disability); and design and develop strategies for limiting liability.

SBLR 5050 Financing Sport Organizations

After successful completion of this course, students will understand the financing of sport organizations from a ‘triple bottom line’ sustainability approach. Specifically, they will be able to calculate profits and losses for sport organizations; track and graph financial trends of revenues and expenses; analyze revenues after factoring in inflation costs to determine adjusted profits or losses; and determine, evaluate, and report causes for trends and anomalies in the above. Students will be able to analyze financial value of sport franchises; evaluate revenue categories to determine viability; analyze and discuss impact of collective bargaining agreements on financial value of franchises; and discuss environmental and social impacts of financial decisions. 

SBLR 5060 Sport and Entertainment Marketing

In this course, students will learn how to think about marketing from a strategic position for sport and entertainment events with a focus on the digital space. Students will develop a deep understanding of the ways in which marketing, communication, and sales are unique to the sport and entertainment venue.

Prerequisite: SBLR 5140

SBLR 5070 Digital and Social Media Communication

In this course, students will learn how to create integrated communications across platforms. The focus is on the creation and implementation of the communications using storytelling, design principles, social listening techniques, and the use of analytics. Majors only.

SBLR 5080 Sport Event Planning

Competition to bid for events from youth and recreational to international events is becoming more complex. Event managers are asked to integrate a balanced sustainability approach from the initial bid through planning process through the execution of the event and afterward making event planning increasingly complex. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of how to integrate the three aspects of sustainability (i.e., economic, social, environmental) into the bidding and planning steps leading up to a sport event. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to assess the various needs of an event, evaluate the capacities of potential sites to host various events, develop a strategic plan that engages relative stakeholders to successfully achieve the events sustainable goals, identify revenue streams and expenses to finance the event, develop sustainable procurement policies and procedures, and ensure the event has a positive and lasting legacy element for the surrounding community, which will ultimately result in bidding and planning documents for an event.

SBLR 5090 Revenue Generation in Sport and Entertainment

This course is designed to offer a comprehensive overview of the revenue-generating streams for various sport organizations. Students will gain an understanding of strategies being used in arenas, stadiums, and other sport and entertainment venues to generate new revenue streams. Students will incorporate these understandings to calculate profits and losses for sport organizations; track and graph financial trends of revenues and expenses; analyze revenues after factoring in inflation costs to determine adjusted profits or losses; and determine, evaluate, and report causes for trends and anomalies in the above.

SBLR 5100 Managing Human Resources in Sport Organizations

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop a dynamic organizational culture through recruiting and selecting, orienting and training, evaluating and rewarding sport personnel. Students will be able to write job descriptions, conduct performance evaluations, demonstrate interpersonal communications, manage change, maintain positive morale, manage difficult employees, develop a system of rewards, manage stress, create diversity, and develop a collaborative/participative management style.

Prerequisite: SBLR 5150

SBLR 5110 Sport Business Ethics

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify and discuss moral and ethical issues prevalent and specific to the sport industry. They will develop advanced interpretative skills regarding moral and ethical issues in sport business by learning to analyze situations through various ethical lenses. Students will refine their understanding of personal morals and ethics in ways that help them become sport leaders committed to moral practices and ethical-decision making. Course required. Majors only.

SBLR 5120 Developing Leadership in Sport

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to evaluate leadership theories from historical and contemporary perspectives; analyze leadership styles from the most frequently used perspectives in business; investigate contemporary thinking on leadership and how leadership roles are changing in the 21st century; identify ways leadership in sport organizations can positively affect local and regional communities; develop leadership models for effective organizations; and formulate a personal and professional growth plan as a sport leader.

SBLR 5122 Women and Sport Leadership

The aim of this course is to provide both women and men insights regarding women and leadership within and beyond the sport context. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how gender affects leadership and what specific issues women face with respect to leadership. After successful completion of this course, students will understand (1) the historical context that affects women and leadership opportunities today, (2) specific understandings of women and sport leadership, (3) the subtle and nuanced ways that gender bias persists, and (4) how social constructions of gender affect both women and men’s enactment of leadership. Finally, students will apply these understandings by (1) preparing an action plan aimed at improving a sport organization’s ability to maximize its talent by minimizing gender biases culturally and structurally and (2) taking steps to develop their own leadership aimed at inclusivity. 

SBLR 5140 Sport Consumer Behavior

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to explain and delineate theories relevant to sport spectator behavior; apply the theories and research paradigms to develop and evaluate marketing reports; and create a consumer marketing report that provides a synopsis and recommendations for a sport organization. Specifically the student will analyze fan socialization, market segmentation, culture and sub-culture markets, personal values and goals, motivation, personality, decision making, constraints, market demand, confirmation/disconfirmation of expectancies, BIRGing and CORFing, and loyalty. 

SBLR 5150 Sport Organizations - A Systems Perspective

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand the primary processes involved in managing organizations such as organizing, planning and evaluating. They will be able to assess strengths and weaknesses of organizations through the lens of organizations as systems. Specifically, they will be able to analyze (1) organizational structure, stakeholder salience, and resources, (2) use skills to improve decision making that enhances performance within sport organizations, (3) gather information about organizations that influence strategic planning, (4) facilitate and create a strategic plan, and (5) analyze organizational effectiveness from different perspectives. Majors only. 

Prerequisite: SBLR 5120

SBLR 5160 Corporate Partnerships and Community Engagement

Students will explore various types of sponsorship and will also be able to formulate their own creative solutions to achieve partner brand objectives. Students will gain a firm understanding of how sports sponsorships are sought out, formulated, evaluated, and activated to produce positive ROI and ROO for partner brands.Majors only. 

SBLR 5170 Data Analytics for Sport Consumer Research

After successful completion of the course, students focused on marketing in the sport industry will understand and be able to interpret analytical and statistical techniques so that they can use data to solve problems for their respective organizations. Sport marketers need to analyze the situation, gather relevant information (i.e., data), interpret the results, and propose recommendations based on the results. Students will use data analytics and modeling to propose solutions to improve customer insights and relationships with sport organizations. Majors only. 

Prerequisite: SBLR 5140

SBLR 5180 Venue Sustainability and Operations

In this course, students will learn about sustainable venue operations and evaluation metrics consistent with facility operations and event management protocols, and recognized standards. Students will understand the business case for sustainability not only through the community engagement aims but also through financial analysis of profit and loss elements of producing and hosting sport and entertainment events. Majors only. 

SBLR 5200 Sustainability in Sport Business

This course is intended to provide students with an overview of Sustainable Development Goals. Students will focus on how SDGs can be incorporated into all functional areas of sport organizations and assess the subsequent effects of these initiatives. At the conclusion of this course students will be able to identify the starting point for sport organizations as they incorporate SDGs, identify ways to demonstrate leadership within the sector with regards to SDGs, establish effective governance to encourage and sustain these efforts; identify and properly engage stakeholders; identify key issues and scope for their sustainability initiatives; set objectives and organizational targets specific to each initiative; assess the organization’s initiatives and track their progress; and understand how to report and communicate the organizational efforts and results to external constituents.

SBLR 5201 Professional Development Fundamentals

2 CREDITS

After successful completion of this course, students will learn and be able to facilitate professional conversations in a corporate environment, improve communication between management and business units, and apply problem-solving/critical thinking to develop and articulate a personal plan for change, career evolution, and personal growth. They will understand the importance of leadership and team building, and the aspects of professionalism unique to the sport and entertainment management industry. (Formerly SBLR 5501) Majors only.

SBLR 5202 Professional Development Strategies

1 CREDIT

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to apply effective prioritization, time management, effective communication, brand positioning, preparation strategies and interview skills. (Formerly SBLR 5502) Majors only.

SBLR 5300 Sport Business Analytics

This course will focus on the highest impact analytics techniques with direct application in a sports business analytics context. The course emphasis is on understanding business challenges, formulating suitable models, developing and interpreting solutions, and communicating results to others. The course will provide an intuition for how different techniques work, along with experience in applying them to real problems and presenting results in a clear and persuasive manner.

SBLR 5401 Leadership Seminar I

1 CREDIT

After successful completion of this course, students will gain a deep understanding of sport as a powerful cultural institution, its influence on the business of sport, and how they can enact inclusive and values-based leadership. (Offered fall)

SBLR 5402 Leadership Seminar II

1 CREDIT

After successful completion of this course, students will learn and be able to apply contemporary thinking on key leadership skills and processes. (Offered winter)

SBLR 5403 Leadership Seminar III

1 CREDIT

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand and apply contemporary thinking on leadership through theoretical perspectives and apply it on an ongoing basis to their own leadership development. (Offered spring)

SBLR 5503 Professional Development Seminar III

1 CREDIT

After successful completion of this course, students will learn and be able to apply effective prioritization, time management and preparation strategies and skills. (Offered spring)

SBLR 5550 Technology in Sport and Entertainment

In this course, students will learn about technology and how its advancement is changing the sport industry. Students will understand the business case for technology advancement, adaptation, and investment in the sport and entertainment industry, while also understanding how technology shapes the direction of the industry. The adaptation of technology not only influences the action on the court or field but also how the business operations are run. Additionally, students will examine the new field of Esports, how technology has enabled its rise, and the variety of career opportunities it has presented.

SBLR 5890 Sport Business Capstone - Organization Analysis

The Capstone is the integrative experience of the Sport and Entertainment MBA program. Students will connect their learning in both content and skills acquired in the curriculum and internships to some business aspect of a sport organization.

SBLR 5910 Special Topics Courses

1 - 3 CREDITS

See administrative office for prerequisites and course descriptions.

SBLR 5950 Internship

1 - 6 CREDITS

After successful completion of this internship, students will have had a leadership opportunity through assigned work experience. Assignments are arranged with local, national or international organizations and include all field specializations. Position descriptions are based on the needs of the cooperating organization. Work hours, calendar, remuneration, and related benefits are negotiated. The on-site supervisor/mentor completes a final evaluation and the student prepares either an oral or written report.

SBLR 5960 Independent Study

1 - 6 CREDITS

SBLR 5990 Sport Business Capstone - Research Based Project

After successful completion of this endeavor, students will have designed, implemented, and presented both orally and in writing, an original research project. Specifically, the student will have delineated a research topic; conducted a comprehensive review of the literature; developed appropriate methodology for investigating a topic; collected and analyzed data; interpreted the results and made recommendations. The course serves as a culminating activity via a manuscript and an oral presentation. 

Prerequisites: SBLR 5000, a minimum of 36 credits toward the MBA SEM degree, a quantitative statistics class (such as SBLR 5170) or a qualitative statistics class