Students interested in working for sports teams or leagues can start learning about the athletics business by enrolling in a new concentration at the University of Houston-Victoria.
The University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development is adding a sports management concentration for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. The new concentration begins in the fall.
“Sports management is a popular course of study right now,” said Raymond Tucker, a UHV assistant professor of kinesiology. “There are a lot of things graduates can do with that specialization. It opens up a lot of different avenues.”
The new concentration will prepare students for careers in managing athletic facilities, athletic administration, ticket sales, sports marketing and finance, and team front office positions, such as general manager or player personal director.
One appealing aspect of sports management is it meshes sports and business, Tucker said. Some students who enjoy playing or watching sports want to learn about working in the sports industry.
“Students may not be able to play or coach sports after college, but they still want to be involved in the business side of it,” he said.
The Bachelor of Science in kinesiology has been offered by the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development since fall 2015. The program allows students to receive a second certification in specific subjects so that they can teach both physical education and another subject, which helps them be more competitive when applying for teaching positions.
UHV added concentrations in exercise sports science and pre-allied health in the spring for students who did not want to teach. The exercise sports science concentration prepares students for careers as fitness trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and exercise technologists. The pre-allied health concentration gets students ready for careers in physical or occupational therapy as well as exercise physiology and cardiac rehabilitation.
“We’ve greatly expanded the choices for students in the kinesiology program,” said Fred Litton, dean of the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development. “It’s important to us to meet student demand, and I think these new specializations have done so. In two years, we’ve gone from not having a program to having one with four different paths.”
The sports management concentration requires 121 credit hours. Students will take 54 credit hours of kinesiology courses, including several sports management classes, such as “Economics in Sport,” “Leadership Principles in Sport” and “Marketing and Promotion in Sport.” Some courses will be face to face while others will be online.
“There’s a lot to like about the kinesiology program, from the affordability to the great relationships our students have with faculty members,” Tucker said.
In addition, students can pursue a kinesiology minor in four different areas starting this fall:
- Exercise sports science
- Physical education
- Sports management
- Strength and conditioning
The minors were created for students majoring in other areas who want to gain knowledge about these subjects. For instance, a student majoring in biology may want to minor in exercise sports science, or a business student may want to minor in sports management.
To learn more about the kinesiology concentrations or minors, go to www.uhv.edu/education/undergraduate-degrees/kinesiology, or contact Tucker at 361-570-4381 or tuckerr1@uhv.edu.