Course description
The MSAL curriculum will consist of 3-credit courses divided into the key areas of the domain – exploring sport as a discipline (history, sociology); fostering administrative skills (legal, finance, marketing, media, operations, personnel, consumers, and constituencies); nurturing leadership qualities (behaving ethically, and motivating self and staff). Typically, students will take 12 courses (36 credits) over a 2-year period offered as 2 fall courses, 2 winter courses, 1 spring course, and 1 summer course. Students will take a 6-credit internship at their discretion. A total of 3 credits of capstone (SADL 590) are required. Registration in SADL 590 is required during the quarter specified in the timeline for each particular colloquium option (see MSAL website or handbook for colloquium options). With permission, students may substitute up to 9 credits of regularly required courses with transfer courses or courses from other SU graduate programs when it is determined that the substitute course work would be more relevant to the student’s professional objectives. The pedagogy for the 45-credit degree will be learner-centered, with an emphasis on collaborative learning in small groups.
Sport Foundation: 6 credits
SADL 501 Contemporary Issues of Sport (3)
Explores the history of sport in America, showing that sport constituted an integral component of the lives of past Americans. Additionally, it addresses how the people of the past thought about sport and engaged in sport before the age of television and big-time professional and college athletics. The historical development of sport in American society from the seventeenth century to the twentieth century conveys how sport both shaped and reflected American history and provides perspective on responding to the current issues sport leaders face in a modern sport world.
SADL 502 Social-cultural Basis for Sport (3)
Provides a thematic analysis to the social-cultural study of sport. Using techniques drawn from sociology and anthropology, the course examines the interrelationships between sport and other institutions formed by and for human activity. In particular, the course presents information regarding the interaction of sport and with family, religion, race, gender, economics, and politics as well as its interaction with art, literature, theater, film, music and other elements of contemporary American culture.
Sport Administration: 24 credits
SADL 504 Legal Issues in Sport (3)
Covers various amateur sports law issues, focusing on regulation of interscholastic, intercollegiate, and Olympic sports. Topics covered include constitutional law, tort law, contract law, Title IX gender discrimination, federal disability discrimination laws, the legal characterization of college athletes, regulatory authority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, antitrust law, resolution of disputes affecting Olympic sports, trademark and unfair competition law, and regulation of private sports associations. Addresses various legal issues affecting professional sports, including antitrust, labor, contracts, regulation of private associations, player representation, intellectual property and sports broadcasting issues.
SADL 505 Administrative Control of Sport Organizations (3)
Covers basic theory of administrative control of sport organizations. Included are forms of ownership, taxation, financial analysis, feasibility studies, and economic impact studies. Emphasis is placed on: financial analysis, capital structuring, capital budgeting, short and long-term financing including sales, licensing, corporate participation, grant and proposal writing, asset and debt financing.
SADL 506 Strategic Marketing for Sport Organizations (3)
Presents strategic marketing concepts with applications to sport organizations, both amateur and professional. Topics include promotions and public relations, sport consumer behavior, strategic market planning, marketing information management, marketing communications, sponsorships, media management, public relations, promotions, print and electronic advertising.
SADL 507 Media & Sport Information (3)
Presents the role of print media (newspapers and magazines), electronic (radio, network television and cable television) and new media (Internet and related digital and interactive technologies) in escalating the interest, coverage, and importance of big-time college and professional sport. Illuminates the roles of media planners, producers, sports information directors, sports journalists, and specialized media-related companies dedicated to marketing, producing and disseminating commercialized sport.
SADL 508 Sport Operations & Event Management (3)
Provides an overview to managing sport programs and events. Topics in general operations include identifying characteristics of an effective organization, designing practical management strategies, formulating effective communication processes, and supervising personnel. Topics in event management include establishing logistical plans, site or equipment layouts, schedules and time lines, electronic communications and information systems, procedures for hospitality, housing, registration, transportation and financial disbursement, traffic flow and parking, first aid, disaster and emergency response, spectator locations, restroom and waste facilities, and liaison with reporting and broadcast media, governing bodies, vendors, concessions, planning committees, and volunteers.
SADL 510 Leading Sport Staff (3)
Covers the key elements for developing a dynamic organizational culture: recruiting, evaluating and selecting, orienting, and training sport personnel. Topics include writing job descriptions, conducting performance evaluations, interpersonal communications, managing change, maintaining positive morale, managing difficult employees, developing a system of rewards, managing stress, creating diversity, and collaborative/participative management style.
SADL 513 Building Sport Constituencies (3)
Sport administration involves a delicate balance of understanding and managing a variety of constituents with conflicting priorities. Without a clear process for working with these constituents and the personal skills to manage the process, sport administrators are confronted with increased levels of political risk. This course will identify and describe the various constituencies; define, discuss, and develop a clear understanding of the necessary personal skills for engaging them; and help you create a process to maximize your ability to build the consensus required to support getting things done in the complicated and pressure-filled environment of sport.
SADL 514 Sport Consumer Behavior (3)
Presents students with comprehensive coverage of sport spectator consumer behavior with an emphasis on understanding the value of knowledge about the sport consumer and marketing implications. Topics include 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.
Sport Leadership: 6 credits
SADL 511 Sport Philosophy & Ethics (3)
Enables a philosophical discussion about the nature of sport and related concepts in order to clarify its values and practices. Topics include defining play, games, sports, excellence, fair play and sportsmanship. The course also examines deontological, utilitarian, and ethical decision-making and how they affect the perception and conduct of athletes, coaches, and fans. It considers the importance of sport administrators who posses a personal philosophy which includes moral imperatives for fair play; humane treatment of others; and prudent utilization of personal and corporate resources.
SADL 512 Psychology of Leadership & Achievement (3)
Begins by presenting information regarding the recognition, development, and use of the essential attributes of personal achievement including commitment, focus, drive, balance, confidence, courage, risk-taking, and trust. The course then presents the basic concepts of socialization, visionary thinking, and moral decision-making required for leading an organization and the roles of motivation, group dynamics, team building, interpersonal communication and perception, power, and creativity required by participants to form the reciprocal relationship between leaders and those they lead. The course also addresses the notions of greatness and peak performance through discussion of both historical and contemporary models of extraordinary leadership.
Capstone Integrative Experience: 9 credits
SADL 590 Project & Colloquium (3)
Enables the understanding of how to use research to solve problems for entities or organizations. Specifically, students will learn how to identify a problem, analyze the situation, gather relevant information, interpret the information, and propose a solution. The course serves as the requisite foundation for a culminating activity via a manuscript and oral presentation to invited faculty, students and practitioners. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
SADL 595 Internship (6)
The course allows for 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. A supervisor/mentor serves as the author of specific assignments and participates in a final evaluation supported by journal and portfolio.
Independent study for credit is also available.
Internships
The most beneficial element of the MSAL program is the internship and related project. Internship positions are identified in Seattle, regionally and nationally in the following sport industries:
* college athletic departments
* professional teams
* facilities and arenas
* collegiate associations and conferences
* sport marketing and promotion agencies
* sport federations
* various miscellaneous sport programs and organizations
The internship is an on-the-job learning experience with a sport organization and is arranged for course credit. The six-credit internship is scheduled for a minimum of 20 weeks with at least 20 hours of work per week. Internships may be arranged for a longer period by mutual agreement of the student and sponsoring organization.
