The sport management on-campus graduate program at WVU’s College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences has been listed as the 11th best sport management program world-wide, and number three in the United States, according to a global ranking and rating agency evaluating masters and MBA programs.
This represents a significant increase from 2013, when the program landed 39th worldwide and 10th within the United States. Eduniversal Best Masters has released results for 2014 in its list of 50 best masters in sports management.
The WVU on-campus sport management master’s degree program has prepared qualified graduate and undergraduate students since 1981. Graduates have made significant contributions in a variety of sport settings including intercollegiate athletics, professional sports, facilities and arenas, event marketing and promotions, and sport law and communications, to name a few.
“In Eduniversal’s 2014-15 national and international rankings of some 4000 business and related master’s programs, our graduate on-campus sport management program received its highest rankings ever—third in the US and 11th worldwide. Everyone associated with the program should be very proud of this recognition, especially our graduates who continue to lead in the sport management industry,” said Dallas Branch, associate professor, CPASS graduate sport management program.
The graduate program places 100 percent of its interns in assignments in the sport industry. “We have consistently placed our graduates in the most significant positions within the sport industry, including the NCAA, NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball,NHL, NBC Sports, Nike, ESPN and many major sports organizations at the professional and collegiate levels,” Branch explained.
“We have more than 20 graduates employed in the WVU Athletic Department, including the new Athletic Director Shane Lyons, a 1988 graduate.”
The unique curriculum features courses that provide “real-world” training in athletics compliance and sport finance. The program has provided students with marketing research and data-mining consultant experiences with the Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Washington Capitals.
What the improvement on the list is saying about WVU’s program comes as no
surprise to those familiar with it, said CPASS Dean Dana Brooks.
“The sport management graduate program is just one of the many well-kept treasures
in our college,” Brooks said. “Dallas and the other sport management faculty
members have done a fine job making the program one that stands out among its
peers, while making an impact in the industry.”
“We have always known about the quality of this program and our graduates. This ranking confirms what we have always known. The unique experiences offered within this program certainly help us attract some of the best and brightest students in the country,” explained Jack Watson, chair and professor, sport sciences department.