Location:

San Diego, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

Sports Management

Program Overview

Program Description:

CHOSEN AS ONE OF THE TOP 5 BEST MASTER’S DEGREES IN SPORTS MANAGEMENT IN THE WORLD BY SPORTS BUSINESS MAGAZINE 2017

In choosing the right graduate program to study sports business, there are a number of factors to consider. We believe that our recent ranking of #4 globally in Sports Business International, the leading ranking for Postgraduate Sports Business programs, reflects the work we and our alumni have put in to make this a top choice for ambitious students. Furthermore, the Fowler College of Business is ranked in the TOP 50 US Public Business Schools.

Academics: Sports is a business, and this program prepares you to enter this business with an MBA degree from the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business. While many universities offer master’s degrees that focus on sports management or require you to complete two degrees in order to get an MBA, this program provides students with a business degree in which all classes are sports-focused. Beyond the type of degree, the course in the Sports MBA program are taught by SDSU’s top faculty members, are exceptionally rigorous, and focus on developing an MBA toolkit of skills required of successful sports executives.

Location: San Diego, California is quite possibly the ideal location to study the business of sports. We’re home to two professional teams, several NCAA athletic departments, including the surging Aztec Athletics on our own campus, a regional sports network, and a US Olympic Training Center. This is an active city that loves its sports, and it’s home to hundreds of sports organizations that span the industry, including endurance sports, action sports, apparel, MMA, golf, equipment, memorabilia, and more. We have an emerging and vibrant sports startup scene that includes a number of technology companies focused on sports. Beyond county lines, we’re just two hours from Los Angeles, and we border the emerging soccer and baseball market in Mexico to the south. This exceptional location affords our students the opportunity to intern several days per week and gain essential industry experience while completing classes. Our campus is not in a college town with limited professional prospects; the San Diego area presents SDSU Sports MBA students with myriad opportunities. Simply put, this is a place where students can build a network and start a successful and rewarding career in sports business.

There’s a sports event in San Diego every weekend. In fact, the program kicks off each year with the students working all five days of a PGA Tour event, the Farmers Insurance Open, for both the event organizers, the Century Club of San Diego, and the title sponsor, Farmers Insurance.

This year alone, students have spent hundreds of hours volunteering on the weekends for nearby events such as the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the Dew Tour, the Special Olympics, the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon, the ESPYs, SurfGirl, Sports Business Journal Conferences, the SEAT Conference, the Sweet 16, the Mountain West Conference basketball championships, Ironman events, the Amgen Tour of California, the IMG Academy World Junior Golf Tournament, an AVP event, and SDSU Athletic events, among others.

Accelerated Timeframe: Most MBA programs require a two-year commitment from students, but our intensive 18-month calendar (12 months on campus and 6 months in the workforce) uses consecutive terms with no summer break to condense a typical two-year MBA and allow for an internship in 18 months. The program starts in January. The application period runs from August to the end of October of the previous year.

Alumni: Our dedicated network of alumni in the sports industry totals over 300 executives, and they are far more actively involved than most graduate school alumni networks you may encounter. Beginning with the admissions process, in which they interview applicants and help make acceptance decisions, our alumni are involved in the educational process at every turn. SDSU Sports MBA alumni are constantly returning to campus to give classes, demonstrate software programs, host workshops, work with faculty, and hire students. Beyond their work with current students, our alumni are working in important positions with top organizations in sports throughout the world, and as such are exceptionally valuable professional resources for one another. The university has over 300,000 alumni throughout the world.

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

SDSU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and AACSB.

Requirements:

• A GPA of 3.0 or higher in the last 60 semester units (90 quarter units) of undergraduate work (absolute minimum undergraduate GPA for graduate students at SDSU is 2.85) • Two letters of recommendation • Professional Résumé • Personal Statement • Sports MBA Alumni Interview • Official GMAT Score Report * TOEFL test for international students Applicants are evaluated on the basis of prior academic and professional accomplishments, educational and career goals, and potential for advancement in the competitive sports business industry.

International Requirements:

International students are highly encouraged to apply. The global program welcomes international students from different fields and backgrounds.