Sport Business Management

Analytics have revolutionized sport, providing a competitive advantage to organizational decision-making both on and off the field. This course introduces best practices utilized by data analysts in sport business analytics. The course touches on sports data collection, fact finding, visualization, and metrics that guide strategic decision-making in the sport industry. This course will touch on many aspects of the sports industry, including professional sports. You do do not need a comprehensive background in data science, computer science/Python, or machine learning to complete this edX course.

Through the duration of this self-paced, online course, learners will:

• Identify the concepts and characteristics of sports analytics in the sporting industry, historically and today.

• Interpret aspects of analytics in the sporting industry (e.g., the impact of analytics in sport, player data points, athlete performance data tracking, organizational key performance indicators, etc.)

• Comprehend and engage in critical thinking with analytic topics in the sporting industry.

• Obtain a perspective of the growing trend and field of sport analytics.

• Gain insight on the strategies, analytical techniques, and concepts used to evaluate players, team performance, and front-office strategies.

• Discuss topics related to sport analytics

• Utilize data analysis and statistical analysis techniques to identify problems and propose innovative solutions for improving performance both on the field and in sport management.

Sports have long been a cornerstone to our society, but only in recent history has the business of sport truly monetized, with an expected value in 2021 of over $500 Billion USD. Ticket sales, corporate partnerships, sports marketing, sponsorships, merchandise, sports media and broadcast rights, product licensing, and other areas of revenue generation allow fans to be a part of the entire experience, both in the stadium and outside of sporting events. This course mainly focuses on professional sports organizations, rather than high school, collegiate and international sports; entrepreneurship; or esports.

This course is taught by professionals from across different areas of the industry, and provides a foundation in the principles and significance of sales and revenue generation in the business of Sport through a mix of theoretical fundamentals and real-world, practical application. It is the second of three online courses in the Sport Management Professional Certificate. The course will touch on ticket sales, corporate sales, and group sales. It will also cover elements of being a sales manager and characteristics of successful sales people in the sports management field. It covers key sales and revenue generation elements such as:

• The Sports Sales Process

• Relationship-Building

• Customer Service

• Business Development

Completion of this course will provide learners with the essential skills and critical thinking to become successful sales executives in the field of Sport, and verified track learners are able to complete graded coursework and assessments to earn a verified certificate. Enrollment and completion of all three courses with a passing grade is required to earn the Sport Business Management Professional Certificate.

(This course is not a standalone sport management program, part of a sports management major, or sport management degree program, including an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree, and currently cannot be transferred for University of Alaska Fairbanks credit hours or accreditation.)