This fall, NYU welcomed the class of 2020 at Madison Square Garden, a group that, like many others, hails the university as the center of operations of renowned schools like Tisch and Stern. But the opportunities for students at NYU are vast and go beyond the big-name programs. The School of Professional Studies, for example, is home to a wide array of sports- related education courses and majors that give their students unimaginable resources.

Offering Bachelor of Science in Sports Management, Master of Science in Sports Business and many more related for those interested in pursuing a career in sports, SPS guarantees quality guidance for sports majors. From annual participation in the Baseball Winter Meetings to Women in Sports panel discussions, students can be confident that NYU has just as much to offer for those inclined towards such endeavors.

Academic Chair of Sports Management Professor Wayne G. McDonnell states the key role New York plays in
the program.

“We are in the epicenter of the sports business world and our students use the city as a laboratory for learning,” McDonnell said. “The industry actively participates in the program through adjunct faculty, guest lectures, on-site visits, special panel discussions and extraordinary
internship opportunities.”

For an undergraduate degree, students take 38 units of major core sports-based courses that span over topics such as introductory principles, organizations, finance, accounting, research, business development, marketing and consumer behavior. SPS offers four concentrations that students must choose from: Event Management, Organizational Management, Sports Law and Sports Media. Furthermore, 600 hours of internship experience are required but there are also 15 units of electives available for exploration of minors or double concentrations and even additional sports courses. When courses like the Advanced Seminar in Sports Management (FOX Sports University Course) lead to NYU students working with NYC FC and the YES Network to pitch an integrated marketing campaign for the team, the world can rest assured the next James L. Dolan is walking somewhere around Washington Square Park.

The opportunities increase in graduate school when students are able to choose between a 42 unit degree or a 15 unit certificate. Concentrations offered cover Professional and Collegiate Sports Operations, Sports Marketing and Sales, Global Sports Media and Sports Law. For the 15 unit certificate programs, students can delve into Legal Issues, Sports Economics, Financial Analysis, Revenue Strategies and Pricing and Planning and Developing of Major Sporting Events. And if somewhere in NYU there’s someone itching to boot Charles Barkley from his position, SPS also offers a course in Sports Broadcasting.

Though NYU isn’t famed for its athletics, students that enroll in SPS in hopes of setting the world of sports management on fire are in good hands. As Dean of Admissions Shawn Abbott assured the incoming class of freshman, “You didn’t come to NYU to watch a football team, you came to NYU to own a football team.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Sept. 19 print edition. Email Kenadee Gallego at [email protected].