HFS Sport Management Course Descriptions

HFS 150 Introduction to Sport Management – This course will be taught by a team of faculty and staff members. Each instructor will lecture and provide course materials in their respective area of expertise. The course will cover: a) sport business as an occupation and industry; (b) the sport management function and best practices; (c) sport finance; (d) sport economics; (e) sport sponsorship; (f) sport marketing; (g) sport law; (h) event management ; (i) sport ethics; and (j) social issues in sport. The course will also provide a discussion of the many segments of the sport industry, including: (a) interscholastic athletics, (b) intercollegiate athletics, (c) professional sports, and (d) international sports.

HFS 220 Event and Facility Management –is a critical component of the sport industry.  This course provides the student with an in-depth look at the practices, procedures and operations of major event and facility management, including planning, funding, and managing these events.  The main focus of these principles will be on sporting events and facilities, but can be applied to many different areas, including various corporate and social events.

HFS 221 International Sport Management – This course is an examination of several transformational forces in the world today: the global economy, the electronic village, international politics, and their impact on management within the sport industry.  The course explores the positive and negative effects that globalization has had on sport and, in turn, the positive and negative effects that the sport industry has had on the global community and how sport management professionals address these issues.

HFS 222 Sport Marketing – Sport marketing is an essential element of the sport industry.  It includes aspects of promotions, marketing research, sponsorships, and fundraising.  This course provides the student with an in depth look at the marketing practices, procedures and operations of professional, college and recreational sport organizations and enterprises, and the theories behind these activities.

HFS 224 Sport Law – A basic understanding of the law is essential to anyone involved in the sport industry. This course provides an introduction to common legal concepts as they apply to sport managers and organizations. Students are expected to identify and analyze legal issues, as well as the ramifications of those issues. Students will also be expected to identify and analyze strategies to apply the law and limit liability of sport organizations. This class discusses and analyzes the applicable law governing the sport industry. Contracts, personal injury, risk management, labor law, intellectual property, employment, discrimination, and antitrust are major areas covered in this class.

HFS 225 Coaching Young Athletes – Prepares the student to become a competent youth sport coach.  Identifies differences between a corporate model and educational model of athletics, “process vs. product” coaching philosophies and humanistic vs. autocratic coaching styles.  Alternative athletic program models are examined.  The student surveys recent coaching effectiveness research and develops a sound basic philosophy of coaching, including a professional code of ethics.  Various coaching principles and techniques are studied: communication and motivation, talent identification, injury prevention and care, legal responsibilities of coaches and moral imperatives in the coaching of children.  Class practicum, introspective written assignments and small group discussions are interspersed with brief lectures, videos and guest speaker.  Addresses coaching certification requirements.

HFS 230 Contemporary Issues in Sport Sociology and Sport Psychology – This course is divided into two sections.  During the first half of the course students are asked to analyze sport at the individual level.  Principles of psychology are applied in a sport setting to understand athletic behavior and performance in terms of personality, attention, arousal, anxiety, social facilitation, aggression and other psychological constructs.  The second part of the course is dedicated to our understanding of (1) the cultures and societies in which sport exists, (2) the social worlds created around sports, and (3) the experiences of individuals and groups associated with sports.  Writing intensive.  This course may also be counted as an “L” course.

HFS 240 Sport in Culture - The focus will be on analyzing sport in different cultures.  The main question will involve the way sport reflects cultural values and how it is defined in each culture.  Sport will be seen as a microcosm of society at large on the one hand, as well as independent of cultural influence, i.e., universalism of sport.  The goal will be to compare sport in the following cultures:  USA, United Kingdom, China, Japan, South Africa, and the Eastern Bloc.

 HFS 245H History of Women in Sport – This course studies the development of sport from early religious to a modern corporate model in western society.  The genesis and development of recreation, sport, and exercise for women has been influenced by religion, medicine, economics, politics and ideology.  The intersection of gender, race, and socioeconomic class for women of color is examined, as is the struggle by women for admission in the Olympics.  Sport has served as a historical site for feminist transformation and the development of alternative western sport forms.  Women have “dared to compete.”  The struggle of women to gain entry into sport is both sad and inspirational.  Students write a sport autobiography, conduct cross-generation sport interviews, and research Wittenberg women’s sport history.  Every year

HFS 301 Ethics in Sport Management – Our complex and rapidly changing environment imposes new demands on managers of sport organizations.  Increased pressure to address ethical issues is one of the new demands.  While there is no simple prescription describing how ethical issues should be dealt with, the purpose of this course is to explore how managers can more effectively address them.  The course provides some essential components of the student’s management tool kit – theories, concepts, models and techniques to use in managing ethical dilemmas. Writing Intensive

HFS 380 Applied Projects in Sport Management – Applied sport management credits are earned when a student participates in a faculty-guided, skills-based project.  Although specific projects differ based on the needs of the client, each program has an experiential as well as an academic component.  Courses may be taken for 1-6 credits; 4 credits are required for completion of the sport management major.  The student is expected to budget a minimum of three hours per week for each credit earned.  Each project has its own specific academic output.  Some projects are group efforts; others require participation by individuals.  The student may enroll for a maximum of six semester hours of Applied Projects in Sport Management during the Wittenberg career.  Prerequisites for Applied Projects in Sport Management projects vary according to the project. Instructor is not responsible for securing the projects for students. If students do not present a project proposal, they will choose from a selection of instructor-provided case studies/sport management projects to complete.   This course may be repeated.

HFS 401 Sport Management Policy - This is the capstone course in the sport management major. Students will examine the strategic direction of sport organizations, and how such strategic policies can be most effectively implemented. To make these decisions, managers must accurately assess threats and opportunities in the organization’s environment and the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Students will examine business principles and practices within the context of professional leagues and collegiate sport, and address issues such as management, labor relations, marketing, communications, diversity and ethics.  The course builds on knowledge that has been acquired throughout the major and challenges students to think about how critical issues affect sport organizations. The models and perspectives to be reviewed are particularly relevant to the rapidly changing environment in which sport organizations currently find themselves.   Prerequisites: HFS 150 Intro to Sport Management, HFS 222 Sport Marketing, HFS 223 Ethics in Sport Management, BUS 365 Leading and Managing Effective Organizations, ACCT 225 Financial Accounting.

HFS 490 – Independent Study in Sport Management

HFS 491 – Internship in Sport Management