Why This Program?

Discover the business side of athletics.

The sports management program will teach you how to make a living in the business side of the sports world. Students will become experts in sports promotion, sales, facilities and the other fundamental concepts of operating an athletic organization.

Fun, games, and a whole lot more: You may already be a sports nut, but to be successful in this program, you'll also need to be a fan of finance, health, marketing and law, particularly as they relate to the sporting world. This is a business degree that will teach you how to negotiate contracts, create a budget, practice public relations and study the legal issues surrounding athletics.
Small classes: You'll get to know your professors on a first-name basis.
Get hands-on experience in a sports town. Sioux City is a sports town, brimming with opportunity for the sports enthusiast. Land an internship with the Charger athletic department, or one of three minor league sporting organizations in town (Explorers Baseball, Bandits Football or Musketeers Hockey). Sioux City is also home to the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) headquarters, the Norm Waitt, Sr. YMCA, The Arena, and the Tyson Events Center, and home of two major NAIA national championships (volleyball and women's basketball).

This program provides the generalist background needed for a variety of careers in sport management and a solid foundation for post graduate work and undertakings.

More About the Program

The mission of the Briar Cliff University Business Department is to deliver a quality education and develop individuals who can provide leadership in a changing global environment, within an ethical and socially responsible framework. This is accomplished through a broad education using business theory and practice and based upon a liberal arts foundation.

Briar Cliff University is an Educational Member of the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), recognizing the University's commitment to excellence in business education and continuous improvement. Educational Membership provides opportunities for collaboration, professional development, and access to resources that support high-quality business programs. Educational Membership does not indicate accreditation by the IACBE.

The department's goals are based on a concept that emphasizes not only technical competence but also the ethics of professional service, thus seeking to foster sensitivity and responsiveness to social responsibilities as well as the ability to identify and pursue personal opportunities. The faculty endeavor to achieve these goals through a variety of teaching techniques including lectures, cases, role-playing, seminars, directed study, internships and computer team simulations. The department arranges and supervises internships (i.e. actual job situations) for qualified juniors and seniors.

The major in Sport Management will provide necessary instruction in functional areas including management, marketing, finance and accounting, as well as economics. This provides a generalist background needed for a variety of careers in sport management and a solid foundation for post graduate work and undertakings.

Upon graduation, students majoring in Sport Management will be able to demonstrate competencies in the core areas of research, problem solving, statistical analysis, computer skills, mathematics, oral communication and writing, apply ethical reasoning to decision making and demonstrate personal and team leadership skills, exhibit knowledge of the legal, regulatory, ethical and technological issues inherent in the global environment of business today, demonstrate skills necessary to progress in a career and/or pursue advanced studies, apply fundamental knowledge of economics, finance, information systems, business research, accounting, law, sport management, marketing and international business to decision making.