Sports Business and Event Management, B.S.B.A.

Four-Year Plan: Click here  to view the Four-Year Plan for this specific program. To find out more about Four-Year Plans, visit the Policies and Procedures  page.

Thinking about the discipline: Who sets the price of a Cincinnati Bengals 50-yard-line ticket? Who creates game-night promotions for the Florence Freedom? Who created the marketing strategy for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team? Who decided that M&M’s would sponsor a NASCAR team? What is the answer to all these questions? People working in the business of sport, of course. Whether amateur or professional, global or local, the sports and event management industry continues to grow rapidly and provide a rich variety of career paths for business students.

The sports business and event management program offers students a unique opportunity to earn a business degree with a difference. The program prepares students for a variety of career and leadership opportunities in sports business and event management. A small sampling of career paths in the sports industry includes sport marketing and promotions, event management, sports media, sports sponsorship, athlete services, sports commissions, sports attorneys, high school sports administration, sports accounting and finance, college athletic fundraising, ticket sales, sports equipment manufacturing and distribution, sports facilities and operations management, and team, league and college athletic management and marketing. All students are strongly encouraged to discuss their career goals with sports business faculty for guidance in searching for the perfect job.

Special opportunities for our students:  Internship opportunities are very diverse and are continually being upgraded through the efforts of the department’s professional advisory boards, faculty, and the college’s business experience manager. There is also an active student organization that provides outstanding professional networking opportunities at regular meetings and activities.  Each year, the department faculty select the outstanding sports business and event management student of the year.

Students earning the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) with a major in sports business and event management are eligible to be considered for membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest academic recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business college accredited by AACSB International.

You should also know: All students successfully completing the B.S.B.A. major in sports business and event management automatically earn an interdisciplinary Minor in Business as part of their required course of study for the major degree. The Minor in Business satisfies the university’s minor/focus/second major requirement for graduation.

A grade of C or better in all program courses in the sports business and event management major is required to earn the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) with a major in sports business and event management.

Special admission requirements: The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) with a major in Sports Business and Event Management is a selective admission program. Students enter the program as a Pre-Sports Business and Event Management major.

Students are officially admitted to the college as a BSBA-Sports Business and Event Management major after meeting the following requirements:

1. Completion of the six courses in the selective admission group (ACC 200 , ACC 201 , BUS 230 , ECO 200 , ECO 201 , and MKT 205 ) with a grade of C- or better in each and
2. An overall NKU GPA of 2.5 or better or a minimum GPA of 2.5 in the six selective admissions courses. 

All transfer students enter as pre-majors and must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours at NKU in order to establish the NKU GPA for selective admission into the major, regardless of individual course completion status.

♦  Indicates prerequisite.

These prerequisites are not included in the program totals in the table below, but they must be completed IN ADDITION TO other program requirements.