From Seattle University's 2022-2023 Graduate Catalog.
All graduate courses are 3 credits, unless otherwise noted.
Syllabi information is for reference only; information may not be current.
After successful completion of this course, students will understand the scope, context, recent developments, and emerging challenges of the sport industry. The focus is on developing analytical approaches to solving problems for sport entities or organizations. Students will develop foundational skills in inquiry and analytical thinking. (Formerly SADL 5000)
Students will identify the dimensions of diversity that matter most in organizations and why as well as examine the difference between diversity and inclusion. They will learn to recognize unconscious bias, stereotypes, and prejudices that can influence behavior within a workgroup. They will explore how to identify interventions that can help override judgment and decision-making errors due to biases. Finally, they will explore ways to foster an inclusive and equitable workplace climate through social connections, openness to learning, and a commitment to growth in DEI at the organizational, supervisor, and individual levels.
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand what it means to be a strategic thinker, and how to apply this framework across all parts of sport business, as well as their own career. Specifically, this course will dive into various verticals of sports business - marketing, ticket sales, sponsorship/media, and finance/venue operations - and show how strategic thinking can be applied in each area. In addition, a portion of the course will be devoted to providing an opportunity for students to be introspective and think about how to use strategic thinking in their careers and lives.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: SBLR 5120 and SBLR 5140
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand fundamental legal concepts relevant to tort law, contract law, and constitutional law; identify potential liability situations in the supervision, management and conduct of sport, recreation and physical activity (including situations regarding discrimination in terms of race, sex, and disability); and design and develop strategies for limiting liability. (Formerly SADL 5040)
After successful completion of this course, students will understand the financing of sport organizations from a ‘triple bottom line’ sustainability approach. Specifically, they will be able to calculate profits and losses for sport organizations; track and graph financial trends of revenues and expenses; analyze revenues after factoring in inflation costs to determine adjusted profits or losses; and determine, evaluate, and report causes for trends and anomalies in the above. Students will be able to analyze financial value of sport franchises; evaluate revenue categories to determine viability; analyze and discuss impact of collective bargaining agreements on financial value of franchises; and discuss environmental and social impacts of financial decisions. (Formerly SADL 5050)
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop a sound philosophy of marketing; understand the evolution of sport marketing theories; identify the major theories related to consumer behavior and market segmentation; identify contemporary issues and trends in sport marketing; increase competence of scientific inquiry in sport marketing; and create a marketing plan for a sport organization. (Formerly SADL 5060)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5140
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop a brand communication campaign based on external environmental insights, customer insights, and internal organizational insights (e.g., business goals, marketing goals, communication goals, product attributes, etc.). These insights, in concert with knowledge of existing content and KPIs will help the student develop the Central Communication Idea (CCI). Students will be able to identify relevant moments of receptivity, create campaign messages, develop campaign architecture, and increase idea amplification in order to implement the communications plan. In addition students, will be able to evaluate all aspects of the campaign using relevant analytics to show ROI to the sport organization. Majors only (Formerly SADL 5070)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5170
Competition to bid for events from youth and recreational to international events is becoming more complex. Event managers are asked to integrate a balanced sustainability approach from the initial bid through planning process through the execution of the event and afterward making event planning increasingly complex. This course is intended to provide students with an overview of how to integrate the three aspects of sustainability (i.e., economic, social, environmental) into the bidding and planning steps leading up to a sport event. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to assess the various needs of an event, evaluate the capacities of potential sites to host various events, develop a strategic plan that engages relative stakeholders to successfully achieve the events sustainable goals, identify revenue streams and expenses to finance the event, develop sustainable procurement policies and procedures, and ensure the event has a positive and lasting legacy element for the surrounding community, which will ultimately result in bidding and planning documents for an event. (Formerly SADL 5080)
This course is designed to offer a comprehensive overview of the revenue-generating streams for various sport organizations. Students will gain an understanding of strategies being used in arenas, stadiums, and other sport and entertainment venues to generate new revenue streams. Students will incorporate these understandings to calculate profits and losses for sport organizations; track and graph financial trends of revenues and expenses; analyze revenues after factoring in inflation costs to determine adjusted profits or losses; and determine, evaluate, and report causes for trends and anomalies in the above.
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop a dynamic organizational culture through recruiting and selecting, orienting and training, evaluating and rewarding sport personnel. Students will be able to write job descriptions, conduct performance evaluations, demonstrate interpersonal communications, manage change, maintain positive morale, manage difficult employees, develop a system of rewards, manage stress, create diversity, and develop a collaborative/participative management style. (Formerly SADL 5100)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5150
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify and discuss moral and ethical issues prevalent and specific to the sport industry. They will develop advanced interpretative skills regarding moral and ethical issues in sport business by learning to analyze situations through various ethical lenses. Students will refine their understanding of personal morals and ethics in ways that help them become sport leaders committed to moral practices and ethical-decision making. Course required. Majors only. (Formerly SADL 5110)
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to evaluate leadership theories from historical and contemporary perspectives; analyze leadership styles from the most frequently used perspectives in business; investigate contemporary thinking on leadership and how leadership roles are changing in the 21st century; identify ways leadership in sport organizations can positively affect local and regional communities; develop leadership models for effective organizations; and formulate a personal and professional growth plan as a sport leader. (Formerly SADL 5120)
The aim of this course is to provide both women and men insights regarding women and leadership within and beyond the sport context. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of how gender affects leadership and what specific issues women face with respect to leadership. After successful completion of this course, students will understand (1) the historical context that affects women and leadership opportunities today, (2) specific understandings of women and sport leadership, (3) the subtle and nuanced ways that gender bias persists, and (4) how social constructions of gender affect both women and men’s enactment of leadership. Finally, students will apply these understandings by (1) preparing an action plan aimed at improving a sport organization’s ability to maximize its talent by minimizing gender biases culturally and structurally and (2) taking steps to develop their own leadership aimed at inclusivity. (Formerly SADL 5122)
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to explain and delineate theories relevant to sport spectator behavior; apply the theories and research paradigms to develop and evaluate marketing reports; and create a consumer marketing report that provides a synopsis and recommendations for a sport organization. Specifically the student will analyze fan socialization, market segmentation, culture and sub-culture markets, personal values and goals, motivation, personality, decision making, constraints, market demand, confirmation/disconfirmation of expectancies, BIRGing and CORFing, and loyalty. (Formerly SADL 5140)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5000
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand the primary processes involved in managing organizations such as organizing, planning and evaluating. They will be able to assess strengths and weaknesses of organizations through the lens of organizations as systems. Specifically, they will be able to analyze (1) organizational structure, stakeholder salience, and resources, (2) use skills to improve decision making that enhances performance within sport organizations, (3) gather information about organizations that influence strategic planning, (4) facilitate and create a strategic plan, and (5) analyze organizational effectiveness from different perspectives. Majors only. (Formerly SADL 5150)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5120
Students will explore various types of sponsorship and will also be able to formulate their own creative solutions to achieve partner brand objectives. Students will gain a firm understanding of how sports sponsorships are sought out, formulated, evaluated, and activated to produce positive ROI and ROO for partner brands.Majors only. (Formerly SADL 5160)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5140
After successful completion of the course, students focused on marketing in the sport industry will understand and be able to interpret analytical and statistical techniques so that they can use data to solve problems for their respective organizations. Sport marketers need to analyze the situation, gather relevant information (i.e., data), interpret the results, and propose recommendations based on the results. Students will use data analytics and modeling to propose solutions to improve customer insights and relationships with sport organizations. Majors only. (Formerly SADL 5170)
Prerequisite: SBLR 5140
In this course, students will learn about sustainable venue operations and evaluation metrics consistent with facility operations and event management protocols, and recognized standards. Students will understand the business case for sustainability not only through the community engagement aims but also through financial analysis of profit and loss elements of producing and hosting sport and entertainment events. Majors only. (Formerly SADL 5180)
This course is intended to provide students with an overview of Sustainable Development Goals. Students will focus on how SDGs can be incorporated into all functional areas of sport organizations and assess the subsequent effects of these initiatives. At the conclusion of this course students will be able to identify the starting point for sport organizations as they incorporate SDGs, identify ways to demonstrate leadership within the sector with regards to SDGs, establish effective governance to encourage and sustain these efforts; identify and properly engage stakeholders; identify key issues and scope for their sustainability initiatives; set objectives and organizational targets specific to each initiative; assess the organization’s initiatives and track their progress; and understand how to report and communicate the organizational efforts and results to external constituents. (Formerly SADL 5200)
This course will focus on the highest impact analytics techniques with direct application in a sports business analytics context. The course emphasis is on understanding business challenges, formulating suitable models, developing and interpreting solutions, and communicating results to others. The course will provide an intuition for how different techniques work, along with experience in applying them to real problems and presenting results in a clear and persuasive manner.
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will gain a deep understanding of sport as a powerful cultural institution, its influence on the business of sport, and how they can enact inclusive and values-based leadership. (Offered fall)
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will learn and be able to apply contemporary thinking on key leadership skills and processes. (Offered winter)
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to understand and apply contemporary thinking on leadership through theoretical perspectives and apply it on an ongoing basis to their own leadership development. (Offered spring)
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop their own personal brand. (Offered fall)
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate effectively in both written and oral forms across multiple platforms and in a wide variety of contexts. (Offered winter)
1 CREDIT
After successful completion of this course, students will learn and be able to apply effective prioritization, time management and preparation strategies and skills. (Offered spring)
(Formerly SADL 5890)
The Capstone is the integrative experience of the Sport and Entertainment MBA program. Students will connect their learning in both content and skills acquired in the curriculum and internships to some business aspect of a sport organization.
1 - 3 CREDITS
See administrative office for prerequisites and course descriptions.
1 - 6 CREDITS
After successful completion of this internship, students will have had a leadership opportunity through assigned work experience. Assignments are arranged with local, national or international organizations and include all field specializations. Position descriptions are based on the needs of the cooperating organization. Work hours, calendar, remuneration, and related benefits are negotiated. The on-site supervisor/mentor completes a final evaluation and the student prepares either an oral or written report. (Formerly SADL 5950)
1 - 6 CREDITS
After successful completion of this endeavor, students will have designed, implemented, and presented both orally and in writing, an original research project. Specifically, the student will have delineated a research topic; conducted a comprehensive review of the literature; developed appropriate methodology for investigating a topic; collected and analyzed data; interpreted the results and made recommendations. The course serves as a culminating activity via a manuscript and an oral presentation. (Formerly SADL 5000)
Prerequisites: SBLR 5000, a minimum of 36 credits toward the MBA SEM degree, a quantitative statistics class (such as SBLR 5170) or a qualitative statistics class