Sports Management Degree Programs in South Carolina (N-Z)

Whether you want to work with professional athletes or amateurs at the high school or college level, take a look at some of the best sports management degree programs in South Carolina. Not only is the state home to several professional teams, but you’ll also find a wide range of college teams and players of all ages, including younger players in elementary school or junior high. While you may earn a degree in sports management before you work for a sports agency, you also have the option of becoming a coach, scout or even a trainer.

Rankings

Look at schools offering this type of program before applying. To see more sports management degree programs, visit Sports Management Degree Programs in South Carolina (A-N).

North Greenville University

Sport Management Department

Founded in 1891, North Greenville University is a private college in the city of the same name that has an affiliation with the Baptist Church. Though it originally opened as a high school, it only took a few years for the school to expand its curriculum to include classes for high school graduates. Students must agree to read The Enlightenment, which is a series of rules put in place by the university, and agree to follow all those rules until they finish their studies. U.S. News & World Report listed NGU as one of the top regional colleges in the southern United States.

Bachelor’s in Sport Management

NGU offers a Bachelor’s in Sport Management program that requires students emphasis a particular area of study. You can select ministry, business or coaching. If you opt for the coaching emphasis, you’ll take the courses required to obtain a coaching license, which South Carolina requires of all coaches working in schools today. The ministry emphasis looks at how you can use your religious beliefs as you work with your own clients or students. NGU also offers a business route, which its program founders designed for those who want to work in practical settings such as the management of a sports complex. Though the courses you take vary based on the emphasis you select, most students take classes on sports emergency management, sports communications and leadership in the sports industry. You can also sign up to do an internship during your junior or senior year for credit towards graduation.

Accreditation

- - - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Contact

7801 N. Tigerville Road
Tigerville, SC 29688
(864) 977-7000
http://www.ngu.edu/sport-management.php

Southern Wesleyan University

Division of Social Science

Southern Wesleyan University owes its foundation to the dedication and hard work of Wesleyan Methodist Churches operating in South Carolina at the turn of the 20th century. Representatives from those organizations came together to found a new college that opened in 1906. Originally called a Bible Institute because it primarily offered religious study classes, the university now offers a number of majors and degree programs for its students. Many of those students take part in religious activities like the campus ministry and worship band, but students can also join other clubs and play sports like basketball, tennis and track and field too.

BS in Recreation and Sport Management

SWU offers one of the top sports management degree programs in South Carolina and gives students the choice of choosing a concentration in outdoor leadership or sport management. The outdoor leadership concentration prepares students for working for organizations like Outward Bound, but the sport management concentration deals more closely with issues relating to professional and amateur athletes. This program gives students the chance to take field trips all across the state and take trips to neighboring states too. You may watch a team like the Charlotte Hornets or the Carolina Panthers play live. The university also encourages its sport management students to attend sport conferences that let them learn directly from those currently working in the industry. You’ll also learn more about this field from the guest lecturers who the university brings in every year to speak with students. SWU emphasizes the importance of faith in sports too.

Accreditation

- - - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Contact

907 Wesleyan Drive
Central, SC 29630
(877) 644-5556
http://www.swu.edu/academics/social-science/

The Citadel

Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Science

Though most refer to South Carolina’s prominent military university as The Citadel, its official name is actually The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Founded in 1842, it is one of just a handful of military academies operating in the nation today. The university focuses on both higher education and military training with the expectation that students will use their knowledge and training in military applications later. U.S. News & World Report ranked The Citadel at the number one spot on its list of top southern American colleges for five straight years and as one of the country’s most affordable colleges too.

Bachelor’s in Sport Management

The Bachelor’s in Sport Management program offered by The Citadel requires that students complete courses in three different disciplines: exercise, sport management and health science. This gives them a better understanding of how the human body works, issues that can affect the body, maintenance and management of sports operations and other similar topics. Though students must take required courses within fields like English and math, they will also take classes on sports management like sport event and facility management, risk management in sports and sports marketing. While The Citadel does not require a thesis among sport management students, it does ask that students do an internship during their senior year and take a seminar course. As part of that seminar course, you will have the chance to do research into a sports topic that you feel passionate about and write a paper based on that research.

Master of Arts in Sport Management

Once you finish your bachelor’s degree, you might look at sports management degree programs in South Carolina at the graduate level like the Master of Arts in Sport Management that The Citadel offers. Students take seven required courses that are worth 24 credits and then electives that they choose to complete the required 39 credits necessary for graduation. Sport finance, public relations and promotions and economics of sports are some of the required classes. You must also take a research in sports management course that teaches you the fundamentals of doing the higher level research required in your upper level classes. Some of the electives available for sport management students include classes on the legal aspects of sports, sports communications, event management and organizational fundraising. The Citadel also requires that students do an internship that lasts for at least one semester, but you may do a second internship as one of your electives.

Accreditation

- - - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Contact

Deas Hall
The Citadel
Charleston, SC 29409
(843) 953-5060
harry.davakos@citadel.edu
https://www.citadel.edu/hhp/graduate-programs/master-of-science-in-health-exercise-and-sport-science/

University of South Carolina

College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management

Established in 1801 as South Carolina College, the University of South Carolina is now one of the largest public colleges in the state and in the entire southern region of the country. Often called USC or just South Carolina, it has a total enrollment of more than 33,000 students on its Columbia campus alone. When you factor in its online system and satellite campuses, its population increases to more than 49,000 students. Washington Monthly, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report are just a few of the organizations that ranked USC on a national level, but it ranks globally as well.

Bachelor of Science in Sport and Entertainment Management

The University of South Carolina is home to several of the best sports management degree programs in South Carolina. As a new student, you can enroll in its Bachelor of Science in Sport and Entertainment Management, also known as its Sport and Entertainment Management BS program. At least 31 credits of the 127 credits you take for graduation must come from the Carolina Core, which refers to general education courses that all college students must take. The remaining credits come from a combination of management and sports classes that you take. USC also requires that you do at least two internships, but you’ll get six credits for the work that you do. You must also do a practicum worth some additional credits. The practicum requires that you do a small amount of work in the classroom before doing some practical experience in the field with a supervisor guiding you.

Master of Sport and Entertainment Management

USC offers an MSEM degree, which is a Master of Sport and Entertainment Management degree program. This program is available for students who want to do a thesis and those who do not want to write an extensive research paper. Thesis students take 27 credits of classes, which includes classes that allow them to do research on their thesis topics. At least nine of those credits will come from electives. You must then present your paper in front of a small group of professors from within the program and defend your thesis as you answer any questions they have. Those who do not want to do a thesis will need to take a minimum of 21 credits of sports management classes and at least 15 credits of electives. USC recommends that students applying to this program spend at least a year working in the field before enrolling in the program.

PhD of Sport and Entertainment Management

The University of South Carolina is one of the only colleges in the nation that offers a PhD in Sport and Entertainment Management. This program typically takes three years to finish and requires that students take at least 60 credits of classes outside of master’s level classes. Those who successfully complete the degree program may have the skills needed to open their own sport or entertainment complexes or work as professors in similar programs around the world. Students must complete a full application packet, go through an interview with faculty members, take the GMAT or a similar test and have some professional experience before applying. A small number of fellowships and assistant programs are also open to PhD management students. These programs will pay for most of your tuition and other costs associated with the program. Students can also work on the peer reviewed Sport & Entertainment Review journal put out by the university.

Accreditation

- - - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Contact

University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803) 777-1284
CLUTHREN@mailbox.sc.edu
http://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/hrsm/give/

Winthrop University

College of Education

Though Winthrop University now offers dozens of degree programs, it initially only offered training courses for teachers and was only open to female students. When it opened in the 1880s, the college hoped to provide teachers with the skills necessary to help their students grow and thrive. After moving to Rock Hill, it became a combined normal and industrial college that offered training programs in a wide range of topics. Despite growing rapidly over the years and significantly expanding its curriculum, Winthrop University still has the feel of a smaller college and has a total population of fewer than 6,000 students.

Bachelor of Science in Sport Management

Students graduating from the Winthrop University Bachelor of Science in Sport Management program work in a wide range of fields, including as coaches, athletic trainers, facility managers and athletic directors. As a student in this program, you’ll take courses designed to help you become a better leader and work more effectively with those around you. The program is part of the university’s College of Education and requires that students take courses to help them prepare for working as teachers and coaches within public school systems. Many of its graduates obtain South Carolina teaching licenses later. In addition to the courses that you take on sports finance, laws and ethics and general management practices, Winthrop recommends that you take an internship as well. Students typically earn at least three credits for doing a semester long internship. Winthrop also puts out several publications every year that you can help put out.

Accreditation

- - - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Contact

701 Oakland Ave.
Rock Hill, SC 29733
(803) 323-2211
http://www.winthrop.edu/coe/

Graduates from sports management programs have a number of possible career paths open to them. Some work with students of a younger age and help them improve their skills, but others scout players for both college and professional teams. Before applying for any of these jobs, apply to one of the sports management degree programs in South Carolina.

Related Articles: