Sport Management Major
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About the Major
The sport management major prepares students for the business of sport — including professional sport, college athletics, recreation and sport-related agencies. Through extensive practical applications, students develop an understanding of community and global service with an emphasis on leadership and professional skill development.
Jobs in Sport Management
- Professional sport front office manager
- Intercollegiate athletic director
- Sport marketing and sales manager
- Event and venue manager
- Sports media and communications director
Past Elon Sport Management Internships
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Boston Red Sox
- Elevate Sports Venture
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Naval Academy Athletic Association
Related Majors
Graduate helps bring New York Mets event back to life
On an August afternoon in Queens, 65 former New York Mets players and their families gathered at Citi Field for the 2022 edition of Old Timers Day, the first such reunion held by the franchise since 1994. The day was a celebration of the franchise’s 60th season, with legends such as Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson filling up the rosters for the game. And behind the scenes, Elon alumna Emily Epstein was the one making sure the weekend went off without a hitch.
Following her 2021 graduation, the sport management and marketing double major landed a role in the Major League Baseball franchise’s alumni relations office. As an alumni assistant, she helps facilitate events, signings, fundraisers, reunions and other engagements with former Mets players. She said she describes herself as the “middle woman” between the alumni and the organization. For Old Timers Day, that meant recruiting former Mets players to attend, coordinating the programming and making sure the one-time ballplayers had an enjoyable afternoon returning to Queens.
From day one, my professors emphasized the importance of connecting with professionals in a field you are interested in.
“I was running from dugout to dugout until seconds before the introductions started to make sure everyone was in the proper place and ready to go,” said Epstein, who clocked more than 20,000 steps that day traversing the ballpark to make sure the reunion game went smoothly and that the Mets’ contest later that evening started on time.
Epstein got her start with Mets thanks to a summer 2020 internship and landed a full-time position with the team in June 2021. In the time since, she’s made countless memories with the organization.
“The most rewarding part of my time with the Mets was, hands down, the week after Old Timers Day, and all the positive feedback from the media, alumni, ownership and colleagues,” Epstein said. “Being trusted with planning Old Timers Day, one of the largest events in Mets history, and it turning out as successful as it did, is something that I will carry with me forever. It has given me the confidence to know that no matter how big the challenge in front of me is, I can achieve it.”
Epstein said she is grateful to Elon’s faculty for providing a positive environment for her to learn, as well as a strong introduction to the baseball industry, setting her up for post-graduation success.
“From day one, my professors emphasized the importance of connecting with professionals in a field you are interested in,” Epstein said. “What may sound like such simple advice was the most important advice I have ever received. Due to the power of networking, I am where I am today.”
Did You Know?
- Elon is one of a few institutions nationwide to effectively combine a sport management curriculum based on a liberal arts foundation, with coursework that focuses on building a professional skill set most useful in the sport industry. Coursework ranges from contemporary issues in the sport management industry to marketing and communication.
- Elon believes that students learn best by putting their education into action. All sport management majors complete a required internship during their academic career, putting the concepts and ideas they learn in the classroom to the test in the field.
- Students are encouraged to participate in activities including case study competitions and presenting undergraduate research at professional organization events. Elon also offers a student-run Sport Management Society (SMS) that allows students to connect and network with their peers, professors and industry professionals. In conjunction with SMS, Women Influencers in Sport offers programming to encourage the development of female students studying sport management.