The Role of Sports Economics in the Sport Management Curriculum
The Role of Sports Economics in the Sport Management Curriculum
The Role of Sports Economics in the Sport Management Curriculum
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<strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r CIP codes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> IPEDS data.<br />
From Table 1, <strong>the</strong> IPEDS completions data show that <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> colleges and univer-<br />
sities grant<strong>in</strong>g undergraduate degrees <strong>in</strong> sport management more than doubled from 1992 to<br />
1997 and almost doubled aga<strong>in</strong> from 1997 to 2002; <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> colleges and universities<br />
grant<strong>in</strong>g masters degrees <strong>in</strong>creased by similarly high rates over this period. <strong>The</strong>re has been<br />
a great deal <strong>of</strong> growth <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> sport management bachelors and masters degrees<br />
awarded <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> recent past.<br />
<strong>The</strong> IPEDS completions survey identifies <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> degrees granted by level <strong>of</strong> degree<br />
and by <strong>the</strong> gender <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> recipient. Table 2 summarizes <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> degrees granted by<br />
level <strong>of</strong> degree and by gender <strong>of</strong> recipient over <strong>the</strong> 1992-2002 period. Table 2 <strong>in</strong>dicates<br />
that <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> sport management degrees awarded over <strong>the</strong> 1992-2002 period also grew<br />
rapidly, consistent with <strong>the</strong> rapid <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> programs shown on Table 1. This<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> degrees awarded suggests an underly<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> undergraduate<br />
and graduate sport management majors. If <strong>the</strong> recent general trend <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g time to<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> undergraduate and graduate degrees holds <strong>in</strong> sport management, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong><br />
underly<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> enrollment was probably even more rapid than <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> degrees<br />
awarded over this period. <strong>The</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> completions also suggests an extraord<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>in</strong>crease<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>structional activity <strong>in</strong> sport management programs over <strong>the</strong> period. Anecdotal evidence<br />
suggests that this growth <strong>in</strong> enrollment has cont<strong>in</strong>ued s<strong>in</strong>ce 2002.<br />
Note that <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> degrees awarded did not differ by gender. <strong>The</strong>re were basically<br />
two sport management degrees awarded to males for every female awarded an undergraduate<br />
degree <strong>in</strong> 1992 and <strong>in</strong> 2002, so growth <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> majors by gender was similar over<br />
<strong>the</strong> period. In terms <strong>of</strong> masters degrees, <strong>the</strong> fraction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se degrees awarded to females<br />
<strong>in</strong>creased from 21.5% <strong>in</strong> 2002 to 34.4% <strong>in</strong> 2002, <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g a significant <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> female<br />
enrollment <strong>in</strong> sport management masters programs over <strong>the</strong> period.<br />
Consistent with <strong>the</strong> conclusions <strong>of</strong> Mahoney et al (2004), very few doctorate degrees<br />
<strong>in</strong> sport management were reported <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> IPEDS completions data. Only one doctorate<br />
degree <strong>in</strong> sport management was awarded <strong>in</strong> 1997, and only n<strong>in</strong>eteen were awarded at three<br />
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