By Jack Wynn
The Sports Management Program at the University of Maryland is improving and growing in popularity among students.
Collaborative efforts with the School of Public Health’s Department of Kinesiology, the Robert H. Smith School of Business and Maryland Athletics made the program for students to have freedom in exploring sports business. Now, the program’s second cohort is twice the size of the first.
“The whole scope of the program is to help students who want to go into the field of sports, whether that be in journalism, in business (or) kinesiology,” said Andrew Breza, a sophomore journalism major and member of the program. “Whatever you really want to do, they try to make it an option for you.”
The program aims to provide students with real-world experience to engage with different sports organizations that includes a sports business course taken in the fall and a capstone course in the spring.
The sports business course covers a variety of business topics through the lens of sports, including finance, sales, marketing, management and law. The course also features weekly guest speakers in the sports industry.
The program’s capstone course is hands-on, with students being broken up into teams and sent to help significant sports organizations with important projects. This year, students worked with the Washington Commanders, Washington Wizards, Ripken Baseball and the Terrapin Trails Club.
“They get to work with real-world organizations and make an actual impact,” said Josh Liu, a senior finance and marketing double major and undergraduate program assistant. “What we do as a program is give them the tools to go out in the industry, get an internship, get a job and actually have a career.”
One of the biggest factors in developing this program has been alumni involvement, Liu said. The University of Maryland has many connections across all avenues of the sports business world.
“The alumni really got behind this program,” he said. “The support we’ve gotten from them has helped us be in the position that we are now.”
The Sports Management Program is supported by the Sports Management Advisory Council, a group of alumni. The council provides guidance and mentorship to members and helps create partnerships.
The council, and other alumni, helped the program organize site visits to sports stadiums and build connections with major sports organizations. The alumni group also helps with a wide-ranging network for students.
“If you ask anyone in the sports industry, one of the most important parts about your college experience and being at this age is networking,” Liu explained. “That’s essentially what the program is, we expose our students to countless networking opportunities.”
Yet, the sense of community amongst students has helped develop the program as much as anything else.
“Having individuals within the program that are underclassmen allows me to have support and build meaningful relationships and friendships,” Kayla Patterson, a freshman marketing major, said. “Having [upperclassmen] allows me to learn, get insight and then cultivate mentor relationships which is awesome to have access to.”
One of the main goals of the Sports Management Program is to help turn the relationships students form into support for UMD students looking for careers in the sports industry.
“Let’s say half of [those in the program] get a job in sports, they build their way up, they can then come and give back to everyone else that’s been involved and build that network,” Bradley Polkowitz, a 2023 UMD graduate and Sports Management Advisory Council Member, said.
Polkowitz, who is one of the founders of the Sports Business Conference, a sports conference held at UMD, and the Sports Management Program, works with the National Football League and understands the significance of getting involved early.
“[A] key thing in the sports industry is how we can get people to meet people; hands-on experience is massive,” Polkowitz said. “In the sports industry, it’s very important to have internship experience, hands-on learning and things like that… having it built into your curriculum is extremely important.”
Next year, there are plans to visit New York to work with the NFL and NBA.
“Being able to be around a bunch of like-minded individuals who are passionate at the same thing as you and also go to these opportunities to professionals in the fields is really the best,” Breza said.
Featured image: The Sports Management Program offers networking and classes for students interested in the sports business. Photo courtesy Josh Liu.
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