Sport Management and Leadership

This introductory course examines health and wellness from both a local and global perspective. An emphasis is placed on physical activity, nutrition, psychosocial wellness and stress, and disease prevention behaviours.

This course introduces students to macro aspects of the sport industry, including the key decision-making bodies, governance structures, funding pathways, and legal considerations in the public, non-profit, and commercial sectors of sport and recreation. This course provides an overview of current industry trends and issues, while exposing students to the wide variety of career opportunities that exist in sport and recreation. Students will gain a foundational understanding of the various sport systems that work to organize and administer sport and recreation at the community, national, and international levels.

This introductory course presents an overview of the significance of physical activity and sport in Western Civilization from ancient Greece to the present by specific reference to selected topics in different eras through which the particular society may be examined. Within this framework, the relationship of physical activity and sport to such factors as economics, politics, and religion will be emphasized, as will its contribution to the culture.

An introduction to sport management as a profession and academic discipline. Special emphasis will be given to the principles associated with the management of various types of sport organizations, along with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully navigate employment in the sport industry.

The sport industry requires that people communicate effectively, persuasively, and ethically in written, verbal, and interpersonal communications. This course introduces students to academic writing, critical reasoning, and professional discourse across a variety of sport environments. Students will learn and gain confidence in their ability to communicate by practicing and receiving feedback on a number of communication skills relevant to the sport industry, while also having opportunities to improve academic and workplace language proficiency.

This course introduces students to leadership in the context of sport organizations. Specifically, it provides an introduction to leadership theories, the implications of leadership style on individual, group, and organizational factors, and the role that a leader can play in defining organizational culture, values, and volunteer and/or staff engagement. This course will discuss various sociological issues that often dictate who and why certain individuals occupy leadership positions over others. Students will have an opportunity to engage in professional development by developing a personal leadership philosophy that reflects their individual values and leadership goals. Overall, this course provides students with a foundation to discuss the many factors that frame the ever-present debate of whether leaders are born or made.

This course introduces key sociological concepts and theories to examine the social, political, cultural, and mediated role of sport in society. Using a sociological lens, the topics in this course evaluate how sport reflects specific social structures, frames and reproduces dominant images and stereotypes, and is a key site for identity formation and performance. From this perspective, the course critiques the social realities of how dominant understandings of the meaning and purpose of sport as well as how it is organized influence who is allowed to play sport and under what conditions. The goal is that students will begin to form their own critical insights on how sport can be more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.