Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

Global Sport Business Journal

Volume

10

Issue

1

Pages

28

Conference Name

2025 Global Sport Business Association Conference, 21-24 February 2025, Miami, Florida

Abstract

The traditional path and location of sport management programs in Colleges of Education, and specifically physical education programs, is changing. In recent years, sport management programs have moved into Colleges of Business at a fast pace. Sport management courses are also being included in Business School curricula and course offerings. As the identity of sport management programs shifts and changes, what role does the accrediting body, the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA), play in the marketing of the old and new sport management programs?

The purpose of this presentation is to examine the continually changing landscape of sport management as a discipline through the lens of accreditation and how it may create a competitive advantage for programs at all degree levels. While higher education faces hardships such as declining enrollments and an increasingly saturated job market for prospective students to consider, additional selling points exist. For example, offering degrees that hold increased value creates a greater opportunity to effectively market programs. This panel-based presentation, consisting of COSMA’s Executive Director and both former and current COSMA Board of Commissioner members will shed light on how offering specialized accreditation benefits all stakeholders and allows for greater marketing opportunities including the ability to address current hardships within higher education writ large. The hardships include addressing the issue of declining enrollments to justifying and emphasizing sport management degree benefits to students and student-athletes.

Positive steps to increase the collaboration between COSMA and the three business school accrediting bodies - the AACSB, ACBSP, IACBE - will also be discussed - along with a discussion of potential resolutions of some “negative” trends in higher education such as assisting new and current faculty in maintaining competitive portfolios and being prepared for the changing job market in academia.

Rights

© 2025 SFA ScholarWorks. All rights reserved.

"The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from SFA ScholarWorks provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the authors's place of employment."

Original Publication Citation

Ross, M., Overton, R., Case, B., & Alderman, H. (2025). Sport business and COSMA: Marketing opportunities. Global Sport Business Journal, 10(1), 28. https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/gsbj/vol10/iss1/4/

ORCID

0000-0002-9423-9586 (Case)

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