About the Center

The Center for Sport Management at Seton Hall University has built a solid national and international reputation for excellence in sport management education and was among the first to offer an undergraduate business degree in sport management and an AACSB-accredited M.B.A. with a sport management concentration.

The Center offers some of the leading business degree programs in sport management in the country. This interdisciplinary program includes courses in sport law, management, marketing, analytics, economics and finance, and prepares students for positions in professional and intercollegiate athletics and the industries that serve them. Students gain exposure to all facets of the business of sport, including sport sponsorship relationships, team and league equity issues, player management labor relations and a wide variety of ethical dilemmas facing business professionals in both professional and amateur athletics. The Center emphasizes and transmits the real-world experience of its staff and adjunct professors, and their guests from the world of sports entertainment.

The program prepares students for internal positions in sport management organizations; sport marketing firms; licensing and apparel marketing; radio and television programming; and events and facilities management. Industry employers frequently look to the Center for qualified interns and for continuing education opportunities for their employees. Seton Hall's close proximity to the heart of the sport industry and networking opportunities contribute to the provision of quality internship and employment opportunities for its students.

In addition, the Center for Sport Management launched The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted by the Sharkey Institute, that debuted in February 2006 with a poll on that year’s Olympic Winter Games. It is the first and only university-based, ongoing, student-run sports polling service devoted exclusively to the multi-billion-dollar sports industry, with findings that serve as a barometer of public opinion on prominent issues facing sports today.  The Seton Hall Sports Poll has received national exposure from outlets including ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, the Associated Press, CNBC, PBS, Sports Business Journal plus other newspapers, radio stations, business journals and social media platforms.

Its mission is to explore sports issues of broad societal interest, particularly within the ethics, culture and business of sports. Topics have included sports gambling, sports and politics, labor disputes, ethical behavior, legislative issues, sports movies and equality in women’s sports. The poll also works with corporations, sports leagues and special interest groups that commission polling services to support their own research needs.