| The purpose of the study was to identify the competencies of sport event managers in the United States. Two groups, academicians and practitioners, were surveyed as to their perceptions regarding the important competencies of sport event managers. A comparison of the perceived important competencies was conducted to examine whether there was a difference in the perceptions between the two groups.;The academicians were selected from the 200 sport management programs that offered the event management courses in the United States, while the 34 United States Olympics National Governing Bodies (USNGBs) were chosen to represent the practitioners for the study. The research instrument was modified from Toh's (1997) questionnaire, and the final versions of the Competencies of Sport Event Managers (COSEM) for both the practitioners and the teaching professionals were used to collect the data.;Of the 79 questionnaires sent to the academicians, 57 were returned, making the response rate 72%. Of the 34 questionnaires sent to the practitioners, 25 questionnaires were returned, making the response rate 74%. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, one way MANOVA, and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were utilized for data analyses.;On the basis of the results and findings of this study, the following conclusions were formed:;1. The top five competencies plus tied items favored by the academicians were: (1) Maintains effective communications with staff, (2) Uses good verbal communication skills, (3) Uses good written communication skills, (4.5) Communicates performance expectations with staff in a written job description, (4.5) Establishes procedures reflecting fair treatment of staff and participants.;2. The top five competencies favored by the practitioners were: (1) Maintains effective communications with staff, (2) Designs, plans, and controls event logistics (e.g., transportation, hospitality, food and beverages, venues, ticketing, etc.), (3) Uses good verbal communication skills, (4) Uses good written communication skills, (5) Utilizes effective time management techniques.;3. Overall, there were no differences between the academicians and the practitioners in perceived important competencies needed to perform a job in the area of sport event management.;Generally speaking, the academicians in the area of sport event management understand what the needed competencies are in order to perform a sport event management job. It is recommended that similar studies look at other areas of sport management, such as sport marketing, public relations, facility management, human resource management, etc. to determine if good communication between the academicians and the practitioners also exists in other areas. |
