Sport management curricula: Identification of minimum core content areas and courses to be included in each content area for undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs

The purpose of this study was to examine the core content areas for undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs identified by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)/North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) Joint Task Force on Sport Management Curriculum and Accreditation. More specifically, the focus of this study was designed to: (1) Determine if the core content areas identified in the document, Standards for Voluntary Accreditation of Sport Management Programs, for both undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs were deemed essential for career preparation in sport management as perceived by academicians and practitioners in the field of sport management. (2) Identify the minimum courses to be included in each core content area for both undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs, based on those courses recommended by NASPE/NASSM, as perceived by academicians and practitioners. (3) Determine if there is a difference in core content area(s) and course(s) in the undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs for each of the segments of the sport industry analyzed in this study.;A questionnaire was developed by the investigator and mailed to 155 academicians and 406 practitioners in the field of sport management. The results of this study confirmed that academicians and practitioners agreed with the content areas identified in the document, Standards for Voluntary Accreditation of Sport Management Programs, for both undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs as deemed essential for career preparation in sport management. However, differences were found between academicians and practitioners in the identification of the minimum courses to be included in each core content area for both undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs.;The four subgroups of practitioners considered the content areas identified in the document, Standards for Voluntary Accreditation of Sport Management Programs, for both undergraduate and graduate (master's) sport management programs as deemed essential for career preparation in sport management. However, differences were found with regard to the importance of each area and the courses to be included in each content area. This fact supports the need for specialized-tracks within sport management programs for different sport management careers.