The University of Southern Mississippi’s Sport Management program was recently recognized by Intelligent.com as a top degree program nationwide for 2022.
Intelligent.com, an education resource guide, uses a multi-tiered formula for ranking online sport management programs. Every university must pass various legitimacy tests to prove that their degree will be respected by future employers and other colleges. They have to be regionally accredited to even be considered, and the individual program must also meet quality standards set by an independent private organization.
The formula also adds in data in a wide variety of other fields, such as program strength, student readiness, investment returns, overall cost and student engagement.
Even after this rigorous vetting, Southern Miss’s Sport Management degree program managed to rank 21st nationally, with the online master’s degree program placing 17th overall.
Chris Croft, an Assistant Professor of Sport Management, said that part of the program’s growth has been in large part due to a massive increase in student enrollment within the last four years. He believes this is because there is a huge market for Sport Management majors at the moment.
“Some of this growth could be attributed to the collegiate rankings from organizations such as Intelligent and Online School report,” said Croft. “Sport management professionals are [also] in demand. An article from Globe Newswire [in 2021] states that the sports market forecast for 2025 is expected to reach approximately $600 billion with an additional $226 billion by 2030.”
Brandon Allen, an Assistant Teaching Professor of Sport Management, also commented on the program’s rapid development. Allen said there is a good chance this will further add onto the program’s future prospects, as prospective students primarily use the Internet to find top sport management programs.
“As these students navigate and research our program at USM, they [will] note that the price point is reasonable, academic course load is comparable to other institutions, degree completion time frame is flexible based on student needs and students that graduate are successful in acquiring sport management jobs,” Allen said.
Both Croft and Allen were happy about the high ranking, and look forward to seeing how things develop from here.
Southern Miss’s Sport Management program, housed within the College of Business and Economic Development, is designed to enable students to acquire and demonstrate a wide variety of management skills to navigate many current sport industry issues.
Students will also get the opportunity to work with and participate in experiential learning opportunities through organizations based around Mississippi. This includes courses working closely with Southern Miss Athletics, the Biloxi Shuckers, the Mississippi Braves, the Sanderson Farms Championship, Landmark Event Services, Aramark, Swetman Security Services and the University’s National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security.
There are currently more than 120 students enrolled in Southern Miss’s undergraduate Sport Management program, and 100 enrolled in the graduate program.
To see Intellegent.com’s complete ranking lists, visit www.intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-sports-management-degree-programs and www.intelligent.com/best-online-sports-management-degree-programs. For more information about the Sport Management program at Southern Miss, call 601-266-4627 or visit www.usm.edu/undergraduate-programs/sport-management.