New Prime documentary creates opportunity to explore real-time issues in sport management

If sports are your passion, then make them your career. The LSU sport management program prepares students for careers regarding the business and managerial aspects of the sport and recreation industries. With Prime’s release today of “The Money Game,” it’s an excellent time to shine a light on this program and the careers that exist in the world of sport.

“The Money Game on Amazon Prime is both timely and important. LSU has been the leader in NIL support and opportunities for its athletes, especially our female athletes, three of whom are depicted in the documentary. In the School of Kinesiology we are working to support LSU Athletics in developing programming that educates athletes and others on personal brand management, sponsorship and marketing, legal issues and more as we support both the education of LSU students and the success of LSU student-athletes and athletic teams. Our new LSU Women’s Sports and Health Initiative additionally supports long-term success for our female athletes who now have tremendous opportunities for financial stability and success,” said LSU School of Kinesiology Director John Nauright.

At the undergraduate level, the Bachelor of Science in Sport Administration is designed to give students an opportunity to learn the fundamentals behind managing the complex and ever-changing sport industry. This is done by:

• incorporating the latest curricular advancements,
• instituting best practices from industry experts, and
• harnessing industry experience within the classroom.

A clear competitive advantage of the program is the ability to place students into practical sport settings within not only the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area, but also throughout the country. Students take courses in marketing strategies in the sport industry, organizing and administering sport events, managing sport facilities, understanding legal and ethical issues in sport, and more. 

Students may focus in:

• Sport Commerce -  sport as a business enterprise, or
• Sport Leadership – leadership roles within athletics.

At the graduate level, LSU offers a Master of Science in Sport Management, and Online Master of Science in Sport Management, and a PhD in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sport Management. Many students take advantage of a prominent feature of the program – a semester-long internship wherein students work extensively in a selected area of sport management. Since our start as a program in the late 1990s, LSU Sport Management has cultivated substantial relationships with various professional, intercollegiate, interscholastic, youth, recreation, and non-profit organizations. As some examples, sites for recent internships included the National Senior Games, Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation, multiple teams in Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, the offices of the Southeastern Conference, Louisiana High School Athletic Association, and within LSU Athletics.

Graduates of the program assume positions such as event and facility managers of sport and entertainment venues, recreation centers, ticket operations managers, marketing and promotions directors, and sport information directors. Other positions our graduates pursue include athletic directorships at the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels, general managers, directors of operations, and community relations or event coordinators among other career fields. 

"The Money Game LSU demonstrates clearly the rapidly changing landscape for student-athletes in intercollegiate sport. It also focuses on the leading role that LSU has played in supporting NIL success for its athletes. The Money Game provides great insight into one of the most important current issues in sport management," said Assistant Professor Tyreal Qian.

Learn more:

BS in Sport Administration – Sport Commerce

BS in Sport Administration – Sport Leadership

MS in Sport Management

Online MS in Sport Management

PhD in Kinesiology, concentration in Sport Management