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Dan Rascher (left), academic director, and Stan Fasci (right), administrative director, are growing a world-class Sport Management Program.
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Good Sports
The University of San Francisco Sport Management Master’s Program is growing so fast, it had to change its offices, its name, and its curriculum last year just to keep up with its own momentum.
New offices in Lone Mountain were needed this spring to receive an increasing flood of interested applicants; last summer the program cut “Fitness” from its old title of “Sports & Fitness Management” to reflect a greater management focus; and it has asked the faculty curriculum committee to approve new electives for this fall.
“The industry of sport is so big and people have such a love and passion for sports, that when students find out that such a program exists, it’s a watershed moment for them,” said Stan Fasci, the program’s administrative director. “They are so excited they can study the whole industry of sport and develop their career as they’re studying.”
As the multi-billion-dollar U.S. sports industry continues to grow, the program’s popularity increases every year. Roughly 100 students graduate from USF’s San Francisco and Los Angeles campuses every spring, making it the largest stand-alone sport management graduate program in the world (other universities normally offer a similar curriculum within their exercise and sport science or kinesiology programs). Last fall, Fasci received approximately 130 applicants for 35 spaces. Applicants come from all over the world, especially Japan where the sports business is growing fast.
“If students want to be involved with sports in any way, this program gives them an edge,” said Dan Rascher, a professor of economics in the program and director of its academic programming. The program has three full-time faculty and 16-18 adjunct instructors.
Started in 1991, the two-year program gives students a foundation in the economic, legal, and personnel issues involved in managing sports clubs, running facilities, or marketing sports merchandise. Classes include “Sport, Culture, and the Marketplace,” “Facilities Planning and Operations in Sport Management,” and “Strategic Communication and Public Relations in Sport.”
As sports franchises continue to be a key source of money and regional identity in the United States and abroad, industry careers have become more desirable and competitive.
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