Sports Business Management

Sports business management applies the principles of business and management directly to the sport sector, one of the world's most dynamic and commercially significant industries. Sport encompasses professional and elite competition, fitness and wellness, sports media and broadcasting, events, sponsorship, merchandise, sports technology, and the community and grassroots organisations that connect millions of people to physical activity. Managing effectively within this sector requires both a rigorous understanding of business and a genuine knowledge of what makes sport distinctive as an industry and as a social phenomenon.

At Hartpury University, this three-year full-time Sports Business Management degree is built around the principle that practical experience should be central to the programme, with modules and assessments designed to reflect industry reality and to prepare you to make an immediate contribution when you graduate. You will develop business skills in marketing, finance, operations, strategy, and leadership alongside applied learning that includes assessment centre simulations and entrepreneurial pitching exercises. The programme includes a sandwich year and work placement, giving you substantial professional experience in the sport industry before you complete your degree.

Graduates from sports business management programmes are well placed for careers across the full range of the sport, leisure, and entertainment industries. Roles in professional sport clubs, national governing bodies, sports agencies, fitness businesses, events companies, sports media organisations, sponsorship, and sports technology firms are all common destinations. The combination of business competence and sector-specific knowledge is valued across commercial and not-for-profit sport organisations.

Postgraduate study in sport management, business administration, or sport marketing is an option for those who wish to develop specialist or leadership qualifications.