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University News

Sport administration jumps to No. 3 globally

The graduate program merges a diverse academic curriculum with work experience and offers dual degrees in law or business.

Wide shot of Kenan Stadium at dusk
(Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

For the first time, the graduate program in sport administration at UNC-Chapel Hill has been ranked among the Top 5 graduate programs in sport business in the world.

According to the 2023 SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings, the program ranks No. 3 globally. This year’s ranking caps a meteoric rise in the rankings for the program, which in its first three years participating ranked 11th (2020 and 2021) and 8th (2022) on a global basis.

For the second consecutive year, the program ranked No. 3 in the world in return on investment.

The program also ranked highly in these areas:

•No. 2 (tied) in employment status at 12 months.

•No. 5 in opportunities for networking with industry executives.

•No. 5 in graduate’s choice, based on student satisfaction scores and reflective of alumni satisfaction.

•No. 6 (tied) in quality of faculty.

“Our graduate program in sport administration continues to excel as one of the top programs in North America and the world and does an excellent job of preparing the next generation of leaders in the field,” said Troy Blackburn, professor and chair of College of Arts and Sciences’ exercise and sport science department. “The continued, perennial success and ranking of the program speaks to the expertise, experience and hard work of the sport administration faculty and our outstanding students.”

“UNC’s sport administration graduate program is dedicated to educating the next generation of college sports professionals, and we congratulate them on this much-deserved honor,” said Bubba Cunningham, UNC-Chapel Hill athletics director. “Carolina Athletics is proud to partner with the program.”

The graduate program in sport administration celebrated its 40th anniversary last academic year. With graduate courses in sport administration, analytics, economics/finance, event management, marketing and law, the program merges a diverse academic curriculum with work experience, culminating in a year-long internship within the UNC athletic department. The program also offers dual degree programs in conjunction with the School of Law and the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

“From its inception as the first graduate program to focus solely on college athletics, the sport administration graduate program has been a model of cross-campus collaboration, experiential education and cutting-edge research,” noted professor and graduate coordinator Barbara Osborne. “Our faculty are leaders in their areas of specialization, bringing their extensive experience in the field as well as cutting edge research into the classroom.  Our alumni are innovative leaders in college athletics and beyond who have stayed engaged as mentors, research partners and advocates. The UNC athletics department provides unmatched administrative internship opportunities for our students, who are amazing in their own right.”