Sports Administration
Whether it is playing or spectating, people love sports.
Many of us have a favorite team for which we love to cheer or a favorite sport we love to play. But sport is also a major economic force and a business industry sector with many unique challenges and possibilities. In the Sport Administration track, students will get an inside look at how the major trains future business leaders and sport administrators in this fast paced and changing industry. They will learn more about the coursework for the major, from marketing, finance, law, sales & revenue generation, event management, communication, analytics, and more, all with a specific sport focus. They will meet industry practitioners, including alums of the program, and will explore career prospects in the sport industry, from professional sports teams to college athletics, marketing agencies, television networks, apparel brands, sport-related tech companies, sport governing bodies, and more. Plus, students will step inside UNC athletics facilities, exploring the very arenas where many majors rack up internship experience and learn the business from the ground up!
Instructor: Nels Popp
Nels Popp is in his 12th year at UNC and is a full professor in the Sport Administration program. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Louisville and also taught at Illinois State University before moving to Chapel Hill. Prior to becoming a faculty member, Popp worked for a professional basketball team in Australia (the Cairns Taipans) and worked as a media relations director for multiple college athletics departments. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed academic journal research articles and has been quoted as a sport business expert in media outlets such as ESPN.com, the Athletic, AP News Service, the Charlotte Observer, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the Syracuse Post-Standard, among others. He has collaborated on sport marketing research projects with the Atlantic Coast Conference, State Farm Insurance sponsorships, the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA), and multiple minor league teams. Popp has also volunteered with organizations such as the Super Bowl XLI host committee, the AVP Beach Volleyball tour, the National Senior Games, the Miracle League, and with the La Crosse Loggers Northwoods League baseball club.
instructor: Tony Patterson
Tony Patterson is in his sixth year on faculty at UNC and serves as a Teaching Associate Professor in Sport Administration. Prior to joining the Sport Administration faculty, Tony served as an Associate Professor in Kinesiology and Recreation Administration at North Carolina Central University for seven years. He is a native North Carolinian, earning a B.S. in Business Administration (1996) and an M.S. in Recreation Administration (2001) from Carolina. While at UNC as an undergraduate he found a part-time position in Campus Recreation which fueled his interest in the community and youth sport industry. He has held roles in housing/residential life, enrollment management, and student life. Seeing firsthand the significant role sport and recreation can have in one’s life led him to pursue a doctorate in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at NC State University (2015). He teaches several classes including Introduction to Sport Administration, Facility and Event Management, Leadership in Sport Organizations.