Sports Sponsorship & Sales Major
Looking for the sports management, sports administration, or sports business degree that will land you a job with a pro team?
Contents
- S3 Advisory Board: Who recruits our students?
- S3 Entrance Requirements: How do I join S3?
- S3 Graduate Placement: Where do S3 grads work?
- S3 Courses: What classes do I take?
- S3 Application Form: How do I apply?
- S3 Club: How can I get involved?
- Professional Sports Salaries: What will I earn?
- Baylor S3 Report: Published by the S3 Program
- Team Sports Marketing: Online text from the S3 Program
S3 Vision: Coming into focus
The bottom line. Professional and major collegiate athletic programs prosper or fail due to the revenue generated from the sale of sponsorships and the selling of tickets to individuals, groups, and corporations. S3 Majors are guaranteed job interviews with teams in the major league (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS) of their choice.
At Baylor, outstanding students are selected to be trained in the fundamentals of selling and serving customers, knowing that sales result from developing relationships based on listening, trust, mutual respect, and an abiding concern for the ultimate well-being of clients and customers. Following extensive experience gained from professional internships and client-based sales projects, new employees from the program will hit their new jobs running, prepared specifically to produce at the point of sale. Since many of today's senior executives at professional sports teams made their way into management after starting in ticket sales, we prepare students for the starting point of a career in sports business.
Competitive Positioning: #1. Due to the unique competitive positioning of the Sports Sponsorship & Sales program and Baylor's network of friends in sports organizations and corporations, Baylor’s Center for Sports Sponsorships & Sales is the premier undergraduate sports marketing degree program in the United States and the world. Only 15 AACSB-accredited universities in the United States offer a sports degree program housed in its School of Business. Of those:
- 11 focus on sports business or management (not marketing),
- two offer MBAs with a marketing emphasis (UK, IU),
- one offers a concentration in sports marketing (Duquesne), and
- only one offers a complete undergraduate major in sports marketing (University of Oregon).
None of the 15 programs in Business Schools, and none of the roughly 150 programs located in universities in non-business schools (viz., Education, HPE, Kinesiology, etc.), has a major specifically related to the professional selling of sponsorships and sales. This is astounding, given that the industry revolves around the billions of dollars corporations spend on sports sponsorships and hospitality.
The Baylor Sports Sponsorship & Sales (S3) major is the only one of its kind in the world to provide a complete major in sports sales. We place all students in internships at the highest level of professional sports for students interested in ticket sales, customer relationship management, or sports media/corporate sales.
Specialized Tracks. Within the S3 major, students select a specialized track leading to a clear career path for succeeding in sports:
- Ticket Sales: We have over 25 teams on our advisory board waiting to hire an S3 major with our training in professional selling of season, suites, and group tickets.
- Customer Relationship Management: The fastest growing--and best paying--job opportunity in sports (or just about any business) for those trained to develop, manage, and analyze fan information leading to successful marketing campaigns.
- Microsoft CRM Academic Alliance Partners: Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys.
- Media/Corporate Sales: If you want to work in the advertising and media world of sports, students intern and train to work for media companies, agencies, or teams.
- Corporate/Media Partners: Fox Sports Southwest, The Marketing Arm, AT&T, Reliant, and HP.
The Foundation. S3 majors take 18 hours of marketing and professional selling for sports. As our foundation, we train students in Values-Based Leadership so that our graduates make a meaningful difference in the workplace and in our culture.
Experience = Jobs. Each student will serve two internships before graduating with a degree in Sports Sponsorship & Sales. To get a job in pro sports, you have to have experience. By the time students complete the major, they will have sold ticket packages for NBA teams, interned with a professional team or major media company, and learned how to manage a call center.
Our Mission. To faifthfully live lives of integrity marked by a strong work ethic in order to influence and transform relationships in the sports industry one person at a time.
Direction. The major accepts applications in the spring of each year. Annual admission to the major is granted for students in the business school who want to excel in sports sales & marketing. Students achieving a 3.0 GPA in the first 60 hours in the Hankamer Business School are automatically accepted. Transfers and students with GPAs between 2.5 and 2.99 may be accepted based on written application and personal interview. See the courses in the major here.
Contacts. If you are interested in more information about this program, please contact Dr. Darryl Lehnus (Darryl_Lehnus@Baylor.edu). Applications to be admitted in the program will be accepted in the Spring semester of the applicant's sophomore year(see Hankamer Advising Office). Applications are available here. Priority will be given to students who register for MKT 3342 (Pro Sell I for Sports) in their sophomore year prior to applying to the program. Junior transfers are considered and strongly encouraged to apply.
Scholarships. The Marketing Department annually awards scholarships ranging from $750-$2500 for outstanding S3 majors with financial needs. Must be junior or senior standing.
