If you love the energy of game day, live events, and world-class guest experiences—and you want to lead the business behind it—this path is for you. Sports, entertainment, and hospitality organizations thrive on leaders who can forecast demand, grow revenue, elevate brands, and orchestrate unforgettable moments at scale.At the University of Dallas, a concentration in Sports, Entertainment & Hospitality is built for exactly that kind of career trajectory—combining core business acumen with industry-specific know-how, offered in flexible formats for working professionals.
Sports & entertainment marketing connects teams, venues, artists, and attractions with the audiences who love them. Think sponsorships and partnerships, ticketing strategies, loyalty, pricing, branded content, community engagement, and analytics that unlock lifetime value. The goal: grow revenue and fan devotion—ethically and sustainably—while delivering standout experiences.
Curious about career opportunities in sports management and adjacent sectors? Here are high-demand roles graduates often pursue, along with what they actually do day-to-day:
Sports Marketing Manager – Owns brand strategy, campaigns, and partnerships; tracks KPIs like CAC, ROAS, and fan engagement; collaborates with creatives and sales.
Sponsorships & Corporate Partnerships – Designs multi-year, multi-channel partnerships; packages assets (naming rights, signage, digital, hospitality) aligned to business outcomes.
Sports Event Management – Plans and executes events from schedule to showtime; manages budgets, vendor contracts, run-of-show, risk, and guest experience.
Ticketing & Revenue Optimization – Uses dynamic pricing, segmentation, and promotions to maximize attendance and margin.
Hospitality & Venue Operations – Leads end-to-end guest experience, F&B, premium seating, and service standards across arenas, festivals, and hotels.
Analytics & Business Intelligence – Turns fan, sales, and operations data into insights for smarter decisions across marketing, ops, and finance.
Experiential & Live Entertainment – Produces immersive brand activations and tours; measures impact with post-event analytics.
These roles exist across pro & collegiate sports, live entertainment, attractions & theme parks, esports, venues, agencies, luxury hospitality, travel, and conferences. The common thread: leaders who blend business fundamentals with industry fluency.
Short answer: far more than posting on social. A sports marketer aligns storytelling with commercial strategy. Expect to:
Map audience segments and fan journeys
Shape content and media plans around key moments (home openers, playoffs, festival drops)
Build sponsor packages and measure brand lift
Coordinate with ticketing on offers, pricing, and conversions
Report performance to execs and partners with clear, defensible metrics
If event management in sports excites you, start building:
Operational discipline
Risk & contingency planning
Guest-experience mindset
Post-event analytics
Pairing this with a business degree makes you promotion-ready for larger venues and more complex productions.
Because top roles demand more than passion—they require finance, leadership, analytics, and strategy to scale experiences responsibly.
At UDallas, you’ll complete the MBA (36 credit hours) with the option to add the Sports, Entertainment & Hospitality concentration (total typically 39 hours with concentration courses). Formats are designed for working professionals—online or on-campus—with 12-week, 6-week, and intermester options so you can pace the degree around your life and career peaks. No GMAT/GRE required for admission.
Why it matters: You’ll graduate fluent in P&L, sponsorship ROI, demand forecasting, contract strategy, and fan-centric service design—skills that transfer across any premium experience business.
Plenty. UDallas’s concentration focuses on the business of experiences—from stadiums and festivals to hospitality brands and destination venues. Grads often move into:
Director/Manager of Sports Marketing or Partnerships
Event & Venue Operations Lead
Premium Hospitality & Guest Experience
Ticketing & Revenue Strategy
Brand/Experiential at agencies or rights-holders
Business Development for arenas, hotels, attractions, or live tours
The concentration complements the MBA’s leadership core so you can step into management roles faster.
DFW is a powerhouse region for professional sports, venues, live events, hospitality, and corporate HQs—meaning more internships, informational interviews, and real-world case studies while you study. (UDallas offers remote and on-campus options; many students work full-time while completing their MBA.)
Choose Sports, Entertainment & Hospitality if you:
Want leadership roles in high-energy, guest-centric businesses
Love data-driven decisions but also creative partnerships
Can juggle operational detail with brand storytelling
Want a flexible, working-professional-friendly MBA that doesn’t force you to pause your career
Flexible formats & pacing for professionals (remote or on campus)
Focused concentration that adds targeted industry courses to the MBA core (39 total hours with concentration)
Mission-driven leadership emphasis—preparing you to lead teams with integrity in high-visibility environments
Q: What are the best sports business master’s programs?
A: “Best” depends on fit—format, network, cost, and focus. UDallas is designed for working professionals who want a values-driven business education with a Sports, Entertainment & Hospitality concentration you can complete online or on campus.
Q: What can you do with a master’s focused on sports administration?
A: Common tracks include sports marketing, sponsorships, event & venue operations, hospitality leadership, ticketing/revenue, and BI/analytics—across pro/college sports, live entertainment, and hospitality brands. (See roles above.)
Q: How long will the MBA take?
A: Many working professionals complete the 36-hour MBA in ~1–2 years; adding a concentration typically brings the total to ~39 hours and ~2–3 years, depending on pace.
Explore the Sports, Entertainment & Hospitality concentration
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