The College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management (HRSM) has been working alongside the College of Information and Communications (CIC) to offer a new Master's of Sport and Entertainment degree based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
While there is a master of Sport and Entertainment Management degree already offered through the HRSM college, this new degree focuses more on the business of sports media, according to a statement by USC spokesperson Collyn Taylor.
The program is still in the early stages and will not be implemented until the next year or so, Steven Shapiro, the interim Associate Dean of Graduate Education and MSEM program director said.
According to Taylor in his statement the HRSM college will combine its expertise knowledge on sports management with the CIC's knowledge on content creation and publishing.
“There's not really (a degree) that's combining the knowledge that our CIC college and HRSM college bring to the table in terms of looking at both the business of sport and the media landscape,” Shapiro said.
Chris Caldwell, director of the sport, media and entertainment initiative said the program's combination of subjects reflects a changing industry where individuals need to understand both sports and entertainment and the impact of media all together.
“There is a desire for students to come into the marketplace with a more well-rounded education understanding how media and sports and entertainment management kind of come together, because that's how the world is working,” Caldwell said.
Having both of the colleges involved will benefit students planning on going into this field, Shapiro said.
“I think we're leveraged pretty well between the two colleges to capitalize on this quickly changing industry, to be able to put those two elements together — the media industry and the business of sport, to prepare students that want to go into a vastly growing industry on sport media,” Shapiro said.
Though this degree will be through the University of South Carolina, it will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While it is unclear where students will be exactly in Charlotte and the full set up of classes, Shapiro said that they are still in the researching phase of what offerings can be provided for those wanting to pursue the degree.
Taylor said in his statement that USC's board of trustees approved an off-campus instructional site so that students pursuing this degree can use Charlotte to their advantage. Taylor also said in his statement that this gives students the chance to meet with instructors and sports media and businesses in Charlotte as well.
The city's sports market is an important factor in the program because of the opportunities it offers as large media companies are headquartered there, Shapiro said.
“I think Charlotte is an important component of this, not just necessarily building the program, which we could do here, but leveraging the benefits of being not too far from Charlotte," Shapiro said.
With the degree still in the works of being approved, both Shapiro and Caldwell said they are looking at options for more opportunities within the degree itself. Both described the possibility of having a grad certificate and then building that into a joint degree as well. So far, Caldwell and Shapiro are working on what the degree can offer, research provided in Charlotte and connections to the industry.
Shapiro said there are potentially two avenues that this degree can go for those already in the field or those looking to continue their education. The first entry point is a grad certificate, which would consist of four classes for individuals to take. This certificate can be an option for those already working in the field, but want to get more expertise on the media side.
From there, the students would have the option of taking the masters program, which would consist of two years and 30 credit hours for those looking to expand their skills in the field.
With the process of approval and research taking time, there is still no set date for when this degree will be offered. However, both Caldwell and Shapiro said they are hopeful for the next year or so.
Caldwell said that this degree will be very unique to the industry, as there are not many competitors with the same degree.
“I'm sure there are plenty of universities that can make a claim to this, but through our research, there's really been two or three of these,” Caldwell said. “The opportunity to build something ... unique with the passion of the staff involved ... I think is very unparalleled. This would be legacy-building for both colleges.”
When CIC Dean Tom Reichert first arrived as the dean back in 2017, the sports management and entertainment program was highly ranked, and the sports media program in the CIC school was moving up. He said he is excited about USC's ability to combine two strong programs.
“So, what's interesting ... is that most programs around the country, they either have a really strong sport management program or a strong sports journalism program, but you don't have all of them together,” Reichert said. “So ... we're very unique and nicely situated to have two great colleges working together.”
Caldwell said in addition to the deans and faculty, media properties such as ESPN, SEC and ACC, which are headquartered in Charlotte, are also eager to be involved.
“Whether it's helping us sponsor our events, being guest lecturers in our classes, and helping from a professional development participation perspective, as well as teaching,” Caldwell said. “So, there is just a palpable excitement for this project.”