SDSU Sports Management MBA
An Intensive Sports Management MBA Focused on the Dynamic Business of International Sports
The program provides its graduates a thorough understanding of the skills crucial for professionals to succeed, while building a broad network of relationships in the sports-rich landscape of Southern California.
Students study statistical analysis, organizational behavior and leadership, financial management, and business strategy, along with sports economics and marketing, in classes taught by seasoned, professional educators. Coursework is heavily international in scope. The program includes an overseas excursion to study sports business in the Dominican Republic and frequent guest lecturers with global experience.
The SDSU Sports Management MBA program offers students 12 months of accelerated class time, focusing on critical business skills, with an additional four months of supervised consultancies worldwide. Classes are offered in a cohort format to foster strong relationships among classmates, upon which graduates can draw throughout their careers.
The Fall 2026 admissions cycle is now closed! We will be accepting applications for Fall 2027 starting October 1st, 2026. We look forward to receiving your application then.
Angelica Gamez (SMBA ‘22) is a manager of corporate partnerships with the Golden State Warriors and Golden State Valkyries. Gamez is a recent graduate of the Sports MBA program (2022) and also holds a bachelor’s degree from SDSU, where she was a student-athlete cheerleader and intern for Aztec athletics marketing.
Student Spotlight
Sports MBA Faculty Bring the Sports Industry to You
Alumni Spotlight
Sports MBA Curriculum
In this course, students apply statistical analysis to real issues in the sports industry – for example, comparing the performance and compliance of two golf ball models. Using Microsoft Excel, students build foundational skills for thinking critically about current challenges in sports.
This course challenges students to think critically about interpersonal communication and organization in the workplace, and how different approaches affect performance and cohesion. It also focuses on pursuing meaningful, high-achieving work while avoiding burnout. Students take part in hands-on simulations to build real-world social and intercultural skills.
In this course, students think critically about legal issues in sports, covering topics like contracts, athlete representation, and collective bargaining. Students apply these skills through case studies on partnerships and negotiations, culminating in a simulated exercise where they draft and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.
In this course, students build and refine their personal playbook as part of broader strategic career planning. Students learn negotiation skills, resume building, interviewing tactics, and more in order to build their personal brands and enhance employability and longevity in their careers. Using a combination of Professor Lindner’s expertise and network, as well as many guest speakers, students continually focus on and develop professional and personal plans and goals.
In this course, students learn the language of accounting to make sound financial decisions in management roles, with the ex-CFO of the San Diego Padres serving as an annual guest speaker. Students apply financial analysis techniques to evaluate and benchmark the performance of sports organizations, culminating in written reports and presentations with strategic recommendations. An optional field trip to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club offers firsthand exposure to the financial operations of a major sport and entertainment venue.
The goal of this course is to help students gain a greater understanding of business ethics and develop a framework for ethical decision-making in organizations. The course takes students through a variety of ethical perspectives and decision-making theories, along with how individual, group, and organizational factors shape ethical judgment. Topics covered include corporate social responsibility, stakeholder versus shareholder perspectives, and what contributes to an ethical organizational culture.
This course introduces core economic principles – such as supply and demand, market equilibrium, elasticity, and production and cost analysis – and how they apply to managerial decision-making in the sports industry. Students apply these concepts through real-world case studies, analyzing topics like ticket pricing, market structures, and cost behavior to understand how economic forces shape decisions for teams, leagues, and sponsors.
This course covers marketing as a business function critical to organizational success, combining instructor-led lectures with site visits for hands-on learning. Students apply these concepts through a real-world consulting project, developing partnership and activation pitch strategies for a client, as well as an industry field experience with an executive panel.
Financial Management exposes students to the fundamental principles of corporate finance. This course discusses how managers use financial statements, engage in financial planning, value cash flows, understand risk, make long-term investment decisions, and how to make both long- and short-term financing decisions. Once the groundwork has been laid, students apply these principles to analyze sports business topics such as franchise valuation, stadium financing, athlete salaries, and more.
In this course, students learn core tax concepts and apply them to real-world scenarios in the sports industry, including consulting professional athletes on tax planning. Students put these skills into practice by creating video presentations with tax guidance for athletes, and by completing a professional tax memorandum analyzing the taxability of Olympic medal bonuses and awards.
This course helps students apply accounting principles to internal business decisions and strategy, with extensive hands-on use of Microsoft Excel. Students work through weekly case studies and real-world projects, presenting their recommendations to industry professionals for feedback.
This course features an international excursion to the Dominican Republic. Since 2009, Sports MBA students have traveled to the D.R. to observe and evaluate the impact that Major League Baseball and its teams have on the country. Students learn from top MLB officials, tour team facilities, meet with prospects, work with NGOs, and conduct community service, all while immersed in a Spanish-speaking environment and vibrant island culture. Students also plan and execute a fundraising initiative, raising financial contributions and in-kind donations that have helped build homes for families in need.
Strategic Thinking examines the theories and trends shaping the evolving relationships between sports organizations and their fans, giving students a foundation of business principles to apply to the sports industry. Students put these principles into practice by analyzing real-world case studies and presenting strategic recommendations in a simulated boardroom setting – acting as executives and board members, conducting due diligence, and defending their proposals during questioning.
Throughout this course, students study the topics related to the design, execution and management of operations and supply chain systems. The course teaches students to model solutions related to project scheduling and management, inventory management, demand forecasting, and queue management. Students write research papers exploring how organizations manage issues related to their operations and supply chains.
This course provides an in-depth introduction to marketing principles and how they apply within the sports business realm, with a focus on corporate partnerships and fan behavior. The course unfolds in three parts: partnership-linked marketing theory; an agency-style consulting project for a client brief; and partnership sales, covering core techniques alongside a simulated outreach call.
In this course, students develop a fundamental understanding of analytical techniques and tools like SQL and Excel to tackle real-world sports business issues. Through hands-on exercises and a major case study, students analyze real datasets and develop evidence-based recommendations, culminating in a final presentation of their findings.
This course provides an in-depth introduction to brand management in sports by delving into three key areas: licensing, digital marketing, and sports marketing research.
Students gain hands-on experience by working at and attending premier sporting events and industry functions throughout San Diego and beyond, building connections and seeing industry operations firsthand. Recent events and partners have included:
- Alex Morgan Foundation
- Challenged Athletes Foundation
- Dillz Cup
- Farmers Insurance Open
- March Madness
- NASCAR
- NWSL Final
- Pacific Beach Half Marathon
- San Diego Sports Association Gala
- San Diego State Athletics
- San Diego Wave
- Sports San Diego
- Sports San Diego Game Time Gala
- Super Girl Surf Pro
- WISE Women of Inspiration Awards
Students apply classroom business principles and sharpen their presentation skills by consulting for real sports industry clients – developing marketing plans, organizational analyses, and corporate sponsorship pitches. Last year's clients have included:
- A&V Sports
- Broken Yolk Cafe
- Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
- Intuit
- NBA
- Parity
- San Diego Mojo
- San Diego State Athletics
- San Diego Wave
Students go behind the scenes at leading sports facilities and brands to see day-to-day operations and meet industry professionals. Recent site visits have included:
- Callaway
- Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
- Intuit Dome
- Oakley
- Snapdragon Stadiums
- Upper Deck
Students gain real-world experience and launch their careers through internships and roles with leading sports organizations. Recent placements have included:
- Fairwhay Management
- Farmers Insurance Open
- Her Sports
- Koz Events
- LA Rams
- NWSL
- Playfly Sports
- Premier Athlete Agency
- San Diego FC
- San Diego Mojo
- San Diego Padres
- San Diego State Athletics
- San Diego Wave
- Savannah Bananas
- Snapdragon Stadium
- Southport Marketing
- Sponsor United
- Sports San Diego
- The Century Club
- University of California, San Diego, Athletics
- University of San Diego Athletics
Every year since 2009, Sports MBA students have spent approximately ten days as a group on site in the Dominican Republic. This trip is one of the most memorable experiences of the year for Sports MBA students. The excursion is tied to an academic course in Management and is led by program director, Scott Minto (SMBA ’06). The concept of the trip is to develop students’ global competencies through a complete cultural and language immersion in a developing country. The class prepares extensively for the trip, reading books about Dominican baseball and culture and studying Spanish.
After completing the 12-month classroom portion of the Sports MBA curriculum, students are prepared to work with a sports organization on a full-time basis. The MBA candidates have a faculty mentor oversee their work during their final semester, with the goal of providing their host organization with a comprehensive consulting report on a specific sports business field at the end of the term. The course work is completed remotely and classes do not meet on campus during this term. Many students secure full-time employment during this portion of the program, and while many students land opportunies in Southern California, a number of students each year move elsewhere to complete their degree.
- BA 780 Field Studies in Business: 4 Month Internship
- BA 795 Integrative Business Analysis: Final MBA Thesis Report
FAQ
Classes run from the end of August to the end of July the following year. Students will then start their on-site work with a sports organization in August, and write their thesis simultaneously, until December. Graduation will be in December.
Applications open October 1st and close June 15th.
No, we do not currently require the GMAT or GRE.
Letters of recommendation can be submitted by your recommender to [email protected].
The official title of the degree is Sports Master of Business Administration. Students will graduate from the program with an MBA as they will complete all the classes that are required of MBA students. The focus of the coursework is on sport which makes this degree unique and attractive for individuals hoping to pursue a career in the sports industry.
We do not have an official acceptance rate for the program. We receive hundreds of applications and admit between 35-40 students per cohort.
Yes, we have a number of alumni who are military veterans. If you are a military veteran who is interested in applying to the program, please email us at [email protected].
No, we do not offer a part-time option for this program. Students are expected to be enrolled full-time.
We do not recommend a specific area of study or expect students to have an undergraduate degree in a specific area of study. We encourage students from any undergraduate academic background to apply.
You are not required to have your own transportation. If the class is participating in activities off-campus, students will usually carpool altogether. Students without their own vehicle are given a transit pass to use the San Diego transit system free of charge. Students with their own vehicle are given a parking pass.
Yes, all of our classes are in person.
We do not recommend working full-time while studying in this program. Students are expected to be enrolled as full-time students and use their spare time to work part-time, volunteer and build their connections in the sports industry. However, we strongly encourage our students to work part-time in the sports industry while they are in this program. San Diego is a sports hotspot and there is no shortage of part-time roles in the sports industry!
Classes take place during working hours on three weekdays. Students are expected to work part-time, network or volunteer on the other weekdays and the weekend.
There is not a difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition. All students pay the same amount for the program.
There is financial aid available for students that are US citizens. If you would like more information on financial aid, please email [email protected].
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