BA in Sport Management

Why pursue a sports management degree at North Central College?

Most observers don’t realize that a career in sports can require an extremely broad knowledge base. Our sport management program will provide you with both the broad-based curriculum and the practical experience you’ll need to succeed. In fact, this combination is what sets North Central sport management program graduates apart from the competition.

You can also:

• Learn from faculty, administrators, and industry professionals with firsthand experience in sports.
• Interact with sports industry experts on topics such as sports entrepreneurship; running youth sports clubs and leagues; identifying risk management and liability issues in athletics venues; rules and governance changes in the NCAA; sports psychology; career opportunities within the sport management field; and so many more.
• Join the SportxNC, an organization for undergraduate students interested in networking, increasing their marketability, discussing current sports industry topics, organizing events, and taking on leadership roles on special projects and committees.
• Take advantage of North Central College’s location in one of the most vibrant sports communities in the country. Professional sports experiences include volunteering, internships, job shadowing, gameday experiences, and networking in a variety of settings.
• Additional opportunities include learning tools of the trade-in hospitality and fan services with the Chicago Bears or Chicago Fire; sales with the Chicago Dogs, the Windy City Bulls, or Kane County Cougars; sport and event management with Game Day USA, the Chicago Marathon, or Spikeball; tourism and marketing with Premier Sport Tourism and the city of Naperville, golf course and country club management from venues like Cress Creek or Cog Hill; sports and training facility operations from the Bulls-Sox Academy and health & fitness clubs such as the Title Boxing Club; and high school athletic or collegiate intramural administration from a number of local institutions.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!