This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - Printable Version
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This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - StanUSwagU - 01-23-2026
Hi,
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management/undergraduate#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Michigan's%20Sport%20Management%20(SM),ethical%20issues%20*%20Organizational%20behavior%20*%20Strategy
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
for Undergrads of all types, and also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - StanUSwagU - 01-26-2026
(01-23-2026, 11:50 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote: Hi,
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management/undergraduate#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Michigan's%20Sport%20Management%20(SM),ethical%20issues%20*%20Organizational%20behavior%20*%20Strategy
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
for Undergrads of all types, and also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University.
***********
Just to add:
Looks like Unversity of Michigan offers both:
• Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate Major)
• Masters Degree
In this SportsManagement Major
...do we at Stanford have this Undergraduate Major of 'Sports Management' ?
If not, any idea why not ? (Seems like a relevant major given that Worldwide Sports is a Trillion Dollar Industry).
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - PalmTree - 01-26-2026
(01-26-2026, 05:06 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote:(01-23-2026, 11:50 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote: Hi,
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management/undergraduate#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Michigan's%20Sport%20Management%20(SM),ethical%20issues%20*%20Organizational%20behavior%20*%20Strategy
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
for Undergrads of all types, and also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University.
***********
Just to add:
Looks like Unversity of Michigan offers both:
• Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate Major)
• Masters Degree
In this SportsManagement Major
...do we at Stanford have this Undergraduate Major of 'Sports Management' ?
If not, any idea why not ? (Seems like a relevant major given that Worldwide Sports is a Trillion Dollar Industry).
Because faculty ultimately drive and determine which majors a school/department will offer and that's not been an identified academic priority. Besides that and financial support, an academic major also requires assigned faculty and approved curriculum and I am guessing we have few faculty specializing in sports management.
That said, who knows - it wouldn't surprise me at all to see sports management degree/certificate programs established in the not-too-distant future.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - Papa John - 01-26-2026
The "why not" probably has to do with the fact that Stanford doesn't have an undergraduate business major.
As an aside, it seems weird to me that Michigan houses its Sport Management major in the School of Kinesiology.
Also, Stanford already has an undergraduate degree in Management Science & Engineering, which seems to be very popular with athletes.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - StanUSwagU - 01-26-2026
(01-26-2026, 05:24 PM)PalmTree Wrote:(01-26-2026, 05:06 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote:(01-23-2026, 11:50 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote: Hi,
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management/undergraduate#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Michigan's%20Sport%20Management%20(SM),ethical%20issues%20*%20Organizational%20behavior%20*%20Strategy
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
for Undergrads of all types, and also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University.
***********
Just to add:
Looks like Unversity of Michigan offers both:
• Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate Major)
• Masters Degree
In this SportsManagement Major
...do we at Stanford have this Undergraduate Major of 'Sports Management' ?
If not, any idea why not ? (Seems like a relevant major given that Worldwide Sports is a Trillion Dollar Industry).
Because faculty ultimately drive and determine which majors a school/department will offer and that's not been an identified academic priority. Besides that and financial support, an academic major also requires assigned faculty and approved curriculum and I am guessing we have few faculty specializing in sports management.
That said, who knows - it wouldn't surprise me at all to see sports management degree/certificate programs established in the not-too-distant future.
********************
Hi PalmTree,
1. Thanks for the post.
2. I agree, hopefully we will see something like this in the very near future.
3. Seems like if there were Big Time High-School Student-Athletes, who were interested in finding a University where they could 'Play their Sport' & 'Get a Degree in Sports Management', it might benefit a University to have that as an Undergrad Major, possibly with the option to also get a Masters in it, especially in this new era of NIL, SportsMarketing, Private Equity, and Young Student-Athletes wanting to work in Front-Offices of Pro Franchises, after they obtained their Undergrad Degree , etc.
4. Wouldnt want that to be the difference between a 3.9 GPA 4star QB choosing University of Michigan over Stanford.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - 82lsju - 01-26-2026
(01-26-2026, 05:06 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote:(01-23-2026, 11:50 PM)StanUSwagU Wrote: Hi,
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management/undergraduate#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Michigan's%20Sport%20Management%20(SM),ethical%20issues%20*%20Organizational%20behavior%20*%20Strategy
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
for Undergrads of all types, and also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University.
***********
Just to add:
Looks like Unversity of Michigan offers both:
• Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate Major)
• Masters Degree
In this SportsManagement Major
...do we at Stanford have this Undergraduate Major of 'Sports Management' ?
If not, any idea why not ? (Seems like a relevant major given that Worldwide Sports is a Trillion Dollar Industry).
Stanford also has no undergraduate business degree...
The UM sports management program appears to be housed in the School of Kinesiology, we don't have one of those either....
That School offers
Undergraduate degrees
- BS Applied Exercise Science
- BS Movement Science
- BA Sport Management
- MS Athletic Training
- MS Movement Science
- MS Sport Management
- PhD Movement Science
- PhD Sport Management
I could not find how many undergrads are in the sports management program, but the total in the School of Kinesiology is 1,347 undergrad and 166 grad students.
from here
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sport-management
in 2022 they had 110 graduates with BS in sports management UM has ~35,000 undergrads so the BS in sports management is ~1% of undergrad degrees (110*4/35,000). If the take rate was the same at Stanford that would be ~24 undergrad degrees a year.
and while Stanford does not offer a sports management degree there are courses at the GSB
https://gsbresearchhub.stanford.edu/research-labs-and-initiatives/sports-management-initiative
that an enterprising student might take
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - BostonCard - 01-26-2026
I think you have it backwards. First find out if this is a field of study that we want as a University, then worry about whether it helps us land a 4* QB from Michigan. Otherwise you can wind up with an underwater basket weaving major.
As others have noted, the biggest issue is that Sports Management is most properly a business oriented degree, and the Stanford GSB doesn’t offer an undergraduate degree. But maybe now is a good time to determine whether that is a good idea or not. I think the rationale is that business graduates benefit from having been exposed to actual work in business, which is fair for a graduate degree, but a well-designed undergraduate degree with a strong internship program, can probably fulfill Stanford’s academic mission.
BC
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - PalmTree - 01-26-2026
(01-26-2026, 06:48 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I think you have it backwards. First find out if this is a field of study that we want as a University, then worry about whether it helps us land a 4* QB from Michigan. Otherwise you can wind up with an underwater basket weaving major.
BC
If you ask me, Intensive Pattern-based Subaqueous Digital Trauma Therapy has a decidedly more academic ring to it....
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - jacket3ree - 01-26-2026
(In my best Dean Wormer voice] OK, smart guy, how many baskets have you ever woven while underwater? Honestly doesn't sound that easy.
Anything can be hard or easy, depending on how it's taught. Physical education was compulsory for me in junior high, but not high school, but for my undergraduate degree. Junior high PE is so far in the rear view mirror that all I remember was playing "Air Force" football where there were no limits on the number of forward passes during a play, running a sub-five-minute mile while the girls laughed at my legs, and the pedo-creep gym teacher that insisted on watching us shower. As an undergraduate I got easy As in Aerobics (mile time had crept a little bit over five minutes but still good enough that the track coach who taught the class said something positive) and Drownproofing, which was derived from Navy Seal training and had to be passed to graduate. I got a hard-fought "B" in the sport science/fitness class my first freshman quarter. Classroom tests plus fitness tests. It boiled down to the final, like most class grades do, which was a decathlon of sorts but limited to what they could do inside the Student Athletic Center. I pumped out 59 sit-ups in a minute, which was below the 60 I needed for an "A" in the class after all was said and done. So, I got a "B". (Today I'm not sure I could sit up 60 times in a day.)
I even took Ceramic Engineering 1001 to flesh out my spring senior quarter when I basically majored in trips to Hilton Head. Dammit. I thought we would be making mugs or something and we had to figure out space shuttle tile chemistry. Lesson for you kids: pad your graduating quarter schedule so that you can drop something if needed.
In all seriousness, they should offer majors in football, basketball, whatever. Just cut right to it. Pritchard said he got his PhD at the Commanders. It will never happen, but they could make a rigorous course that sets players up to be in the NFL or coach later with a good financial head on their shoulders, able to communicate, and ready for what comes after football. That's stupid, what would anyone do with a football major if they flame out of football? Same can be said for dozens of majors at any university.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - SamuelMcF - 01-27-2026
(01-26-2026, 06:48 PM)BostonCard Wrote: I think you have it backwards. First find out if this is a field of study that we want as a University, then worry about whether it helps us land a 4* QB from Michigan. Otherwise you can wind up with an underwater basket weaving major.
We have one. It's called Science Technology and Society. Football players have been majoring in it for at least 15 years.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - paloalto - 01-27-2026
Before creating new majors Stanford should ask some questions first.
How many top-level football prospects choose a college based on a major it offers?
The data from one random school is not adequate to justify replicating majors. Do the majority of big-time college football factories offer those majors? If not, what would be the conclusion about attracting football players by offering those majors?
Do UM football players choose those majors because they view them as the path of least resistance to fulfill the annoying college requirement of attending some classes while training for the NFL? If that’s true, then maybe Stanford creating majors in basket weaving and fly fishing would be the better way to go.
If Stanford starts creating majors based primarily on attracting football players, will it continue to be viewed as a top ten academic university in the world? Or is winning football games more important than the University’s academic reputation?
The sport I’m most passionate about is WVB. Nebraska is by far and away the most dominant WVB school in the country. To attract elite WVB prospects do I want Stanford to start offering majors the Nebraska WVB players are choosing? No and it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - Papa John - 01-27-2026
(01-27-2026, 01:21 PM)paloalto Wrote: Before creating new majors Stanford should ask some questions first.
How many top-level football prospects choose a college based on a major it offers?
<snip>
As you, BC and others have suggested, this is the tail wagging the dog. I strongly disagree with this approach.
As Sam pointed out, Stanford already has an undergraduate program in Science, Technology, and Society (founded in 1971 by the way) and the post-baccalaureate program so grad transfers don't have to be admitted into a Stanford graduate degree program.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - PalmTree - 01-27-2026
(01-27-2026, 01:21 PM)paloalto Wrote: Before creating new majors Stanford should ask some questions first.
How many top-level football prospects choose a college based on a major it offers?
The data from one random school is not adequate to justify replicating majors. Do the majority of big-time college football factories offer those majors? If not, what would be the conclusion about attracting football players by offering those majors?
Do UM football players choose those majors because they view them as the path of least resistance to fulfill the annoying college requirement of attending some classes while training for the NFL? If that’s true, then maybe Stanford creating majors in basket weaving and fly fishing would be the better way to go.
If Stanford starts creating majors based primarily on attracting football players, will it continue to be viewed as a top ten academic university in the world? Or is winning football games more important than the University’s academic reputation?
The sport I’m most passionate about is WVB. Nebraska is by far and away the most dominant WVB school in the country. To attract elite WVB prospects do I want Stanford to start offering majors the Nebraska WVB players are choosing? No and it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.
Are you talking about all new majors, or just a sports management major? If for the former, I think you can rest assured the concerns you note would be pretty far down the priority list for new majors of any Stanford department/school faculty academic committee I can think of.
BTW - I'm truly curious - what are some of the majors the Nebraska WVB player's are choosing that seem to raise a red flag?
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - StanUSwagU - 01-27-2026
(1) Let me try to get this discussion back on track.
(2) I think based on some of the comments, many are 'jumping to conclusions', misinterpreting my question, or maybe 'connecting dots that were not necessarily meant to be connected'.
(3) I started with a very simple question, which was:
Do we at Stanford University currently have this Undergraduate Major, like the following ....(like University of Michigan has)?
https://www.kines.umich.edu/academics/sp...20Strategy
(4) Then I went on to state:
If not, given that Sports is soon to be a "Trillion Dollar Industry", this would be a great major to explicitly add to our Undergrad Majors:
[[[For Undergrads of all types]]], and [[[also it might attract Great Student Athletes to come to Stanford University]]].
(5) My main point, was to point out that University of Michigan offers 'bachelors' & 'masters' in a field that is 'Worldwide' and a 'Trillion Dollar Industry' = SportsManagement. (Seems like any University would review its portfolio of majors periodically, to make sure it is not missing 'a major of importance & great interest to students/employers etc')
(6) I only included (as a 'by product') the example of 'What if there were a 3.9 GPA 4* HighSchool QB, who wanted to 'major in SportsManagement' while playing his sport, as an example of the larger dilemma of 'What if any 3.9 GPA student wanted to 'major in SportsManagement, and due to Stanford not having it as a major, elected to go to another University that does have that major' (in this case a major 'SportsManagement' that is relevant to a 'Worldwide Trillion Dollar Industry').
(7) Also, to me a 'SportsManagement Major' speaks to a very focussed area where the University goes and looks at what is happening in the 'Sports Industry & develops curriculum that tightly relates to that' & where hopefully after your students graduated with a degree in 'SportsManagement' employers would see that & feel confident that student would have skills directly applicable to SportsManagement;
(8) [Whereas if an Employer sees a resume that says 'I majored in Science Technology and Society & took a few courses at the BizSchool', they might not do the research & opt for the student at a school like Univ of Michigan with the BA,BS,MA,MS in 'Sports Management' for this 'Worldwide Trillion Dollar Industry', thinking its a more direct & quick fit for their SportsCompany or Professional Sports Franchise.]
(9) The main larger point [that maybe I confounded by inserting the example of us missing out on 3.9 4star QB who was debating whether to come to Stanford (with no SportsManagement Major) or University of Michigan (which is offering Bachelors and Masters degrees in SportsManagement)] .....is that We as a University may be missing out on 'whole demographic of students' (Varsity Athletes and Non Varsity Athletes) who are really, really smart, have a a passion for Sports, and want to attend a University with a 'dedicated SportsManagement Major' .
(10) The secondary point was that 'maybe by not having a dedicated SportsManagement Major' maybe VERY VERY SMART 3.9 GPA VARSITY LEVEL ATHLETES might elect to go to other Univerities (like University of Michigan) that have dedicated Majors, Bachelors & Masters degrees in SportsManagement. [ I dont have the data for this, and yes of course the data for this should be reviewed before creating this new Major or Degree program]
(11) I would imagine a very well crafted 'Bachelors and Masters' degree in specifically 'SportsManagement, which is what University of Michigan has, would set their graduates up with 'Very SportsManagement-Centric Hands-On Training during college', Great Internships, and very 'specific curriculum, based on what is specific to 'SportsManagement'. ...whereas cobbling together courses from Science Technology and Society & the BizSchool, may not be, as 'on-point'.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - ADPinWDC - 01-27-2026
Who would be our top faculty in Sports Management?
Perhaps Darrin Nelson as Faculty Chair (former AD at UCI)
Andrew Luck, 2010?
John Elway, 1982? GM for Broncos (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
John Lynch, 1993?, GM for Niners (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
James Lofton, 1980?
David DeCastro, 2011 (OLine Steelers)
Phil Knight, age 87 as Sponsor
Tiger Woods (golf, yachting)?
Tim Mayotte, 1978 (tennis)? Successful local Venture Capitalist
Casey Jacobsen, 2002, Broadcaster FoxSports (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
Ask Brad Freeman (related to $50M)
Ask John Arrillaga also (Basketball)
Susan Hagey Wall, 1980 (tennis)?
Katie Ledecky, 2021 (swimming, aging miracles; 14 Olympic medals / 9 gold), [How does she do it at age 28?]
-- She holds the WR in 1500m set in 2018 at 15m20s, and at 800m. She owns the 22 fastest times recorded in 1500m.
If Katie is "busy", get Janet Evans.
Kerri Walsh Jennings, 2001 (volleyball)
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - Papa John - 01-27-2026
I still think your approaching is the tail wagging the dog. In this case the tail is a very specific industry as opposed to athletics, but it's the same idea.
I guess I'm old-fashioned in that I value the ideals of a liberal arts/basic research education that "fosters critical thinking, intellectual independence, and a broadened perspective across humanities, arts, and sciences, beyond narrow vocational training."
That's why we don't have undergraduate degrees that offer professional credentials in business, law or medicine. Instead, undergraduate students major in a cognate field and apply to professional/graduate schools to earn those credentials.
If we are going to start letting "the market" dictate what majors we offer, why not have undergraduate degrees in Real Estate or Insurance?
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - fullmetal - 01-27-2026
(01-27-2026, 04:51 PM)Papa John Wrote: If we are going to start letting "the market" dictate what majors we offer, why not have undergraduate degrees in Real Estate or Insurance?
I'm with you, but the pragmatic answer to your question is that real estate and insurance are industries that depend heavily on state-specific regulations and licensing. Stanford students majoring in those areas of study would not necessarily be well-equipped to practice elsewhere outside of the state of California.
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - Papa John - 01-27-2026
(01-27-2026, 06:35 PM)fullmetal Wrote:(01-27-2026, 04:51 PM)Papa John Wrote: If we are going to start letting "the market" dictate what majors we offer, why not have undergraduate degrees in Real Estate or Insurance?
I'm with you, but the pragmatic answer to your question is that real estate and insurance are industries that depend heavily on state-specific regulations and licensing. Stanford students majoring in those areas of study would not necessarily be well-equipped to practice elsewhere outside of the state of California.
But aren't lawyers regulated and licensed by individual states? Is the Stanford Law School curriculum geared towards passing the California bar? Or is it a more general curriculum that leaves it to students to prepare on their own for whatever State bar they want to pass? I truly don't know--I was a music major :-)
My point is that these types of degrees belong in professional/vocational programs--such as a law, business or medical school--not undergraduate programs at an AAU member/liberal arts/Tier 1 research university.
On the other hand, the University of Michigan apparently disagrees with me.
To quote Steven Pinker: "As the saying goes, the more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us is right."
RE: This might be a good major to add to our Undergrad Majors - spike5882 - 01-27-2026
(01-27-2026, 04:39 PM)ADPinWDC Wrote: Who would be our top faculty in Sports Management?
Perhaps Darrin Nelson as Faculty Chair (former AD at UCI)
Andrew Luck, 2010?
John Elway, 1982? GM for Broncos (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
John Lynch, 1993?, GM for Niners (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
James Lofton, 1980?
David DeCastro, 2011 (OLine Steelers)
Phil Knight, age 87 as Sponsor
Tiger Woods (golf, yachting)?
Tim Mayotte, 1978 (tennis)? Successful local Venture Capitalist
Casey Jacobsen, 2002, Broadcaster FoxSports (Guest speaker; Advisory Council)
Ask Brad Freeman (related to $50M)
Ask John Arrillaga also (Basketball)
Susan Hagey Wall, 1980 (tennis)?
Katie Ledecky, 2021 (swimming, aging miracles; 14 Olympic medals / 9 gold), [How does she do it at age 28?]
-- She holds the WR in 1500m set in 2018 at 15m20s, and at 800m. She owns the 22 fastest times recorded in 1500m.
If Katie is "busy", get Janet Evans.
Kerri Walsh Jennings, 2001 (volleyball)
My top choice would be Lindsay Kagawa Colas 2001/2002 (volleyball). She’s been a driving force behind the pay and contract restructuring in the NWSL and U.S. women’s soccer national team, helping shift the landscape toward fair compensation, free agency, and real professional standards. She’s now playing a central role in the current WNBA labor negotiations as well, extending that impact to women’s pro basketball. Her work has literally reshaped how women’s professional leagues operate.
Another would be Nneka Ogwumike 2012 (baseketball) - she' served as the president of the Women's National Basketball Player's Association since 2016.