Sport management and business schools: A growing partnership in a changing higher education environment

The purpose of this paper is to inform decision-makers about the impact of sport management on current and future configurations of colleges and schools of business. Recent trends in the sport industry and new locations for emerging and existing sport management programs lead us to believe that schools and colleges of business are desirable to facilitate the continued growth of the sport industry. Next, we identify critical individuals, institutions, journals, and academic societies that facilitated the maturation of sport management to better support the sport industry. Within these points, it should be seen that the field once designed for professional preparation continued to evolve into one interested in theory development for a burgeoning industry. Finally, the present study offers a shared perspective about doctoral training and explanation for industry salary differences, considerations for accepting sport management as a program area, and alternative relationship formats. Overall, the present study suggests colleges and schools of business should consider the addition of sport management programs as a type of innovation reflective of a new interdisciplinary configuration many institutions support. Furthermore, the present study offers evidence that sport management is capable of contributing toward the development of colleges and schools of business. •Sport management programs increasingly created or merged into business schools.•Sport management matured as sport industry products and services also matured.•Schools in the United States and Canada contributed to birth of sport management.•Development of academic journals, societies, and scholarship improves legitimacy.•A sport management partnership can produce significant entrepreneurial benefits.