Sport Business Management (with Foundation Year)

The sports sector’s continued growth has created opportunities to become a business professional in an expanding, borderless industry. Offering a wide perspective of the sports sector, this business-focused course explores areas such as economic impact, investment in facilities, community programmes, sport event management, sport marketing and sport management. You learn the academic theory related to sport and leisure, and apply your knowledge to industry-related scenarios and real-world simulations, with opportunities for placements including with our official Education Partners.

Your Foundation Year

Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an undergraduate course, taking a Foundation Year can provide a fantastic entry route to a degree-level qualification. The Foundation Year supports you to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy while exploring a range of subject-specific content so you are fully prepared for the core three-year course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your degree.

Course accreditation/industry endorsement
We increase the employability of our graduates by being a Higher Education Partner of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).

Facilities and specialist equipment
External sports pitches
Sports arena
Purpose-built strength and conditioning facility
Free gym and Olympic weight room
Multi-use games areas
Sports therapy and rehabilitation MSK centre with a sports injury clinic, open to staff, students and external athletes/clients
Sports massage rooms

Career-powered links
We are official partners of Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC as well as other sporting organisations in the region such as Bedford Tigers RLFC, MK Dons, Cricket East and Be Active, giving you opportunities to build your employability through work placements. Our official partners also offer behind-the-scenes involvement and observation; guest speaker and masterclasses; and field trips to matches and training sessions.

Your student experience
Learn from top-class professionals within the field as well as experts from professional sports organisations.
Relate sport and leisure theory to industry-related scenarios and real-world simulations, with course assessments based around real-world industry issues.
Take part in behind-the-scenes tours and match-day experiences to various sport clubs such as Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC as well as other local sports organisations and clubs.
Extend your learning through field trips and guest speakers. Recent guest speakers include James Cox, founder of Working in Football, and Scott Hazard, co-founder of In-Play Sports.

Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.

Benefit from the support of your own personal academic tutor who will guide you throughout your student journey.

Course modules

This four-year degree includes a Foundation Year.

You benefit from work experience in Year 2 and a work placement in Year 3. To prepare you for your final-year dissertation, you also take two research units: Introduction to research methods (Year 1) and Research methods for sport, exercise and physical activity (Year 2).

Your subject-specific units are:

Year 1
Working in sport and physical education – Prepare for your career, looking at the many pathways available within the sector. Sport in action – Examine the role of strategic leadership and management in sport. The sport industry and Introduction to sport business management – Discover how sport, and the industry around it, has evolved to become a global cultural force. Sport, physical activity and social inclusion – Explore contemporary social issues around gender, race, sexuality, class and (dis)ability, and their effect on people’s experience of sport.

Year 2
Sport and physical activity management - Explore research and practice around sport leadership and management. Contemporary issues – Analyse the political, social and economic factors impacting the sector. Sports marketing – Unpack how sports are marketed, and marketing’s influence on the industry globally. Sport governance – Understand how sport is developed and delivered across the globe. Enterprise and entrepreneurship in sport – Work with a sports organisation to identify an area where you could implement change or innovation. Dissertation preparation – Work with a supervisor to solve a complex organisational problem.

Year 3
Sport economics and finance - Understand the financial side of the sports industry. Managing elite sport – Explore the links between high-performance management and athlete success. Sport in a global context: sustainability and development – How sport can be used for social good and global development. Strategic sport management – Use your strategic management skills to create effective strategies. Running a business – How to establish a small/medium enterprise across a range of sport sectors. Development and employability – Plan for your future career. Dissertation – Conduct and deliver a piece of original research in your chosen area.

We make every effort to make sure the information given here is accurate; however, for the most up-to-date information, please visit our website.