Leisure and Sport Mgmt Major/Minor

Colleges and Universities A-Z Elon University
1

<p>My older son was accepted at Elon and looked at this particular program - but ultimately decided to go to Wake. We still love Elon, but it might be a better fit for younger son. I could see him being interested in this program also. I'd love to get some feedback from current Elon students who have this as a major or minor - or their parents. Do you like it? Pros and cons? Would a business major with LSM minor be a better option? Or vice-versa - LSM major with business admin. minor?</p>

<p>Finally - is there a foreign language requirement at Elon if you are either a business or LSM major? I can't find this on the website. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>RM: in reference to your FL question…</p>

<p>[Elon</a> University - General Studies](<a href=“http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/generalstudies/foreignlanguagerequirement.xhtml]Elon”>http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/generalstudies/foreignlanguagerequirement.xhtml)</p>

<p>it is my impression that ALL students must fulfill the general stuides requirements, but I could be wrong…I’ll add it to my questions when we visit in April</p>

<p>interesting minor/major by the way…never saw that before…</p>

3

<p>From the Elon website - admission requirements:</p>

<p>“Foreign Language: 2 units required, 3 recommended (Students who have not completed at least two units in one foreign language must complete a 121-level foreign language course at Elon.)”</p>

<p>This is what is confusing to me - are they saying that if you HAVE completed 2 units in one foreign language, you have satisfied their requirements and do not need to take foreign language at Elon if you don’t want to?</p>

4

<p>No, I think that it means where you have to start when you get there…but I’ll find out…</p>

<p>given our success (or lack thereof) with HS foreign language, I would actually suggest that my daughter be placed in 121 (entry level) anyway…</p>

<p>if you are right, and one doesn’t HAVE to take FL, I will be doing the happydance that you would probably be able to feel in your neck of the woods…</p>

5

<p>Think I figured out foreign language - looked in the course catologue - need to take at least 1 foreign language course at the 122 level. That’s like an advanced beginner level. Oh well. My son has not enjoyed his 3 years of Spanish. Guess there is at least one more semester in his future!</p>

6

<p>Your son would also have to option of testing out of his foreign language requirement if he is somewhat proficient. My son did.</p>

7

<p>my daughter took four years of French in high school…took the placement test fellows weekend and tested out.</p>

8

<p>Still hoping to hear some feedback on the LSM program, anyone?</p>

<p>But I also just heard that one of our students - who was accepted in the fall - went to Elon for an orientation program yesterday and placed out of Spanish. He had mostly B’s in Spanish - so that was encouraging.</p>

9

<p>^^that would surely be wonderful…my daughter is NOT enjoying her Spanish experience (nor is her GPA)…</p>

10

<p>Still hoping to hear from any student or recent graduate who has majored or minored in this program. Thanks.</p>

11

<p>I have the exact same Q as Rockvillemom did in the original post. If anyone reads this I/we would both love to know how useful a SM degree is from Elon. </p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

12

<p>RV Mom:</p>

<p>And so we meet again (said with a foreign accent). </p>

<p>It seems our sons have much in common. According to the OP your older son strongly considered Elon for LSM degree but opted for Wake instead. That is amazingly close to what my oldest son might do. </p>

<p>But, for us, we have decided to stay in state (at least that is this week’s plan). So, right now, this may change if you talk to me after lunch, my son is going to go to a Comm College down the street for the first two years. This is no ordinary CC, it is highly resopected CC, and he isn’t going to slum with just anyone he is going to get into the Honors program. That will be two years and he will still live at home. Please hold all jokes about “honors” and CC’s" being used in the same sentence. Trust me it is a good program. Trust me also the first two year at most big schools are highly overrated and not any better than going to the local CC. </p>

<p>Just my opinion. </p>

<p>But anyway, after that, he heads off to Florida State, my alma mater, gets a 4-year degree in SM. Then off to grad school where he can get a SM masters or something similar. We love Wake and Elon, I do more than he does, he wants FSU, but Wake doesn’t have a SM undergrad degree and that was the difference. I like Elon a lot but I’d take Wake over Elon no questions asked except Elon would win if my son wanted to play football, which he doesn’t anymore, in college. He could play at Elon but not at Wake. </p>

<p>I hope both your boys made the right decision (or will).</p>

13

<p>I’ve had a more than a few friends come to Elon as LSM majors only to change, realizing that the major as a whole is sort of a joke. That was their opinion…</p>

14

<p>Rex212 - that’s exactly the kind of info I’m curious about - did they change to a business major or something totally different? A joke because it is too easy? Any more tidbits you can provide would be much appreciated. I know the program has a fairly small number of students - but - on paper - it sounds like it would fit my son pretty well. We are planning to visit in November.</p>

15

<p>I’ve done some “research” into the SM or LSM major and come up with a few conclusions. </p>

<p>First, the internship experiences you get can make all the difference. If your job is to sweep up the gym after games, the equivalent of making coffee at the office, then you are learning nothing that will get you a job after college. On the other hand, if your internship experience actually prepares you to manage a sports franchise or university athletic department it can make what you are learning in the books much more valuable. That is the trick. Managing (or administering) a sports department or professional franchise involves some of the same basic principles as running any other kind of business. Sort of. There are some compliance and legal issues that are different and how much you learn about that (check the curriculum) will make a big difference. </p>

<p>I get the distinct feeling that many SM programs don’t really have much of a curriculum. Why? Because they can’t decide what they are. Are they training people to be NFL general mangers or MLB ticket sales consultants or future D1 university athletic directors? They are two totally different things. So, look for a program that is focused as opposed to generalist. One size does NOT fit all for a SM major. </p>

<p>The sports industry is growing but just like any other industry there are some lousy jobs that are low paying and some great jobs. Be careful.</p>

16

<p>One of the things that I find interesting with sports mgmt programs - and this is in agreement with what you just wrote about sports mgmt programs not being able to decide what they are - is that some schools have it in the business school, some in kinesiology and some in education. What I like about the Elon program is that by calling it leisure and sports mgmt - it broadens the focus and includes not just sports but also tourism and recreation. Oh - by the way - I just saw that Elon has moved LSM from Education to the Communications School - what was I just saying about not knowing where to put it?</p>

<p>It has also been re-named - the major is now Sports and Event Management. I read the explanation of why it was relocated - and it makes sense - it fits with Communication better than Education certainly - I also think the program will benefit from being included in Elon’s well-regarded School of Communication.</p>

17

<p>Interesting. </p>

<p>So the open and unanswered questions I still have about Elon’s newly branded program is how well are students trained to get jobs? Can we all be honest here and admit that working at a YMCA after college for minimum wage is not as good a job as getting some professional work in an athletics department making a decent starting salary with room for advancement? </p>

<p>Some SM program happily trumpet that 85% of the grads are placed … but they don’t say where and even if they did you know that they can puff up the actual job title to sound better than it really is. </p>

<p>I am particularly interested in SM programs that don’t just focus on professional sports. I love SM programs that focus at least one track on intercollegiate athletics administration. Good luck finding one like that. They are few and far between. That is why it is so hard for SM programs to train people because working at a park (leisure) or YMCA or city recreation center is a much different job than doing NCAA compliance at a D! school or being the GM for the NFL Giants.</p>

18

<p>Very good points - my son is only a junior in hs - so we have plenty of time to research this topic. The interesting thing for me is that I have been down this exact road before! S1 was accepted at Elon and had listed LSM as his intended major. But, then we all thought that even though he loved sports mgmt - and was also accepted at Michigan for the same - maybe that was too narrow a focus and that he’d be better off doing a more generic business major. So, he is at another university, majoring in business but also working for a sports team, so he’s getting that practical experience as well.</p>

<p>The reason I like the Elon Sport and Event Mgmt major for S2 is that it looks more doable for him than a business major. Some of the business major programs require so many calculus/statistics/accounting classes - I think it would be too much. This major looks really interesting - he could still minor in business administration or some type of communications - and have some (hopefully) marketable skills upon graduation. I agree that internships and summer jobs will be key in terms of helping with post-graduation employment. We’ll be visiting Elon in November and I am hoping we can learn more about this program then.</p>

19

<p>RV Mom,</p>

<p>We might as well just continue this conversation amongst ourselves. We may not get many more opinions about Elon’s SM program and even if we do they are anecdotal. One or two opinions one way or the other isn’t pursuasive enough for me. </p>

<p>We have had almost the same thoughts. My oldest son is also a junior in high school. He just turned 16 two days ago. He has the first football game of the season, not counting the spring game and intrasquad scrimmages, tonight at home against Jones a team of gigantic kids from the toughest part of town full of sprinters. Jones is the 10th ranked team in 6A in the state.</p>

<p>He won’t start but he will play. Football is insane down here. I just hope he doesn’t get killed. </p>

<p>Now, let me get down to sharing notes with you. My thoughts on the SM versus general biz degree go like this. You can get a biz undergrad degree then go to grad school and get a SM masters and then hit the job market. That should work. It is a people (read relationship) based business. It makes good sense, like you said, to put a SM program in the communications dept or biz department moreso than the kinesiology dept. Ninety percent of the revenues, it seems to me, come from TV deals anyway. </p>

<p>However, I still favor focusing on SM the whole way because of exactly what you said. A biz degree, especially at the grad level, will kill you with stats, calc and accounting classes! Exactly! Glad I am no the only one who doesn’t want to hang that noose around my sons neck. My God, look at the curriculum of most MBA degrees. And they all focus on “group work” and “case studies” and all that stuff, great, if you are going to run a Fortune 500 company but what if you want to be a D1 athletic director? Do you need all that stuff? No!!!</p>

<p>So I am leaning towards focus focus focus. Just give me what I need. That is the problem mentioned before. Most schools call it a grad SM degree by giving you 3 classes in SM and the rest is a traditional MBA. No thanks!!! Just say no people!! </p>

<p>Elon doesn’t have a grad SM degree anyway. </p>

<p>It is complicated. But way back when I was in school I could have gotten a generalist degree (an MBA) or a masters in accounting. I went with the masters in accounting and that paid off huge for me. We are living in a world that is more and more specific and concentrated on job-related skills so to me that means focus on curriculum that targets exactly what you are trying to be after college. There are risks. You could get “stuck” with a SM degree and loss jobs to people with more general degrees and skills. But that is a risk worth taking compared to trying to shoehorn a one size fits all degree into the job you want. </p>

<p>I will PM you with a really great grad school program option because regardless of which way you go in undergrad (biz or SM), you still have to find the right grad school. You can’t get far with an undergrad degree anymore. It is assumed you will have a masters in something in today’s world because undergrad degrees have become so cheapened. Everyone has one.</p>

20

<p>Still interested in this topic. Elon has recently moved the sports mgmt major from School of Education into School of Communication and renamed it the Sports and Event Mgmt major. Is anyone currently in this program? Any feedback on these recent changes?</p>