Course Description:
This course provides an overview of the organizations involved in the sports communication field. Topics include the sports media, sports governance, strategic sports communication, academic sports communication, and sports compliance. Subjects include publishing, journalism, team and league media relations, college sports information, TV and radio productions, marketing, and advertising.
Learning Outcomes:
After successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
(1) Demonstrate an understanding of the basic skills necessary to effectively carry out day-to-day responsibilities in sports communications and sports information professions;
(2) Demonstrate ability to generate content, including effective writing, from a sports perspective;
(3) Demonstrate ability to effectively integrate communications strategies with a sports organization’s goals;
(4) Distinguish between sports communication perspectives and sports journalism;
(5) Distinguish in and among sports communication operations, issues and challenges in professional, intercollegiate, and international sports;
(6) Demonstrate understanding and skill strategies in handling negative publicity and communications crises in sports organizations;
(7) Demonstrate skill for assisting athletes, coaches, sports executives, and owners to effectively handle media interviews;
(8) Demonstrate ability to manage use of social media by the organization, staff members, and athletes;
(9) Demonstrate understanding of the ethics and values of sports communications
Textbook:
Defining Sport Communication by Andrew Billings
ISBN 9781138909601
https://www.amazon.com/Defining-Sport-Communication-Andrew-Billings/dp/1138909602/
Additional readings will be provided to students.
Schedule:
| Week/Module | Topics | Lecture | Readings | Assignment |
| 1. Introduction to advanced sports communication | This module examines the role of sports and media in shaping and reflecting culture and society. Students focus on ethical and social responsibility roles of various entities in sports media. | – APA 7 – Why sports matter | – APA Videos – Ch.1 – Ch.2 | – APA Quiz – Why study sports? Discussion questions |
| 2. Humanistic Approaches to Sport | This module offers an exposition of the role of ethics social responsibility through the lens of sports for exacting meaning from context and social structures. Topics including political communication in its many forms from the language to enactment of sport within formalized structures, issues of identity, insights regarding gender and feminist studies are also covered. | – Issues and ethics – ESM entries (politics, ethics, identity, feminist, gender) | – Ch.3 – Ch.5 – Ch.6 | – Gender Stereotypes in College Mascot Dyads |
| 3. Organizational & Relational Approaches to Sport | This module addresses organizational and relational approaches to sport communication. Topics include sport as organizations and the communication built within them, sport and intergroup communication, the intriguing dynamics involved within interpersonal messages in sport, and the critical role sport plays with of how we study health. | – Fandom – ESM entries (org comm, interpersonal) | – Ch.9 – Ch.10 – Ch.11 – Ch.13 | – Incorporate Management Functions of an Athletic Administrator into Organizational Decision-Making |
| 4. Mediated Approaches to Sport | This module examines sports media across the spectrum of journalistic standards and credibility levels. Topics include the reviewing of sport in and as journalism, how audiences respond to and about sport in mediated contexts, entertainment studies within media, and sports broadcasting. | – ESM entries (media, journalism, broadcasting) | – 15 – 16 – 17 – 18 | – Benfica TV Case Study |
| 5. Strategic Sport Communication | This module offers analysis and training in the principles and practice of public relations in sports organizations. Topics include the exploration of social media networking studies and public relations, such as issues of crisis communication and image repair. | – ESM entries (social media, pr, crisis communication) | -19 -21 -22 | – St. Louis Rams & Michael Sam Case Study |
| 6. Qualitative and quantitative sports research | This module provides foundational knowledge needed for subsequent research courses in preparation for successfully completing a capstone project in the MAPC program. | – ESM entries (RM, Quant, Qual) | – Quant methods – Qual methods – Examples – Byrne 1 | – Discriminate Distinctions Between Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies and Propose a Potential Research Topic |
| 7. Scholarly sports literature review | This module builds on module 6 by focusing on the successful development of effective search and scholarly writing strategies to create a scholarly review of literature. | – ESM entries (literature) – PhD readings | – 2-4 | – Produce a 15-Source Literature Review |
Hayden Coombs 