POL4640 Sports and Global Affairs
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Can we leave politics out of sport? Should women receive equal pay? Are video games real sport? Today, it seems sport is highly associated with social, economic, and political issues of the world. Has this always been the case? Sports have existed as a social activity and developed as a form of human and country relations throughout history. In 2020 alone, the COVID-19 pandemic halted sport activities around the world and when they returned, athletes used their platform to protest racial injustice in the USA and Europe. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed to the summer of 2021 and E-games became the safest form of sports during the pandemic engaging more viewers and gamers across the globe.

This course will explore the connection between sport and global affairs currently and throughout history to answer the questions above. It will trace instances where sport collides with social, political, and economic issues around the globe since the inception of modern sport. It will also identify how global issues have impacted the development of sports and how sports have shaped global and national issues from the margins.

We will read scholarly books and articles from the fields and disciplines of sport, political science, women, gender and sexuality studies, critical race studies, sociology, and international relations. Together we will also watch films in line with the readings. Guest speakers will join us and contribute to discussions too. All this will be done to enhance critical and analytical skills and will challenge students to think with increased confidence, independence, and creativity about the material.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

LIT4607 Sports and Literature
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Blended Learning FormatThe Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes for winners in the Olympian Games, whose "prizes [were] won in trials of strength." In doing so he forged a powerful connection between writing and sporting achievement. Long after Pindar, many writers have been drawn to sport, and many sports have rich and extensive literatures surrounding them. This course examines the varied representations that fiction writers, poets, memoirists, and essayists have made of individual and team sports and their players. This course also pursues theoretical examinations of sport and its place in culture, including Theodor Adorno's assertion that "sport is the imageless counterpart to practical life". We work within such areas as race, class, gender, politics, and aesthetics. Delivered online, this class includes multimodal assignment delivery, blending students' written texts with audio-visual methods of communicating meaning. We also host visiting writers from the field of sports and literature.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

QTM2622 Sports Applications of Mathematics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsMathematicians and statisticians are playing an increasing role in shaping how athletic contests are played and how they are judged. This course examines some of the underlying quantitative principles that are routinely used. Students will apply some statistical techniques (expectations, probability and risk/reward judgments) and some that are deterministic (optimization, ranking and validation.) A variety of software packages will be used to demonstrate the many ways that a mathematical point of view can inform athletes, trainers, administrators and fans.

Prerequisites: QTM1010 or AQM2000

SEN1302 Sports Decisions Through Analytics(Senior Instructor: Ryan Duff) Course Description: With the new prominence of sports analytics (i.e. Moneyball, Numbers Never Lie (ESPN), and Accuscore), sports have become much more than just winning and losing. Statistical analysis can predict whether a team will become a dominant force, as well as a profitable franchise. In this hands-on course we will explore and practice sports analytics through statistical programs and techniques that analyze player and team stats in order to determine the keys to building a cohesive team. We will also learn how team owners are able to make strategic decisions using key statistical analyses. Students do not need advanced math or statistical coursework or knowledge to enroll in this course.

Course Schedule: Fridays: January 31, February 7, February 14, February 21, February 28 and March 7 (Showcase of all Senior-Led Seminars)

LAW3615 Sports Law and Policy
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsSports Law provides students with a broad overview of how sports leagues and player conduct are regulated and how various bodies of substantive law, regulation and policy are applied in the context of the sports industry. The course examines the legal relationships among athletes, teams, leagues, governing bodies, sports facilities, licensees, broadcasters, and fans. This includes the history of the various leagues and organizations, the influence of politics on sports law, and public policy governing sports. Substantive legal topics covered include antitrust law, contract law, labor law, marketing law, and other regulatory schemes. In addition, this course will discuss other sports law topics, such as the role of the league commissioner; different league structures; agent certification; gaming law; and others.

Prerequisites: LAW1000

MKT3575 Sports Marketing
4 General CreditsThis course focuses on the application of marketing concepts in the dynamic and high-profile sports industry that has become a significant economic and social force on a global scale. Among the topics to be explored in the context of the sports field are: sponsorship, branding, marketing research, consumer behavior, product development, licensing, distribution, pricing, segmentation, targeting, positioning, media, marketing communications, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, legal issues, ethical issues, women's sports professional sports, collegiate sports and others. Emphasis will be on the need for an integrated approach for marketing of sports, by sports or through sports. We will view sports as a product and sports as a vehicle. Using a text, custom-designed materials, cases, special assignments, a major project creating a comprehensive integrated marketing plan, and guest speakers from the sports field, the course will promote critical integrative thinking and analysis relative to the important issues and challenges confronting marketers in the sports industry. As we go about this course, we will be guided by the following principle: the genius of managing a sports marketing program is acquired largely through a genuine understanding of the activities and relationships that constitute fully integrated marketing, relying on a system of learned skills and experiences.

Prerequisites: SME2011

LTA2001 Staging Immigration
4 Intermediate Liberal Arts CreditsMigration, immigration, assimilation: these complex, charged, and multifaceted ideas are debated in political spheres, examined in scholarly discourse, and are featured daily in various media outlets and publications. These ideas however, have also long captured the imaginations of artists and audiences alike, and the stories of those who have moved their families, their lives, and themselves to another country or continent have been central in the theatre, particularly in the United States, a nation of immigrants.

In this course, we will attempt to understand both the captivating power and the political potential of performance focused on immigrants and the immigrant experience. We will study a variety of theatrical productions, from plays, to musicals, to contemporary stand-up comedy and solo performance and examine the ways theatre artists consider and understand identity, prejudice, familial ties and loyalties, and notions of the American Dream. We will connect the interests and goals of theatre artists staging immigration 100 years ago to those artists working in 2020. Finally, we will create and perform original theatre pieces, inspired by the artists we study, focused on a pressing societal problem. The scholarly and experiential elements in this course will, hopefully, shift our notions of the profound journeys and undertakings by immigrants and illuminate new and crucial understandings of the immigrant experience unfolding in our world today.

Prerequisites: (FCI1000 or AHS1000) and (WRT1001or RHT1000)

MBA7400 Startup Foundations

0.5 CreditsThe Startup Foundations SLE will focus on Entrepreneurial Thought and Action, team building, and technology. In addition to sessions on Ideas and Barriers to Innovation, students will participate in a competitive, computer-based simulation (Techmark), develop processes that will support virtual and in-person teamwork, take their first classes in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and attend a variety of networking events.

MBA7512 Storytelling/Communication with Data

3 Credits

In 2020, businesses are highly dependent on a data-driven decision-making model. The data explosion seen in the past few years makes managing and understanding data extremely difficult. Hence, there is a dire need to make sense and visualize the data effectively to solve problems. This course will introduce data visualization using Tableau for beginners. Students will learn best practices for data visualization and storytelling. Students will develop the expertise to generate powerful reports and dashboards to help businesses make decisions based on their data. They will create high-impact visualizations based on common data analysis, predictive analytics to improve business decisions. At the end of the course, students will be well prepared to take the level 3 tableau exam.

MSB6310 Storytelling/Communication with Data

3 Credits (MSBA Core)

In 2020, businesses are highly dependent on a data-driven decision-making model. The data explosion seen in the past few years makes managing and understanding data extremely difficult. Hence, there is a dire need to make sense and visualize the data effectively to solve problems. This course will introduce data visualization using Tableau for beginners. Students will learn best practices for data visualization and storytelling. Students will develop the expertise to generate powerful reports and dashboards to help businesses make decisions based on their data. They will create high-impact visualizations based on common data analysis, predictive analytics to improve business decisions. At the end of the course, students will be well prepared to take the level 3 tableau exam.

Prerequisites: MBA students will be required to review approximately 2 hours of pre-work videos