PRTM Graduate Certificate Featured in Sports Business Journal

This past June the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) featured an article on NC State’s addition of the Graduate Certificate in Sport and Entertainment Venue Management by the department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. The story was included in a collection that focused on how colleges and universities are continually evolving their sports degrees to both stay abreast of trends and lead the industry into a new future. Interim PRTM Department Head, Dr. Michael Kanters was interviewed for the article.

Sports Business Journal (Print Only Publication)  |    Volume 22 Issue 10

North Carolina State University tapped an unmet sports education need in Fall 2018 when it launched the first-ever graduate certificate specializing in Sport and Entertainment Venue Management.
“When we surveyed experts across the sports industry, we found that there was a complete lack of collegiate ­level education for venue management,” said Michael Kanters, Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. “Venue managers were having to piece together their knowledge on their own.”
Kanters and Assistant Professor Kyle Bunds collaborated with industry professionals and the National Association of Venue Managers to create an in-depth curriculum of four intense courses featuring up-to-the ­minute best practices on the complex job of running a sports facility.
Though sports facilities are the focus, the curriculum is designed to be transferable to other parks, recreation and tourism facilities. The classes are already filled to overflowing, said Kanters. Students beyond majors in the certificate program are signing up for courses because they value the skills they’ll learn. “Managing a venue is complicated,” said Kanters. “Our classes take on topics from crowd management and game-day management to sustainability and food and beverage management. You have to know how to market your venue, how to keep your guests safe, and how to keep ii running in the black. Managers need a strong understanding of everything from event ingress and egress to how the type of glass in the windows can affect the cost of operations. The building requires a lot of people and a lot of skills to keep it running.” Content for the courses is delivered online, which includes weekly webinar-style meetings so that students can directly interact with other students and faculty. The potent combination of talented faculty and seasoned industry experts ensures students walk away with a truly deep understanding of venue management.
“Davin Olsen, a 30-year venue professional and 22-year manager of PNC Arena in Raleigh as well as an instructor in the program, has been urging us to create this certificate for a long time,” said Kanters. “We’re proud that NC State has filled this important need in the sports industry.”