VCU news

By Greg Burton
Center for Sport Leadership

The Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University is ranked eighth worldwide and seventh in North America in the 2016 Sports Business International Postgraduate Sport Course Rankings, released Friday. It is the first time the CSL has been included on the list of top sports management programs. The CSL is also ranked eighth worldwide in the Graduates Choice category, which is based on student satisfaction surveys.

“We are honored to be recognized as one of the best sport management programs in the world,” said Carrie LeCrom, Ph.D., executive director of the CSL. “This designation signals the consistent growth and evolution of our program, its students and our alumni.”

This is the fifth year Sports Business International has conducted rankings for sport business and sports management programs worldwide. The publication received a record number of entries for consideration. The methodology of the rankings are based on several factors: graduates employed within three months of graduation; work placement; male/female ratio; domestic/international student ratio; and average salary after three years of graduation. There is also a student satisfaction component, which is based on a survey filled out by a program’s alumni from a designated year.

The CSL has more than 700 alumni working in all areas of the sport industry, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, USGA, and more than 50 Division I college athletic departments across the country.

Established in 1999, the CSL was developed with the idea of creating an innovative, practical learning environment that would prepare students interested in the sport industry for a successful career in the business. 

Modeled after the highly successful Brandcenter, VCU’s nationally ranked graduate advertising program, the CSL launched as a nontraditional sport leadership graduate program that focuses on experiential learning. 

In addition to the 35 students enrolled in its on-campus cohort each school year, the CSL has two-dozen current sports professionals in its Distance Learning Program, working toward their master’s degrees online. 

For more information on the 2016 Sports Business International Master’s Rankings, log on to their website at www.sportbusiness.com

For more information on the Center for Sport Leadership at VCU, log on to our website at www.sportleadership.vcu.edu or email Greg Burton at gwburton@vcu.edu