VCU’s Center for Sport Leadership ranked top 10 in North America

CSL rated fifth in the world in graduate satisfaction.

Share this story

The Center for Sport Leadership at VCU is ranked eighth in North America and 12th in the world in the 2017 Sports Business International Postgraduate Sport Course Rankings. This is the second year in a row the CSL has been included in the definitive list of top sports management programs. The CSL is also ranked fifth worldwide in graduate satisfaction and 12th in highest average salary.

“We are honored to be ranked among the best sports management programs in the world for the second year in a row,” said Carrie LeCrom, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Sport Leadership. “We are particularly excited to be ranked fifth worldwide in graduate satisfaction. Our alumni are our greatest asset and we appreciate their continued support of our program.”

Our alumni are our greatest asset and we appreciate their continued support of our program.

This is the sixth year Sports Business International has conducted the rankings for sport business and sports management programs worldwide. The publication received a record number of entries for consideration. The methodology of the rankings is 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 Center for Sport Leadership, part of the VCU School of Education, was established in 1999, 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 VCU Brandcenter, the top-ranked graduate advertising program in the country, the Center for Sport Leadership launched as a nontraditional sport leadership graduate program that focuses on experiential learning through hands-on experiences.

The Center for Sport Leadership at VCU has more than 800 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.