This course provides students with an overview of the business of professional sports, with particular emphasis on its unique evolution and manifestation in New York City, a nexus of the sports industry. Through a combination of lectures, discussion, in-class activities, site visits, and attendance at various sporting events, students are permitted a deeper understanding of the various sectors that comprise this ever-expanding and ever-changing industry. The course begins with an historical overview of sports in America, looking at two distinct phenomena: the marriage of athletic competition with technology (such as indoor lighting) in the late 19th century, and the marriage of sports and corporate America in the 1980s. Following a survey of the contemporary business of sports, the course next considers a range of topics critical to the industry: athlete management, financing, facility and event superintendence, media, and marketing. Finally, the course suggests avenues of continued engagement with the industry, through high school, college, and beyond. This curricular option is available to students in both the Junior-Senior Division and Freshman-Sophomore Division.

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