The Global Sport Arena By Kelli Gemmer
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cross the globe, sport plays an important role in forming the experiences and identities of people often living in very different and diverse cultural, political, economic and technological conditions. Each summer, students in the sport management program are offered the opportunity to participate in a four-week summer program in London called the Global Sport Management Program. “The Global Sport Program has been running as a standalone program since 2007; however, before that it was a program that went to both London and Paris, which began in 2003 and continued until 2006,” said Jennifer Fisher, academic program coordinator for FSU International Programs. Through readings, lectures and an all-encompassing, month-long stay in London, the FSU Global Sport Management program examines the relationship between local sport cultures and the globalizing
forces shaping the contemporary sporting existence. “We want students to use a critical mind when exploring sport venues, watching international sport events and debating global sport issues,” said Dr. Katie Flanagan, assistant instructor in the Department of Sport Management. “When they are able to question the things they see both abroad and in the U.S., they are able to become more well-rounded future sport managers and global citizens.” Flanagan, who is also a three-time alumna from the FSU College of Education (B.S. ’04 Sport Management and Communication, M.S. ’08 Recreation and Leisure Administration, Ph.D. ‘13 Sport Management), was a student in the Global Sport Management program in 2003. “It was literally life changing for me and I am both thrilled and honored to have been a program leader this past summer,” she remarked.
Sport Management students at Emirates Stadium in London, England during the 2014 Global Sport Management trip
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