International Sports Management MBA

International Sports Management MBA Fast Track Your Career

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Whether you’re an Olympic athlete or not, the ability to thrive on pressure and rise to the challenge is what separates you from the pack. The ability to push yourself to do better and to focus your mind on the prize is what makes you a winner.

At Loughborough University we’ve been developing winners for years – both on and off the track and the playing field.

As the UK’s premier university for sport, Loughborough has sent more than 175 athletes to the Olympic Games and in 2012 will serve as the official preparation camp for Team GB and Team Japan. Sebastian Coe, Bob Wilson, Sir Clive Woodward, David Moorcroft, Nick Knight, Fran Cotton and Tanni Grey-Thompson are just a handful of the famous alumni to have been inducted into Loughborough’s Sporting Hall of Fame.

A world leader in coaching, sports technology and research, Loughborough’s expertise and unrivalled facilities have helped exceptional sportsmen and women achieve their personal best.

But Loughborough University has a long track record of developing exceptional managers too. A successful MBA provider for over 25 years and a leading centre of business and management training, we’ve been supporting ambitious, driven professionals to become front-runners in their own fields.

Now the UK’s No 1 sporting university brings you the International Sports Management MBA – tailored to the needs of managers working in the challenging and rapidly expanding global sports industry.

Our sports expertise, unbeatable sporting alumni connections and international reputation for business education make our MBA unique.

So you can be a winner too – with the Loughborough International Sports Management MBA.

“All pressure is self-inflicted. It’s what you make of it or how you let it rub off on you.”

– Sebastian Coe

Contents 02

Developing the Sports Leaders of Tomorrow

04

The UK’s No. 1 for Sport

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International Sports Management MBA

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How To Apply

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Developing the Sports Leaders of Tomorrow With the appetite for major sporting events as strong as ever and more and more people looking to participate in sport, there has never been a more exciting time to be working in the rapidly expanding global sports industry. As it continues to thrive, despite today’s tough economic climate, there is an increasing need for dynamic, well-qualified leaders with not only an understanding of the key issues in sport but with the core management skills to tackle the complex challenges of tomorrow.

Known internationally for its sporting prowess, Loughborough knows all about developing winners.

Participants will be drawn from around the world and will include those working in sports events management, international sports federations and governing bodies, sports sponsors, sports manufacturers, sports consultants and sports organisations and clubs, and even ex-athletes looking to move into management, to name a few. If you are seeking a world-leading MBA that will advance your career and prepare you for tomorrow’s challenges, this is the MBA for you.

Coordinating projects with suppliers across continents; managing scarce resources in smarter, more efficient ways; launching innovative new products and services on an international scale; increasing public scrutiny and the need for transparency and good practice in governance; the need for agile, media savvy managers who understand brand management in the digital age: given the fast pace of change, how well equipped are you and your organisation to deal with these issues?

Return on Investment

Most MBAs offer a strong foundation in fundamentals of business and management, from finance to marketing to human resources and typically offer standard approaches to dealing with today’s problems. Our International Sports Management MBA goes further. We want our graduates to stand out from the crowd and be equipped to succeed in facing tomorrow’s problems, not yesterday’s. That’s why we’ve designed an MBA that’s not only specific to the needs of sport, but is embedded with a practical approach to management decision making that recognises the challenges of the future.

International Sports Management MBA

Choosing an MBA is one of the most important investment decisions for your career you will ever make. The Masters in Business Administration (MBA) has long been the programme of choice for professionals looking to advance to senior management positions, often with an eye on the financial returns long-term. According to 2010 research by AMBA (Association of MBAs), the earnings of MBA graduates shot up by an average of 33% immediately after completing their study, and rose by 151% within 10 years of graduation.

Company sponsors also recognise a direct return on investment through their managers becoming equipped with practical, up-to-date and commercially-relevant knowledge to improve business performance, all gained at minimum disruption to the company.

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A Top-10 UK business school Unrivalled industry links Central UK location – excellent transport links One of just 1% of business schools worldwide to be EQUIS accredited

Renowned for excellence in research and teaching, Loughborough University’s School of Business and Economics is the ideal venue for your International Sports Management MBA. Not only will you be studying at an EQUIS-accredited Top-10 UK business school, but you’ll also be part of Britain’s top sporting university.

Leaders in Sport, Leaders in Business Loughborough’s International Sports Management MBA is informed by the expertise across our campus and beyond – thanks to our unbeatable sporting alumnus connections and industry links.

Renowned for innovation in sports technology, research into sports performance and excellence in coaching, Loughborough University is uniquely placed to deliver insights that aid your learning and support your professional development. And at the School of Business and Economics you’ll benefit from our 40 years’ experience in management education – and our strong working relationships with major companies. The School has a track record in delivering tailored programmes that understand the needs of working

professionals returning to learning. As a provider of executive education both at home and abroad, we have supported organisations in the UK and, through our PSB Academy and automotive programmes, in Singapore.

The Sunday Times University Guide 2012, and placed Top-10 in league tables by The Times, The Independent and The Guardian.

Outstanding Facilities The campus boasts first class teaching facilities and IT services with wireless networking available in all academic buildings and in the numerous bars, cafés and restaurants on site. While at Loughborough you can enjoy access to the very best gyms, swimming pools and other sports facilities around. You’ll also find a range of shops and services catering for the needs of Loughborough’s diverse campus community – a community that brings together over 17,000 students and staff from across the world.

A Respected Qualification The School of Business and Economics is among the global elite of business schools to be EQUIS-accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) in recognition of the quality of its programmes, teaching, facilities, engagement with industry and commitment to internationalisation.

At Loughborough you’ll be part of a leading UK business school, ranked 2nd for Finance & Accounting andGlasgow 2nd for Management in 60 min

Edinburgh 75 min

Newcastle

Accommodation Convenient four star hotel accommodation is available at Burleigh Court (www.welcometoimago.com), the University’s on-campus hotel and spa, and at a range of local hotels.

Excellent Location The largest single-site green campus in the UK, Loughborough University covers 437 attractively landscaped acres. Based in Leicestershire, the campus is easily accessible by rail with London reachable by train in 90 minutes and Birmingham in just 45. Our proximity to Junction 23 of the M1 means you have convenient links to the rest of the UK and, with easy access to Birmingham, Luton and nearby East Midlands airports, the rest of the world.

Mileage Chart

180 min

Belfast

Approximate travelling distances by road from Loughborough

60 min

Leeds

Leicester Nottingham Birmingham Manchester London Cardiff Edinburgh

100 min

Manchester Dublin

130 min

Liverpool 120 min

Nottingham

Derby

60 min

Loughborough

East Midlands International Airport Birmingham 45 min

Leicester

Oxford

90 min

London

Cardiff

90 min

Bristol 180 min

Exeter

Southampton

Dover

12 miles (19 km) 15 miles (24 km) 38 miles (61 km) 75 miles (121 km) 110 miles (177 km) 156 miles (251 km) 295 miles (474 km)

International Sports Management MBA

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Football Stadium and Sports Pitches Sports Technology Institute

National Cricket Centre LTA Tennis Academy

SportPark

Dan Maskell Tennis Centre Brockington Soccer Pitch Sports Development Centre

Water-based Hockey Pitch

School of Business and Economics

1st XV Rugby Pitch Haslegrave Cricket Ground

National Gymnastics Performance and Research Centre

The UK’s No 1 for Sport

The University is justly proud of its reputation for sporting excellence, having produced athletes and coaches of the calibre of Paula Radcliffe, Steve Backley and Clive Woodward.

48 Loughborough athletes – students past and present – competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics reaching 19 finals, breaking 15 national and two European records and bringing home medals. The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi saw Loughborough-based athletes win 33 medals, including 6 golds. In fact, if Loughborough were a separate country it would have finished 8th overall on the medal table.

The University boasts one of the highest concentrations of top class sports training facilities found anywhere in the world. £36 million has been invested in recent years to create the UK’s best sports environment – with an infrastructure that benefits not only the University’s students and staff, but the elite athletes who train here, the English Institute of Sport and the many sports governing bodies based on campus, and the regional community.

Encouraging sport for all, Loughborough University offers state-of-the art provision for the widest choice of sports – all easily accessible and located on one of Europe’s largest single-site campuses.

50m Swimming Pool

High Performance Athletics Centre

Paula Radcliffe Athletics Stadium

Sports Development Centre

Sports Technology Institute

SportPark

The University runs the most comprehensive sports development programme in the UK and boasts an unrivalled record of sporting excellence. The Sports Development Centre (SDC) employs highly qualified coaches to support Loughborough’s sports teams and individual athletes competing at national and international levels. The SDC works in partnership with the University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, the Sports Technology Institute and with the national sports bodies based on campus to provide advanced facilities and expertise.

A £15 million facility housing the Sports Technology Research Group, the Institute’s mission is to have a positive global, social and economic impact on sport through excellent engineering research, teaching and enterprise. One of the world’s leading research groups of its kind, the Group has established an international reputation for its work with global brands including adidas, Callaway Golf, Dunlop, Head, Nike, Reebok, Slazenger, Spalding, Speedo and Umbro on the design, simulation, testing and manufacture of sporting goods. Our researchers have extensive experience of testing with numerous elite athletes and professional sportsmen and women spanning the most diverse array of sports.

Home to many of the UK’s top sports governing bodies and national sports organisations, SportPark at Loughborough University represents a brand new concept in sports working. The development opened in 2010 and provides a base for British Swimming, The Amateur Swimming Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Snowsport England, the Youth Sport Trust, Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball and Sport England, among others.

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International Sports Management MBA The global sports industry requires dynamic managers with strong leadership capabilities who not only understand the particular challenges of sports management, but who also possess wide-ranging business acumen.

An understanding of finance and the ability to identify new revenue sources is crucial in these times of economic uncertainty, while those with the commercial instincts and know-how to bring new products and services to market will be highly sought after in this highly competitive environment.

Our International Sports Management MBA equips you with core business and management skills in decision-making, marketing, operations management, project management, leading change and accounting. Specifically tailored for working professionals seeking career advancement and development in the sports industry, the programme covers the fundamentals of management and leadership from an industryspecific perspective, drawing on relevant case studies and Loughborough’s own sporting expertise. The programme also addresses the unique challenges of media management in the global sports environment and human resources within the context of sports organisations.

Unique to the UK are modules focused on international sports governance and, enabling you to link up with the University’s own sports innovators, on managing sports technology

and innovation – giving you practical, hands-on experience of the processes involved in evaluating and commercialising new products and services.

Informed by Loughborough University’s expertise in business and management, world class experts and guest speakers drawn from our impressive range of industry contacts and sporting alumni, including policy makers, company directors, coaches and elite athletes will bring their own insights to your learning experience.

As with all our MBAs, enterprise and innovation are embedded into the programme, as is a forwardlooking approach that seeks to address and equip managers with the skills to confront the challenges of tomorrow.

An Inspiring Learning Environment We think your International Sports Management MBA should not simply support your career development, but also stimulate and challenge you to achieve your personal best. With your fellow MBA participants drawn from the international sports industry you have the opportunity to learn about various aspects of management from a variety of perspectives and shared experiences, greatly enhancing the “classroom” environment and adding further value to your study. You will form lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with fellow MBA participants and create networks that extend outside your organisation.

Programme Structure The International Sports Management MBA is an executive MBA delivered over two years on a block release basis. Participants will come to Loughborough for each block. There are six weeklong blocks each year.

Learning and teaching is provided through lectures, seminars and workshops, consultancystyle projects, web-based guided study and guided independent work, as well as case studies and group work.

Demonstration of learning achievement is through formal examination, tests, coursework assignments and project reports.

The International Sports Management MBA is made up of core (compulsory) modules and an elective theme within the International Sports Management module. Participants develop the theme further as the subject base of their Sports Management Project module.

Year 1

Year 2

Marketing

Project Management

Providing participants with an understanding of the introductory principles and concepts relating to the management of the marketing mix, this module explores strategic marketing issues in a sports context.

Providing a critical understanding of the role of a project manager in a variety of sports industry contexts as well as a critical understanding of core project planning and control techniques, this module explores human resource management methodologies available to project managers. It builds and develops project management skills that can be applied within sports organisations.

Human Resource Management in Sports Organisations This module gives participants a richer understanding of the issues associated with the management of human resources within sports organisations, including the management of volunteers.

Accounting for Managers The aims of this module are to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand financial management and its impact on decision-making in a sports industry organisational context. The module also aims to develop skills in analysing and interpreting financial information.

Media Management This module looks at the particular significance of the media within the global sports industry.

Developing an understanding of the media, media strategy and media management at regional, national and international levels, students will also develop skills in managing the media and media interactions in a rapidly changing media environment.

Leading Strategic Change

Exploring the ways in which sports organisations manage their operations and introduce techniques that can be utilised to improve effectiveness, this module also develops skills in obtaining, analysing and applying information from a variety of sources.

The aims of this module are to develop an understanding of the changing nature of the practice and processes of strategic management.

The module develops skills in the area of strategic analysis, the development of strategic options and change management. It encourages an openness to new ideas and an awareness that in many situations there are a range of alternatives that should be evaluated.

Decision Support Systems

International Sports Management

The aims of this module are to develop an understanding of commonly used decision support techniques and an awareness of how Information Systems can support an organisation.

Unique in the UK, this module equips participants with an understanding of the management concepts, models and competencies that can be

Operations Management

Sports Management Environment This module will equip participants with an understanding of sports management environments and models appropriate to management decision-making.

applied in the international sports environment and develops skills in managing sports and sports-related organisations internationally.

It enables participants to study in depth one of the following key themes: sports events management, sports performance management, or sports policy and governance.

Managing Sports Innovation and Technology This unique module introduces the concepts of sports technology evaluation and commercialisation as incorporated in the HiTec Algorithm developed in the US and adapted for the UK context. It enables participants to apply the algorithm to real sports business opportunities and to engage fully in the complex process of managing innovation and bringing new products and services to market. Participants have the fantastic opportunity to team up with Loughborough’s world leading sports technologists and researchers and work on live commercial projects.

Sports Management Project Choosing to focus on an aspect of sports management of direct professional relevance or personal interest, participants will execute a practically-based research study. The module develops a working knowledge of processes and methods used in business and management research while enabling participants to integrate ideas from the programme into a problem-solving context.

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How To Apply Entry Requirements Successful applicants must hold either a Bachelor’s degree from a UK or recognised overseas University, membership of an approved chartered institute or a Diploma in Management Studies. Three years’ relevant work experience is also required to ensure our high standard of classroom experience. Participants must be able to evidence substantial professional experience and achievements, leadership potential, self-motivation and commitment to learning and academic ability.

The requirement for a degree or similar qualification is occasionally waived for those who possess significantly higher levels of experience and achievements – in which case a test and interview will normally be required.

English Language Requirements The University’s requirement is for a minimum IELTS result of 6.5 overall average with at least 6.0 in each component (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking), or a TOEFL result of 100 (internet-based) overall with no less than 21 in Listening, 22 in Reading, 23 in Speaking and 21 in Writing.

Applicants without the required IELTS or TOEFL result may be made a conditional offer such that they attain the University’s standard IELTS or TOEFL requirement. © 2005 NIGEL FARROW

Fees & Funding Please contact our office for up-to-date tuition and funding information on +44 (0)1509 223398, +44 (0)1509 228825 or mba@lboro.ac.uk

How We Can Support Your Organisation Through Executive Education, the School is planning to deliver courses on innovation management in sports organisations. The courses will allow delegates to work on the selection and implementation of new ideas through effective management processes. Participating sports governing bodies, associations and businesses will realise real-time benefits to their strategic planning and implementation processes.

Intakes are in October each year. To apply for your place on this exceptional programme (or to request further information) contact MBA admissions: T: +44(0)1509 223398 E: mba@lboro.ac.uk Alternatively, visit our website for more information: www.lboro.ac.uk/mba

Contact M.C.Freeman@lboro.ac.uk for more information.

Scholarships We are able to offer a limited number of Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsorships.

Contact mba@lboro.ac.uk or visit www.lboro.ac.uk/mba to find out more.

Silver:

Gold:

Bronze:

25% of Fees for 5 years+ managerial experience or a 2:1 degree or better from a recognised university

40% of Fees for 5 years+ managerial experience AND a 2:1 degree or better from a recognised university

10% of Fees for Loughborough University alumni or group enrolment

In partnership with the Sports Development Centre we can also work with you to create bespoke blended programmes in management and coaching development.

Please contact J.M.Saker@lboro.ac.uk to discuss this if it’s of interest.

In addition to the International Sports Management MBA, Loughborough University also offers a Part-Time and Full-Time MBA. Visit www.lboro.ac.uk/mba to find out more.

School of Business and Economics Loughborough University Leicestershire LE11 3TU T: +44 (0)1509 223398/+44 (0)1509 228825 E: mba@lboro.ac.uk

www.lboro.ac.uk/mba