Professionals working in the sports industry often find themselves in situations where they need to adapt and learn more in order to perform their best. Temple University offers these professionals ways to do this through its School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management.
Jeff Webb, Director of Integrated Sports Sales for Rogers Sports and Media (SportsNet) in Toronto, has spent more than 15 years in the broadcast industry working on premier sports television broadcast events like the FIFA World Cup and Hockey Night in Canada. Over this time the space has changed in plenty of ways. In 2018, Webb enrolled in the online Executive Master of Science in Sport Business at Temple University in an effort to further his knowledge and keep up with the market’s continued evolution.
“Since I got into the sports business, it has changed, and sponsorship has gone through massive changes as well,” Webb tells Front Office Sports. “Things like mobile technology have penetrated sport and how people consume media. To stay relevant and to help the people that I work with stay relevant, I needed to get back to the basics, take that knowledge and use it to support my growth, and share that with the team I work with.”
Even as a working professional, Webb found the online modules of the Executive Master of Science in Sport Business to be compatible with his busy schedule and quickly apply lessons he learned in class to his job. Webb feels his professors and fellow alumni are, to this day, accessible and able to offer insight into the current landscape of the sports industry. He says that one of the most valuable aspects of his Temple experience continues to be the professional and personal network he was able to create.
“The program and Temple have helped me create a community,” Webb says. “It was great to meet people face to face, as well as virtually. It’s a community of students who are in sport, having different experiences, whom we can reach out to and relate with. This is a field that thrives on connections, and that really comes through in this program.”
Being able to continue his career while furthering his education proved invaluable for Webb. He advises other sports professionals to take this into account when considering a sport graduate program and the opportunities afforded by Temple.
“Really look at the flexibility that a program offers you,” Webb advises prospective graduate students. “Temple’s executive master’s degree offers a significant amount of flexibility in how you manage your course load. If you’ve got a busy work schedule in the fall, for example, you can bypass that fall course and take it the following year. That flexibility, along with a strong sense of community, is part of the strong value of the Temple program.”
Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management offers two graduate degrees in sport business. The Executive Master of Science in Sport Business is a 100% online program built for experienced professionals and can be completed in as few as 13 months. The Master of Science in Sport Business at Temple’s Philadelphia campus is designed for emerging professionals looking to get hands-on experience within the sport industry. Both programs provide students with one-on-one guided career development and coaching.
Learn more about Temple University’s Master’s Degrees in Sport Business today.
