As the global sports industry continues to embrace the growth of women’s sports, academic programs are stepping up to prepare future leaders to support, market, and innovate in this space. In Columbia University’s M.S. in Sports Management program, Senior Lecturer Grant Son is at the forefront of this movement. Through his courses, Sports Marketing, Sports Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, Son ensures that women’s sports are not just a side note but a central part of the curriculum, reflecting the industry’s shifting dynamics and the growing demand for representation.
Integrating Women’s Sports in the Core Marketing Curriculum
In his Sports Marketing course, Son incorporates examinations of women’s sports through both case studies and live projects. Students dive into real-world challenges, learning the same academic frameworks taught in top business schools, while also exploring marketing strategies unique to women’s sports.
Students learn critical marketing frameworks, including segmentation, targeting, and positioning, as well as customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and brand equity—all applied directly to women’s sports scenarios, thereby further enhancing their understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in this sector.
Today’s Most Prominent Sports Stars & Brand Identity
Among the standout case studies is Caitlin Clark, the Women’s National Basketball Association phenom. By examining Clark’s story and career, students learn about branding, marketability, and the business of women’s basketball. Additionally, students tackle projects such as fan club campaigns for National Women’s Soccer League teams, crafting brand positioning and engagement strategies. These assignments offer students hands-on experience in marketing athletes, leagues, and teams in women’s sports while addressing the evolving landscape of sponsorships, media representation, and fan engagement.
Entrepreneurship with a Gender Lens
Son’s Sports Entrepreneurship and Innovation course builds on this foundation by exposing students to case studies with entrepreneurial challenges. While the course covers ventures like Peloton and DAZN, a sports streaming and entertainment platform, students are encouraged to explore opportunities in the women’s sports ecosystem, from creating innovative business models to testing go-to-market strategies for women-centric products and services.
Through frameworks such as the Lean Startup method, the Business Model Canvas, and customer discovery, students assess market opportunities in women’s sports and practice pitching new ideas to industry professionals, venture capitalists, and founders. The course emphasizes real-world application, enabling students to work with guest experts on projects that could directly impact the women’s sports space.
Son’s integration of women’s sports into the M.S. in Sports Management curriculum reflects how the program continues to evolve with developments in the sports world. By keeping up with the latest trends and consumer interests, Son and other lecturers in the program prepare students to enter the professional sports world with the knowledge and awareness they need to become successful and effective leaders.
About the Program
The Columbia University M.S. in Sports Management provides students with a comprehensive curriculum and access to sports industry practitioners and influencers. Students acquire skills in areas such as entrepreneurship and innovation, global sports management, facility and event management, and sports law and ethics.
The program is available for part-time or full-time enrollment. Learn more about the program here.
