For the second straight year, Rice University has been named the best college in the nation for Sport Management majors by Niche.
Niche is an organization that publishes popular annual rankings of universities and colleges in the United States, as well as the best colleges for specific majors. The Sport Management institution rankings, rolled out in 2019, incorporate a thorough assessment of quality, competitiveness, and student and alumni feedback.
“Having Rice ranked as the best Sport Management department in the country for the second consecutive year is very special,” said Dr. Clark Haptonstall, Chair of the Department of Sport Management and a Professor in the Practice. “It allows us the opportunity to publicly recognize the success of the students, faculty, and alumni in the program.”
At Rice, the Sport Management program is a stand-alone major. This sets Rice apart from the majority of the nation’s universities, where sport management is usually offered as a secondary focus or area of emphasis. Rice Sport Management is an independent department within the School of Social Sciences, with major concentrations in leadership, analytics, and law.
“I am proud to be a part of the best undergraduate Sport Management program in the country,” says senior Jonathan Sanchez. “The professors and faculty here really go above and beyond to make sure that we succeed in our goals to the fullest extent.”
Career preparation and industry exposure are a large part of the Sport Management major at Rice. A minimum of 300 hours of internship experience are required for graduation, and the department has relationships with the Houston Astros, Rockets, Dynamo, and Texans to help make this possible.
“The Department of Sport Management is a unique program, where the professors really care about their students’ professional development,” says Linda Huang, a senior major who also competes for Rice on the tennis team. “This latest (Niche) ranking is well deserved, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for the program.”
Jack Berg, a junior from Fargo, North Dakota, is double-majoring in Sport Management and Political Science.