For the eighth year in a row, Niche has named Rice University the No. 1 college in the country for sport management.
Rice has led the list every year since Niche first began publishing its sport management rankings in 2019. This year, Rice's sport management program beat out more than 460 other sport management programs across the country to take home the top spot.
Rice's Department of Sport Management offers two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Management with a concentration in either Sport Law or Sport Leadership, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sport Analytics. The curriculum pairs Rice's rigorous academic expectations with high-quality sport management faculty who bring classroom concepts to life.
"Before becoming professors, every faculty member in our department had a career working in either college or professional sports or both," says Clark Haptonstall, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Sport Management. "This gives us a unique perspective when teaching and advising our students and allows us to utilize real-life examples in class that students won't find in a textbook."
Rice's sport management program is also known for its emphasis on internships and other hands-on experiences, beginning as early as freshman year, that let students explore different career paths and expand their confidence and capabilities.
"We prioritize helping our students gain practical experience, build their personal brand, and grow their network," Haptonstall says. "We are proud that this strategy has led our department to a 100% placement rate for our students in the sports industry following graduation."
In addition to the sport management ranking, Rice University earned several other impressive accolades from Niche in its 2027 rankings:
No. 10 - Best College in America
No. 1 - Best University in Texas
No. 10 - College with the Best Professors
No. 10 - Best Research University in America
No. 11 - Most Diverse College in America
Niche is the market leader in connecting colleges and schools with students and families. Its rankings combine federal data from the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation with information on enrollment, alumni earnings, tuition and financial aid and more than 1 million student and alumni reviews.
Molly (Mohr) Bruni '15 is a proud Rice Sport Management alumna and freelance editor and writer. Find her at mollybruni.com.