JCSU Sport Management Program Ranked #1
By DR. BERNADETTE LAWSON-WILLIAMS
Johnson C. Smith University’s Department of Health and Human Performance, which is housed in the College of Business and Professional Studies, is pleased to announce that its Sport Management program was recently ranked #20 out of 894 colleges and universities throughout the nation on the Niche 2025 Best Colleges for Sport Management in America list. According to the ranking, this makes JCSU’s program the number #1 Sport Management program among HBCUs.
Dr. Antonia Mead, Chairperson of the Department of Health & Human Performance understands the magnitude of this recognition. “The Health & Human Performance Department is thrilled to receive this accolade! This honor shows the dedication and commitment of our faculty, as well as students’ desire to be a part of our program,” she said.
JCSU’s Sport Management program aims to foster an academic environment that enables its students to develop keen skills in critical and analytical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication, skills that increase student employability. Students enrolled in the JCSU program are provided innumerable experiential learning opportunities to engage in on-campus and off-campus internships, practicums, and volunteer experiences with highly reputable sports organizations, including, but not limited to: the Charlotte Hornets, the Carolina Panthers, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Charlotte Football Club, Major League Baseball, the Wells Fargo Championship, the Charlotte Checkers, US Elite Basketball, and of course, JCSU’s Athletics program. Additionally, through a special topics course that focused on global sports culture and society, the program facilitated a study abroad opportunity to Italy that benefited both students and faculty members.
While working with Professor Joseph Martin-Toney, who serves as an Instructor of Sport Management, as well as an Assistant Athletic Director and Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, students learn the intricacies of intercollegiate game day operations, including ticket sales, event management, facility management, and more. Furthermore, under the auspices of Dr. Gregory Petersen, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, in 2020 JCSU’s Sport Management program began a partnership with the Carolina Panthers’ Communications department that has enabled its scholars to gain seasonal game-day paid internships. This has also opened the door to additional opportunities for its students to acquire practical experiences working with the Charlotte’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team, the Charlotte Football Club, and the Crown Legacy, an MLS Next organization (Minor League affiliate).
Graduates from JCSU’s Sport Management program are vibrant sport professionals who have held employment with professional sport organizations, interscholastic/collegiate athletic programs, and private sector sport corporations, such as: SeatGeek, the Miami Heat, the Miami Dolphins, the ACC, the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the CIAA, the Washington Nationals, ESPN, Atlantic 10 Conference, and the Big East Conference. Additionally, many of the program’s graduates have completed graduate studies at prestigious higher education institutions such as Columbia University, Syracuse University, Georgia State University, University of Michigan, the University of Miami, Highpoint University, and Wingate University.
The program’s full-time and adjunct faculty members’ collective sport industry experience entail working with mega sport events such as the: NFL Super Bowl, the NFL Pro Bowl, and the NBA All Star, as well as collaborating with the NBA, NFL, MLS, Minor League Baseball, and the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League for experiential opportunities that benefit both the students and JCSU’s Sport Management program. Additionally, faculty members possess experiences working with community-based organizations such as the YMCA and the Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department. They are also actively engaged in scholarly endeavors such as presenting at workshops, professional conferences, grant-writing, advising, and publishing in refereed journals. Most notably, one of the program’s faculty members, Dr. BerNadette Lawson-Williams, has co-authored two chapters in Contemporary Sport Management (7th and 8th eds.), a widely popular introductory-level sport management textbook published by Human Kinetics.
The sport community is vast, yet the network among the Charlotte sport sector is small. Dr. Petersen and Dr. Lawson-Williams first became acquainted years ago when they were interns with the NFL, assigned to work at the Carolina Panthers Training Camp. At the time, Dr. Lawson-Williams was an intern with the Carolina Panthers and Dr. Petersen was an intern with the Dallas Cowboys. Now, as colleagues, they along with other Sport Management faculty members, collaborate to ensure that their scholars are duly equipped with the tools necessary to succeed in the sport industry.
“We are honored to receive this distinguished recognition from Niche. This superlative validates our commitment as faculty to prepare our scholars to meet the needs, trends, and demands of the sport industry. It is also a testament of our scholars’ ability to accomplish their goals through sport as they embrace a New Era of Excellence at JCSU,” said Dr. BerNadette Lawson-Williams, Tenured Professor of Sport Management and JCSU’s online Sport Management Program coordinator.
JCSU’s Sport Management major program, which was established in 2009, is one of the most popular academic choices offered at JCSU. In fact, it is the second largest major on campus based upon recent enrollment figures. It is also a prevalent minor program for many students on campus who have declared majors in other fields of study. Prior to 2009, students who were interested in pursuing a career in the sport industry majored in Physical Education with a concentration in Sport Management.
“We have experienced growth each year in our department and look forward to expanding more,” stated Dr. Antonia Mead, Chairperson of the Department of Health and Human Performance.
Johnson C. Smith University is the first HBCU to offer a fully online program, which was launched in 2015. In 2020, JCSU launched the first Esports and Gaming Trifecta at an HBCU, which consists of the first Esports Lab at an HBCU, a highly-competitive Esports Club, and the first Esports and Gaming academic program at an HBCU. This minor program, Esports and Gaming Management, is housed in the Department of Health and Human Performance and is a popular choice among students due to its innovative and interdisciplinary nature. Also, in 2020, JCSU’s Sport Management program ranked #17 out of 299 colleges and universities on Niche’s Best Colleges for Sport Management in America list. Therefore, the recent ranking of #20 out of 894 is evidence of the program’s upward trajectory and visibility, among its higher education Sport Management peers.