U.S. — At least 10 colleges and universities, including American University and Indiana University Indianapolis, plan to launch new programs focused on sports business and management in fall 2026. American University, Indiana University Indianapolis, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point are among the institutions planning to launch these programs. Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, Chatham University, and Cleveland State University have launched similar programs in recent years.

The global sports economy is expected to reach $3.7 trillion by 2030. The sports and entertainment sector is expected to add nearly 100,000 jobs annually through 2034.

American University's program is a 15-credit sports management specialization within the Kogod School of Business, part of its business and entertainment major. Matthew Bakowicz, program director of the sports business management track at American University, said, "A degree in sports management doesn't necessarily show what a student is capable of, whereas a degree in finance with a sports management specialization says, 'I understand financial concepts, I understand economic concepts, accounting analytics, NIL, salary cap management.'" He added, "It makes them much more attractive to an organization who's specifically looking to fill a need." The specialization enrolls 25 to 30 students annually, offering opportunities to shadow the university's athletic staff and leadership, and providing access to internships with local sports teams. There are seven professional teams in Washington, D.C.

Bakowicz said, "Every single one of them has an American University student working in the front office or as an intern, as of right now." He also stated, "It's us doing our educational obligation of meeting industry trends and needs in the working world so that students are adequately employed." Indiana University Indianapolis will introduce a business of sports co-major in August 2026. In this co-major, students will maintain a primary major in the business school while taking additional sports-related courses. This marks the second co-major of its kind at the university, following a real estate co-major.

Mark Mayer, undergraduate faculty chair of Indiana University Indianapolis's Kelley School of Business, said, "When you're a business school, you also look at your strategy and you look at what you can deliver well." He stated, "We don't want to do things just for the sake of doing them—we want to do things that are going to do great things for our students and for our stakeholder community, and that's why we identified this program." Kwame Agyemang, professor and director of the Future of Sport Institute at the University of Kentucky, said, "Many schools are looking for an enrollment boost, something to get students to apply to their schools, to their universities, and sport is one of those kind of 'sexy' majors people want to talk about all the time."