At Worcester you’ll gain hands-on experience through work placements with professional and community sport businesses, and in your final year, you’ll manage a live sports event as part of your studies. With opportunities to study abroad, field visits to iconic venues, and guest lectures from industry experts, you'll graduate ready to pursue a career in sports event management, sport marketing and sponsorship, or business development.
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Our Sports courses are 7th in the UK for graduate prospects
First for jobs
The University of Worcester is first in the UK for sustained employment, further study or both, five years after graduation (excluding specialist institutions) - Longitudinal Educational Outcomes Survey 2024. Read more.
Overview
Our Sport Business Management BA (Hons) is designed to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills you need to thrive in the fast-paced world of sports business. From sports marketing to event management and business planning, you'll explore the key aspects of the industry while developing your understanding of how sports organisations operate.
In your second year, you’ll complete a work placement, giving you the chance to apply what you've learned in a real-world setting. Whether it's working in event management or marketing, you’ll gain valuable experience and make connections with industry professionals. During your final year, you'll take on the Event Project Management module, where you'll be responsible for creating, planning, delivering and evaluating a live sports event, providing you with a standout experience for your CV.
You'll also have opportunities to visit iconic sports venues like Wimbledon, Twickenham Stadium and Cheltenham Racecourse and hear from guest speakers with real-world industry experience.
Plus, with the option to study or work abroad, you can expand your global outlook and enhance your career prospects.
Placement year option
As well as a professional placement in your second year, you’ll have the option to take a placement year between the second and third years of study. During this year you can choose to study or work abroad, or complete a work placement year in the UK.
Recent students have complete placements with organisations like Liverpool FC, Zalgiris Basketball in Lithuania, Valencia Basketball club in Spain and Worcestershire County Cricket Club, gaining hands-on experience in areas such as event management, marketing, and business development. These placements help you build a professional network and gain insights into the day-to-day workings of sports businesses.
There are also opportunities outside of the optional placement year. You'll have the chance to get involved in local events like Worcester City Run and parkrun, where you can volunteer and gain additional experience in sports event management.
Course content
Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore different subjects and career paths in sports and business before choosing to specialise in your final year.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Optional modules
Careers
When you graduate you’ll be ready to step into a variety of exciting careers within the sports industry. Whether you see yourself managing events, developing marketing strategies, or working in business development, this course gives you the practical experience and industry insights to succeed.
This degree could be the first step toward your career as a:
- Sports agent
- Event delivery manager
- Sponsorship executive
- Sports entrepreneur
- Sport facility manager
- Marketing officer at a sport club
At the end of your degree, you could choose to continue to study at Worcester with our MSc Sport (International Sport Management).
Course highlights
Teaching and Assessment
Our course has been designed by academics and industry specialists to prepare you for a career in sport business management.
Teaching is a combination of seminars, interactive lectures and one-to-one tutoring. Your assessments will help prepare you for your career, and include report writing, presenting, group discussions, writing a research proposal and creating a marketing plan.
Teaching and assessment contents
The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful. You are taught through a combination of seminars, interactive lectures, tutorial groups and learning sets alongside various digital technologies such as Blackboard, Twitter and You Tube.
In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors (PATs) are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course. The Sport Business Management course supports your PAT sessions throughout your time at University with a personal academic journal which you receive within induction week and you also have access to other resources within your year group Blackboard page.
You have an opportunity to engage in a number of modules where scenario and case study approach are utilised to contextualise theory and practice and students are encouraged to engage through discussion and group work. This interactive approach encourages an applied approach from theory to practical 'real-world' application which enhance academic and employability skills.
Meet the team
A small selection of the Sport and Exercise Science lecturers who teach on this course.
Alexandru Radu
Alexandru Radu has a background in coaching and sport management. In addition to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, Alex is actively involved in coaching basketball – Romania Women National Team, Romania U20 Women National Team, Worcester Wolves (BBL) men team, Cardiff Archers (WBBL) women team and Wales U18 Men's National Team are amongst some of the teams he coached (as either Head Coach or Assistant Coach).
Dr Paul Blakey
Paul is Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management and joined Worcester having previously been course leader for Sport MSc programmes at Northumbria University and the University of Chester. He is also Visiting Professor at NEOMA Business School in Paris.
Paul’s PhD thesis, from the University of Manchester, focused upon strategic marketing practices of small and medium-sized businesses in the leisure industry. Prior to embarking on a career in academia, Paul was employed by several sports, leisure and hospitality companies, most notably working as an Assistant Manager with a leading private sector entertainment company.
Gill Renfree
Gill teaches across a range of modules from sport business professional placement to event project management as well as mentoring students undertaking sandwich years in the sport industry and supervising research projects. She also teaches in modules related to her research interests such as sports tourism, event management and sports marketing.
Gill has extensive experience of working on collaborative projects and continues to research in areas related to Generation Z, gender equity in sport as well as sport governance, leadership, and volunteering.
Alexandru Radu
Alexandru Radu has a background in coaching and sport management. In addition to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, Alex is actively involved in coaching basketball – Romania Women National Team, Romania U20 Women National Team, Worcester Wolves (BBL) men team, Cardiff Archers (WBBL) women team and Wales U18 Men's National Team are amongst some of the teams he coached (as either Head Coach or Assistant Coach).
Dr Paul Blakey
Paul is Senior Lecturer in Sport Business Management and joined Worcester having previously been course leader for Sport MSc programmes at Northumbria University and the University of Chester. He is also Visiting Professor at NEOMA Business School in Paris.
Paul’s PhD thesis, from the University of Manchester, focused upon strategic marketing practices of small and medium-sized businesses in the leisure industry. Prior to embarking on a career in academia, Paul was employed by several sports, leisure and hospitality companies, most notably working as an Assistant Manager with a leading private sector entertainment company.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 112
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
The Government has announced that it will increase tuition fees and maintenance loans by 3.1% from the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees will be £9,535 per year.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2025/26 academic year is £16,700 per year.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Sports Business Management BA (Hons) - CN62
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If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Dr Paul Blakey
Course Leader for MSc Sport (International Sport Management) and BA (Hons) Sport Business Management, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management/Development
p.blakey@worc.ac.ukAdmissions Office
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