“Knowing the game and its rules is not enough,” explains Anthony
Missere, Associate Professor and Director of the College of
Professional Studies Sport
Management program. “Those who wish to work in the field of
Sport Management require specialized knowledge and experience in
areas such as game operations, public and media relations,
marketing, accounting and other business practices,” he says.
Enrollment in the undergraduate and graduate sport management
programs have more than doubled since Missere was named Program
Director 10 years ago. A former college hoopster and coach at Pratt
Institute, where in 1977 he was named “Coach of the Year” by the
Metropolitan Sportswriters Association, he also played professional
basketball in Italy.
Missere feels one of the most beneficial things about attending
St. John’s University is that students are studying in New York
City, “With a wide variety of sports and sport-related
organizations and facilities at their doorstep, they can gain
valuable field experience through a multitude of
internships. Right now, we have students with all the
professional sports teams that are headquartered in the City: the
Jets, Mets and Yankees,” Missere says. “They’re also learning and
gaining experience working at Madison Square Garden, FOX Sports and
many other professional sports league offices.”
With the explosion of the sports industry overseas, Missere
believes the next logical step is for students to take their sport
management education abroad, "We identified that sports is becoming
more of a global business, so we had to
expand our program to incorporate an international component.” The
department’s Masters of Professional Studies in Sport Management
offers students the option to specialize in
International Dimensions, preparing students for a variety of
careers in international sport management.