November 17th, 2020
A Message From The Department of Sport Management
My name is Dr. Jaime Orejan and I welcome you to the Department of Sport Management (SM). The department became part of the School of Business & Professional Studies (SBPS) in August 2018 after several years of being housed with the Physical Education major. In August of 2019, the SM curriculum was significantly revised to align with the standards for accreditation from the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). The department is in the process of adding more online course offerings and plans on pursuing COSMA accreditation. See https://www.limestone.edu/sport-management for more information about the program.
I am chair of the department with nearly 30 years of experience teaching and developing curricula in higher education. Since my arrival in 2018 the SM program has made significant progress. First and foremost, students in the major attended and participated in professional conferences for the first time.
In the fall 2018 semester, Sport Management majors participated in the case study competition at the Sport and Entertainment Venues Tomorrow (SEVT) conference in Columbia, SC, and earned 2nd place. During the Spring 2019 semester, students competed at the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) conference and earned 1st place competing against such schools as the University of South Carolina, Drexler, Liberty, and Elon, among others. Students returned to the SEVT conference in fall 2019 and earned 3rd place in the case competition. Covid-19 put a hold on competitions this past spring and fall, but sport management majors plan to return to competition and continue their success in the coming year. I’ve also had the opportunity to present my research at both national and international conferences, and in the fall of 2020, I had the pleasure and honor to represent Limestone University at the 3rd biennial World Association of Sport Management (WASM) conference in Santiago, Chile. In addition, I was appointed to the national review board of COSMA for the next five years.
This fall, the University provided funding to add a second full-time faculty member to the department. Cecilia Zhang joined the department from Indiana University, and she is expected to defend her dissertation in December. We are thrilled and excited to have her as part of the Limestone family, and the students have mentioned several times what an asset and a joy she is. Two additional faculty members from the busines area teach within the department. Dr. Noel Ridsdale teaches and coordinates the Event and Facility Management course, and Dr. Dale Guffey teaches and coordinates the Sport Law class. They both bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to the program in their areas of expertise.
In the spring of 2020, a newly created advisory board for the program held its first meeting. The board is comprised of professionals in various areas of the sport business industry. Its role is to advise and recommend to the department additions and changes to the curriculum to better educate and prepare our graduates as they enter the ‘real world’ after graduation.
A Facebook page, a Twitter account, and an Instagram account have been created for the program. Please take the time to check them out and to follow us.
We are looking forward to a bright future for the SM program and you are welcome to share ideas of how to improve the program or inquire about more information about the program by contacting me at jorejan@limestone.edu or 864-488-4530.
