1. Unique B.Comm (SPAD) degree: Although a number of sport management undergraduate programs are now offered at other Ontario (e.g. Brock University) and Canadian (e.g. University of New Brunswick) universities, they do not offer the Bachelor of Commerce degree and are run through Faculties of Human Kinetics or Physical Education. SPAD’s recent inclusion in the new Faculty of Management at Laurentian further reinforces this advantage.
2. Reputation and history: As outlined above, SPAD’s history and reputation in industry is key advantage that needs to be better exploited.
3. 3rd and 4th Year Applied Curriculum: In the final two years of the SPAD degree, course work blends theory and practical experience and provides SPAD with a visible presence inside and outside the Sudbury community and abroad.
4. The ISM: Founded in 2001 by Bob Wanzel, the Institute for Sport Marketing captures the "raison d’être" of SPAD. Funded (over $500,000) by private industry, professional sport, Sport Canada and the Government of Ontario, the ISM has taken a leadership role in providing research that the industry is demanding.
5. Field Trip: The ‘capstone’ experience for any SPAD graduating class is the field trip where the class decides (typically in 3rd year) on a destination, budgets and fundraises for the trip, and presents project work to client organizations in the destination city. The concept has been extraordinarily successful and past trips have gone to Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Lausanne (Switzerland), Los Angeles, Phoenix, Washington, Miami, London (England), Dallas, Vancouver and Calgary. Fundraising typically brings in $20,000 towards the trip.
6. Internship: Following the successful completion of their 3rd year, SPAD students embark on a 4-8 month internship with a sport organization. The internship is typically paid and we always have more organizations interested than students. Bob Wanzel manages the internships currently. The student then returns for a final semester prior to graduation. For more information about internships please contact:
Anthony Church
Assistant Professor
School of Sports Administration
Email: achurch@laurentian.ca
Tel.: (705) 675-1151, ext. 2320
7. SPAD Student Council: although many Schools and programs have active councils, most the size of SPAD do not have very active ones. At SPAD, the student council takes a major role in organizing events, driving alumni relations and working with the Director to build the program. The President of student council is a 3rd year student and is given credit for one course (SPAD 3026) for taking on that responsibility.
8. Alumni ("The SPAD Family"): since 1975, over 800 students have graduated from SPAD, with approximately 60% working in the sport industry, about 30% working in other areas of business, and the remaining 10% typically in other professions (e.g. lawyer). Although no formal activities around alumni are currently in place (other than a few related events driven by students fund-raising for the Field Trip), a few notable activities have generated positive outcomes:
a. In the early 1980’s a SPAD alumni newsletter (3 issues/year) was developed and circulated to graduates.
b. In the summer of 1989 a reunion was organized in Toronto with over 125 SPAD grads attending for a weekend.
c. In October of 1998, a reunion was held in Toronto to honour Bob Wanzel’s 25 years of service. Approximately 400 people attended and national and local media attention generated.
d. Often, SPAD grads have expressed their support by giving (at no cost) guest lectures, hosting interns, hiring other SPAD grads, promoting SPAD in their own circles, recruiting students (we have had a number of second generation SPAD students in recent years), and offering scholarships.
9. MBA-SPAD: although this item has been talked about for many years and was suggested as vital by previous external reviews (1992 and 2000), action has only recently occurred. Past-Director Kit Lefroy formally expressed SPAD’s interest in pursuing such a degree in January 2006 and a recent draft proposal has been developed by the current Director.