Course 2025-2026 a.y.

The course explores key managerial and strategic dimensions of the sport industry, including:

• Defining the scope of sport business and sport management
• Business models in sport: North American vs. International systems
• Assets and performance outcomes of sport organizations
• Understanding the structure and logic of the global sport ecosystem
• Internationalization strategies of sport clubs and the role of sport diplomacy
• Management and impact of sport event facilities
• Media and communication dynamics in the sport industry
• Organizational models and stakeholder management in sport
• Athlete management, youth academies, and talent development
• Planning and delivery of sport events with a focus on impact and legacy

• Recognize the distinctive managerial features of the sport industry across strategy, organization, leadership, and their financial implications
• Identify and evaluate key issues, emerging trends, and global challenges shaping the sport
• Compare and contrast different business models in sport, including the North American and International approaches
• Understand the role of sport as a tool for international diplomacy and soft power in global
• Develop and apply core sport values that support further academic pursuits, lifelong learning, and professional opportunities

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Apply theories, frameworks, methods, and tools of sport business and management within real-world sport organizations
• Integrate key managerial dimensions—such as strategy, organization, leadership, and their financial implications—into decision-making processes specific to the sport industry
• Address and solve practical challenges faced by sport entities, including stakeholder engagement, organizational design, and investment evaluation
• Act effectively and responsibly in professional sport business contexts, demonstrating ethical awareness and the ability to manage people and services with integrity
• Collaborate in diverse teams, communicate ideas clearly, and adapt to the dynamic and multicultural nature of the global sport ecosystem

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments
• Interaction/Gamification

The teaching method is built around an intensive mixture of lectures, speakers, visits, group works, class participation, videos, readings and case studies.

• Students are supposed to prepare case studies before class in order to take full advantage of the in-class learning experience and participate pro-actively in the discussions. Case studies are distributed in digital copy on the Bboard platform and are discussed either individually or as group exercise. The case studies of the course are selected in order to provide the students with effective insights in the learning process of applying theoretical concepts to real situations. Furthermore, students can improve their communication and interpersonal skills during the activities related to the in-class discussions.
• The know-how of sports systems is a natural consequence of daily activities and strategic decisions of market leaders and key global players. This is the main added value of having high-level access to professionals within the sports business, ones that students have the chance to meet both during speakers’ in-class sessions and on field visits.
• The professors integrate speakers’ contribution with lectures in order to guarantee high standards for the students’ learning experience.
• Finally, students work as team members in analyzing problems, discussing potential solutions and preparing and presenting reports, developing soft skills that are nowadays essential in any work environment, especially in the sports industry.

With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, the student's assessment is based on two main components:

• 50% of the grade: written exam based on multiple choice questions (no penalties for mistakes), which aims to assess the student’s learning level of the theoretical models, concepts, methods and tools shared during the lectures;
• 50% of the grade: group Final Project.

Only students who have prepared the Final Project are considered as attending. Furthermore, if an attending student does not take the exam in May or June, the grade of the Final Project is lost.

Once a student passes the exam, the grade has to be accepted.

100% of the grade: written exam based on multiple choice questions (no penalties for mistakes) and open-ended questions, which aims to assess the student’s learning level of the theoretical models and the main concepts shared in the books, as well as well the student’s ability to apply the theory to real cases.

Once a student passes the exam, the grade has to be accepted.

-        Case studies, slides and videos (professors’ and speakers’), papers, reports, academic papers uploaded on Blackboard

-        P. GUENZI, D. RUTA, Leading Teams: Tools and Techniques for Successful Team Leadership from the Sports, 2013, 1st ed., Jossey-Bass - chapter 3

-        RUTA D. (a cura di), Qatar, The Land of Sports and Events: Human Capital Strategy for Socio-Economic Impacts, 2022, Bocconi University Press - BUP, Milano, Italia

-        RUTA D., Foundations of Sport Management (Teaching Note)

-        Case studies, slides and videos (professors’ and speakers’), papers, reports, academic papers uploaded on Blackboard

-        P. GUENZI, D. RUTA, Leading Teams: Tools and Techniques for Successful Team Leadership from the Sports, 2013, 1st ed., Jossey-Bass - chapters 3, 4, 5, 6

-        RUTA D. (a cura di), Qatar, The Land of Sports and Events: Human Capital Strategy for Socio-Economic Impacts, 2022, Bocconi University Press - BUP, Milano, Italia

-        RUTA D., Foundations of Sport Management (Teaching Note)