Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Analyze a sports league and present a management strategy in this 3-week program for high school students on UT Austin’s campus.
Rated 4.6 out of 5 for course experience by students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Instructor:
Course Description
Why do some sports organizations succeed away from competition while others struggle? Students examine the business structures and management decisions behind professional leagues, college sports, associations, franchises, and emerging competitions. Current sports-business news becomes evidence for discussing leadership, strategy, ownership, valuation, labor, compensation, and community relationships.
Study groups analyze assigned readings and open class with current events. Cases introduce SWOT analysis, root-cause reasoning, behavioral economics, league structures, roster and staffing decisions, agent contracts, branding, and outreach. Guest speakers bring industry perspectives, while visits to Q2 Stadium and St. David’s Performance Center show how organizations operate in professional settings.
Two major projects require practical recommendations. Teams evaluate an emerging professional league, identify its challenges and environmental factors, and propose a strategy for growth. Individually, each student researches an issue of current importance to the sports industry, challenges accepted practice where evidence supports it, and delivers a professional presentation. Reflection and feedback ask students to evaluate their own thinking and contribution.
This three-week course takes place at UT Austin. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed by the University of Texas at Austin and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery.
What Will You Do?
• Analyze current sports-business news through structured class discussion
• Compare league, college-sports, franchise, ownership, and labor models
• Apply SWOT analysis, root-cause reasoning, and behavioral economics
• Examine staffing, player compensation, contracts, branding, and community outreach
• Recommend a strategy for an emerging professional sports league
• Research and present a critical issue affecting the sports industry
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Analyze how structure, incentives, leadership, and markets affect sports organizations
• Develop a practical recommendation for an emerging league using industry evidence
• Research and present a strategic position on a current sports-business issue
Students will leave with a team league recommendation and individual industry presentation, stronger management and communication skills, and clearer direction for sports-business study or careers.
Students receive a University of Texas branded certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Why Sports Management Skills Matter
Sports management requires students to look beyond scores and identify how structure, incentives, money, labor, leadership, and community relationships affect an organization. SWOT and root-cause analysis help them distinguish a visible problem from the conditions producing it. Current-event discussions require evidence rather than fan preference.
Group recommendations and individual presentations strengthen strategic thinking, listening, and professional communication. Students must connect an idea with its practical consequences for teams, leagues, athletes, employees, sponsors, media, and communities. These skills support future work in business, economics, communications, public relations, law, and any organization where leaders allocate resources and respond to competing interests.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are interested in the business of sports rather than athletic performance alone. It fits interests in management, economics, marketing, analytics, labor, law, communications, facilities, or community engagement.
Participants should be ready to follow sports-business news, complete readings, contribute to discussion, listen closely to classmates and guest speakers, work in a study group, research an emerging league, and deliver a substantial individual presentation thoughtfully. Applicants must also complete the program application.
Why UT Austin?
Studying on UT Austin’s Forty Acres campus gives high-school students a substantive introduction to academic life in Austin, Texas. Courses draw from popular undergraduate fields and Austin specialties. Full-day academies offer concentrated study, while classes across the program take place in campus classrooms and laboratories and may include guest speakers and fieldwork around Austin.
The experience extends beyond class for both residential and commuting students. Residential students live in Jester Hall, eat at J2, a popular campus dining hall, and take part in activities that may range from a star party at PMA to time at Gregory Gym, Zilker Park, South Congress, or an Austin FC match. Students gain independence, meet peers, and leave with a clearer view of college life, possible directions for future study, and what it can feel like to be a Longhorn.
UT Austin Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive