A concept that has been developing for 5 to 10 years has become a reality for the Media, Communication and Visual Arts department (MCVA), as a brand new Sports Media and Broadcasting minor was officially introduced to students last Monday.

The minor consists of 15 credits in total, with three required courses and two electives for students to choose out of six options. The required courses are Sports Journalism (JRN 207), Sports Broadcasting (MCA270), and Sports Media (MCA 309).

These three courses are intended to help students get the practical and theoretical knowledge of the sports media industry.

“It gives students an overview of the sports media field focusing on both theory and practice, so not only will they understand some of the concepts behind sports media, but they would actually be doing simulations,” said Associate Professor/Chair of the MCVA department Michelle Pulaski Behling. 

Pulaski Behling said the idea to put this minor into place sprouted a long time ago. However, the department had to create the sports broadcasting class first, which it did in spring 2017, and then transition the topic course into its own.

The actual process of getting the minor approved began in August, after they determined the requirements that would meet the standard of the research that was compiled to help make the minor as useful and practical to students as possible.

The department put together a proposal for the minor and had to present it to three different committee’s: the Dyson, Westchester and Curriculum faculty councils.

Although the challenges encountered were kept to a minimum, Pulaski Behling addressed the fact that the Westchester faculty council met before the Dyson faculty council making it complicated with timing and adding length to the process.

However, once the proposal made its way to the different committees, the minor was easily approved to be put into place, and is now available for students to declare.

Student reaction to this minor has already been strong with approximately 10 to 15 students already adding the minor to their degree tracks. In addition, students do not need to have a MCVA or Dyson major in order to attain the minor. As promotion increases and time goes by, Pulaski Behling expects this number to continue to rise.

This minor will also add to the attractiveness of the department to prospective students with a specialty area in sports and the expanding options that are provided within the department.

Freshman Kerry Mannix recently declared the minor and is excited for the opportunity this minor provides for students.

“I thought it was awesome that they were expanding the program into something that could give aspiring journalists, specifically interested in sports, a chance to more accurately study what they hope to do in the future,” she said.

Mannix said she hopes to increase her expertise in journalism with the new minor.

“I’m hoping that through this minor I continue to expand my knowledge of sports, as there’s a lot of opportunity in sports journalism, and also because sports are such a huge part of our culture,” Mannix said. 

Pulaski Behling said that the department is continuously working to increase different opportunities for students. 

“I think this shows that we’re really trying to meet the needs of our students, because they have been asking us for this for years, we’ve really seen the trend toward students being employed in sports related fields,” she said. “So we really wanted to… meet our students where they are, and give them something that they could really benefit from.”