Introduction to Sport Management

This document provides an introduction to sport management, covering topics such as the difference between non-profit and professional sports, AFL policies on governance and reputation, the use of volunteers in professional sport teams and non-profit sport clubs, and the opportunities of social and digital media for marketing and fan engagement.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
Introduction to sport management
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1INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
WEEK 2: Sport management, mateship and money..................................................................3
WEEK 3: The structure of sport in Australia.............................................................................4
Week 5: Leadership and management in sport..........................................................................5
WEEK 7: Squeaky clean............................................................................................................5

2INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 2: Sport management, mateship and money
From your understanding, what is the key difference between the mission for non-profit
sport and professional sport?
The impact of sports is immense within the Australian society and thus there has been
significant differences between the professional sports and non-profit sports. The non-profit
sports organisations are associated with the management of funds for delivering on the
mission, furthermore allow the sports companies to use those funds and resources for the
purpose of development and growth of the brand as well. The non-profit sports organisations
play a major role in marketing professional sports as well as create scopes and opportunities
for the emerging players to become successful in the future within the sports community
(Trendafilova & Babiak 2013, p. 20). Often the rising players who are incapable of making it
big due to some issues, the non-profit organisations have undertaken the responsibilities of
meeting their needs through supply of resources and ensured management of adequate
funding with support from the Government and regulatory bodies to create long lasting
positive impact on the sports persons within the Australian community,
The professional sports in Australia are mostly related to the sports activities linked
with big financial amounts. Here the athletes and sportspersons play for their country or club
for a significant amount of money and also to enhance the reputation of the sports within the
Australian society. The professional sporting prioritised on making money and manage
higher flow of cash to raise the level of income, wealth and also manage sponsorship with
broadcasting media channels (Taylor, Doherty & McGraw 2015). This has also enabled better
media coverage as well as drew greater profit from the professional sports industry too.

3INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 3: The structure of sport in Australia
In your opinion, are the AFL policies about governance or reputation, or both?
I personally think that the AFL policies are about both governance and reputation.
The Australian Football League or AFL has transformed to a commoditized sports from the
local culture to focus on the goal of making higher revenue in business, which has enabled
commercial focus on both the corporate governance and reputation management within the
Australian sports community. It sets various policies, laws, rules and regulations needed to
control the brand with the management of public relations, media relations and marketing
teams as well. The club operations and operating environment for the Australian sports
community have improved as well with the management of AFL programs, policies, rules
and regulations (Gill 2016, p. 46). The AFL Kids First, Alcohol management policy,
Coaching Accreditation policy, Food serving premises, Heat and Lighting policy, etc. have
not only helped in improving the operations managed at the club, but has also created
convenience for the other individuals to gain maximum enjoyment through participation in
the football sports activities. On the other hand, the health and wellbeing of the athletes are
managed with the implementation of policies such as Alcohol management policy, which
ensured meeting the legislative requirements related to the management of alcohol within the
club premises, furthermore ensured serving alcohol responsibly. The kitchen facilities and
canteens were registered with the Local Government authority to keep healthy and tasty food
for the sports persons and ensured proper management of operations at the club (Naimo
2013). Thus, the AFL policies are related to the management of corporate governance and
building reputation as well.

4INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
Week 5: Leadership and management in sport
Consider the use of volunteers from the perspective of professional sport teams and
non-profit sport clubs. Do you think both organisations would have the same objectives
for using volunteers?
Both the organisations aim at achieving similar kinds of goals and objectives by using the
volunteers, though the roles of theirs might differ considering the tasks delegated to them.
The volunteers at the non-profit sports clubs manage coaching, education along with
certification and implementing Parental codes of conduct for the players who have been
emerging. On the other hand, the professional sports organisations managing teams have used
the volunteers for the purpose of managing good public safety and influenced the positive
behaviours of the spectators who are involved in the major sports events. They maintain the
behaviours of crowds and also ensured management of proper safety measures required to
keep the general public safe as well as make the sports event an enjoyable experience for the
visitors too without any conflicts (Chelladurai 2014). The non-profit sports organisations
have managed the volunteers to ensure that the funds and resources along with the sports
equipment reach the sports persons and athletes involved in the sports activities properly and
for their usage, who may have not been able to acquire resources and sports facilities
furthermore. They also sometimes, are found to be associated with the management of health
and wellbeing of people at the non-profit sports organisations, which make them create
benefits for public good (Shank & Lyberger 2014). Thus, both the organisations would have
similar kind of objective of using volunteers, i.e., to promote sports activities by doing public
good.

5INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
WEEK 7: Squeaky clean
What unique opportunities do social and digital media present to a sport organisation
for marketing and fan engagement?
With the advancement of technologies, the social media and digital media have
created great impacts on the ways a sports organisation can facilitate marketing and engage
more fans altogether within the Australian sports community. The social media marketing has
been a great aspect that has not only improved the level of engagement of fans but has also
improved the marketing aspects to reach more people and promote sports activities. The use
of these social media platforms and digital marketing channels have improved the level of
fandom and created better emotional attachment between the sports clubs and their fans from
all over the world (Abeza, O’Reilly & Reid 2013, p. 130). The social networks are also
associated with the development of an empowered fan community, which allowed the sports
clubs to create a positive brand presence, furthermore, manage online presence to reach out to
a wider group of audiences. The use of online and digital media have transformed the
anonymous users into registered fans of the Australian sports and at the same time, build trust
and loyalty among people towards the brand. The personalisation of customer experience has
been possible by making them go through the sports organisation’s website and loo for
clothing and apparels related to the sports for which, they have been avid fans for a long time
(Eagleman 2013, p. 494). Moreover, the digital media and online channels are related to the
growth of scopes and opportunities need to reach fans worldwide and not remain confined
just to a particular location, furthermore increase the fan engagement level and influence their
behaviours towards AFL too.

6INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT
References
Abeza, G., O’Reilly, N. & Reid, I., 2013. Relationship marketing and social media in
sport. International Journal of Sport Communication, 6(2), pp.120-142.
Chelladurai, P., 2014. Managing organizations for sport and physical activity: A systems
perspective. Taylor & Francis.
Eagleman, A.N., 2013. Acceptance, motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing
communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies. Sport
Management Review, 16(4), pp.488-497.
Gill, R., 2016. The AFL Brand and Umpires’ Reputation through Media Commentaries. Asia
Pacific Public Relations Journal, 17(1), pp.42-59.
Naimo, J., 2013. The art of ethics and the art of sports governance.
Shank, M.D. & Lyberger, M.R., 2014. Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
Taylor, T., Doherty, A. & McGraw, P., 2015. Managing people in sport organizations: A
strategic human resource management perspective. Routledge.
Trendafilova, S. & Babiak, K., 2013. Understanding strategic corporate environmental
responsibility in professional sport. International Journal of Sport Management and
Marketing, 13(1-2), pp.1-26.