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Course Description

Behind every successful team, facility, and sports organization is a system that plans, tracks, and allocates financial resources. This
course introduces students to how money flows through professional, collegiate, and community sport organizations—without
assuming prior finance or accounting experience.


Students will learn how budgets are built, how revenues and expenses are managed, and how financial decisions support operations,
growth, and long-term sustainability. Through real-world examples and case studies, the course emphasizes understanding financial
structures and decision-making rather than complex calculations, helping students build confidence working with financial
information in a sport business environment.

Course Outline

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
● Build financial confidence for non-finance professionals. Develop students’ comfort working with financial information commonly encountered in sport organizations, regardless of prior experience or background in finance.
● Understand how financial structures differ across sport settings. Examine how professional teams, collegiate athletic departments, and community organizations organize, fund, and manage their financial operations differently—and why those differences matter.
● Connect financial decision-making to real sport management roles. Help students recognize how budgeting, resource allocation, and financial planning influence operations, staffing, facilities, and strategic choices across sport business careers.

Learner Outcomes

● Read and interpret core financial documents—such as budgets, revenue summaries, and basic financial statements—commonly used in sport organizations.
● Explain how different revenue sources, funding models, and cost structures shape decision-making across professional, collegiate, and community sport settings.
● Use practical financial tools and frameworks to evaluate programs, forecast basic revenue scenarios, and assess organizational performance within a sport business context.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Type
Class
Days
W
Time
4:30PM to 7:50PM
Dates
Jan 06, 2027 to Mar 17, 2027
Campus
UCSB Campus
Building
Kerr Hall
Room
Room 2166A
Schedule and Location
View Details
Contact Hours
40.0
Location
Delivery Options
In Class  
Course Fee(s)
Course Fee credit (4 units) $685.00
Available for Credit
4 units

Section Notes

Steps to Enroll

How to Access Your Online Course on Canvas

Late Registration Notice: 
Self-enrollment will be available until 11:59 PM PT the Day before the 2nd class session. If you wish to enroll after that time, please contact PaCE Support at help@professional.ucsb.edu

Required Textbook(s):
Students are required to purchase the textbook(s) assigned by the instructor. The instructor will provide details to the class before the course start date.

No refunds after 1/17/27
A minimum $40 non-refundable administrative fee per course is charged for all drops. See the full Drop Policy here.