Temple’s Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a new sports media major for the Klein College of Media and Communication during their October meeting, according to the BOT’s monthly meeting minutes.
The 124-credit major is available to students starting immediately, said Klein Dean David Boardman.
“This major is just going to take off,” Boardman said. “First of all, it’s going to help us attract a lot more students to Temple and Klein who might have otherwise chosen to go elsewhere. I think we’re going to blaze new trails in terms of educating students in a broader way and equipping them for a variety of jobs in the sports world.”
Klein priorly only offered a sports media certificate, directed by Managing Director of Student Media John DiCarlo. The major will connect students to the Claire Smith Sports Media Center, named after the current professor, 1979 Klein alumna and pioneer in sports media.
Klein added the certificate during the Fall 2021 semester to amplify Philadelphia’s strong sports culture, according to its website. Temple has produced multiple successful sports anchors in the past, including 1997 alumnus Kevin Negandhi, who works as a sports analyst on ESPN, and Merrill Reese, a 1964 alumnus and the Eagles’ radio play-by-play announcer.
“When we look at our Klein graduates, we have a number of them that are successful,” said Lauren Bullock, the director and assistant professor of instruction for the sports media major. “You naturally are in a sports town with a strong communication school, and so it kind of just makes sense to offer [the major].”
Students will have to take classes like sports writing, sports media relations and the influence of sports media on modern society. The major will also participate in the Global Opportunities program through Klein, where students can study in more than 20 locations in the United States and around the world.
“I definitely see myself probably switching to the sports media major, because I think it’ll have better opportunities for me to learn more about the different types of sports media,” said Aiden Piggott, a junior media studies and production major with a sports media certificate. “[It’ll help] me grow my experience and how I can get better, because ultimately that’s what I want to do once I graduate.”
The major will be interdisciplinary between journalism, public relations, communications and School of Sports, Tourism and Hospitality Management. Since the sports media world has changed drastically with social media and sports betting, Klein hopes to equip sports media majors with the various experiences they need to succeed even in nontraditional sports journalism outlets, Boardman said.
Bullock also hopes to bridge the gap between sports media and diversity and inclusion. Some electives in the program may prioritize conversations about the LGBTQ community, the inclusion of women in sports and sports media, or NBA and NFL’s involvement in the civil rights movements in recent years. This includes “Communicating Civic Engagement through Sports Media,” a course that will launch next year.
“I feel like one of the strengths of the program is that not only are we going to teach you and you’re going to learn from folks that are at the top of their field, but also we’re going to bring that inclusive culture into this community, and I think that’s going to be one of the standouts,” Bullock said. “Students are going to feel confident that they can have those conversations, cover or promote folks in those areas in a way that’s going to be refreshing in the field.”
Both Boardman and Bullock cited student interest and competition with other universities’ communications schools as integral factors in offering the major.
“From a competitive standpoint as well, in terms of attracting prospective students, we just think having this major is really going to help us, particularly because it’s a unique major,” Boardman said. “It’s one that isn’t confined to a single department here at Klein, but goes across all of our departments.”
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