GCC Offers New Athletic Facility Administration Certificate

GREENFIELD — Want to jump into the world of sports management but aren’t sure where to begin? Greenfield Community College’s new Athletic Facility Administration Certificate is a first step toward working at a fitness center, stadium, or other sports facility, or continuing on for further education. The new certificate can be completed in one year of full-time study at GCC and includes a new Introduction to Sports Management course as well as existing GCC courses in Sport Stadium Economics, personal training, statistics, and basic first aid. Recognizing the importance of hands-on learning, the certificate program also requires an internship in a sports facility. Those who complete the certificate will be qualified for an entry-level job in an athletic facility and/or to continue study toward an Associate in Arts Business Administration Transfer (BAT) degree. Like other “stackable” certificates at GCC, all of the courses required for the Athletic Facility Administration Certificate can be applied toward a GCC Associates degree. The BAT degree is designed to provide a seamless transition to Bachelor’s degree programs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst or other schools with sports management programs, including Westfield State University, Smith College, and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. All of the courses required for the Certificate and BAT degrees can be used to transfer into these Bachelor’s degree programs. In designing the new certificate program, GCC’s business faculty looked at the educational background employers in the field of sports management want in their employees. The requirements of the new certificate were affirmed at a recent seminar sponsored by the Boston Celtics. This spring, nine GCC students and staff and eight students from area high schools traveled to TD Garden in Boston to attend the Celtics-sponsored seminar on how to break into sports management. Along with sports experience, the seminar presenters said that anyone wanting to pursue a career in sports management should have at least a year of college, get a business degree and complete internships related to sports management.