How the University of North Texas Is Redefining Sports Business Education with Real-World Experience and Elite Partnerships in Frisco
By Yvonne Brown
In the dynamic world of sports, success hinges not just on the athletes but also on the skilled professionals behind the scenes. The University of North Texas is leading the charge in preparing the next generation of sports industry leaders through its innovative and dynamic Sport Entertainment Management program.
This program is committed to providing students with an exceptional education while fostering valuable partnerships with leading organizations in the sports industry in and around the city of Frisco, also aptly referred to as ‘Sports City USA.’ The curriculum centers around working with various local teams, major corporations, and sports tech companies, providing students with internships, networking opportunities, and practical experiences in event planning, marketing, branding, ticket sales, management, and more.
The program includes a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and two Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs: an online version for executives, and a traditional face-to-face cohort degree for those aiming to enter the industry. The curriculum covers general business courses, sport-specific courses, project-based learning, and industry engagement opportunities.
No Better Place Than Frisco
Dr. Bob Heere is the Director of Sport Entertainment Management and the mastermind behind the program. Originally from the Netherlands, he moved to the US over 20 years ago to pursue a Ph.D. in Sports Management. He has previously held academic appointments at the University of Texas, Florida State University, the Cruyff Institute for Sport Studies, and Auckland University of Technology. While working at the University of South Carolina, he was asked to consider a role as Program Director for a new Sports Management program at UNT at Frisco.
Dr. Heere discovered that UNT wanted to expand into Frisco and collaborate with local sports organizations to create something special, so he successfully transitioned into the role. Upon hiring industry colleague Dr. Matt Walker, they began building the program from scratch. Walker and Heere had initially met while studying for their PhDs together at Florida State, built a friendship from there, and remained connected.
“When I got Bob’s call, I jumped at the opportunity to work in a brand-new start-up environment, in the entrepreneurial sort of ecosystem Frisco presents,” Dr. Walker explains. “It was the type of opportunity we had been looking for, and it all just made good sense!”
“During the first year, our time was divided evenly between writing the curriculum and building industry relationships. UNT had an existing corporate partnership with the Dallas Cowboys. The purpose was to develop this into a more comprehensive educational collaboration. Now, the Cowboys are considered a founding partner for this degree,” Dr. Heere explains.
The plan was to leverage the Dallas Cowboys’ business model and operational excellence, providing UNT students real-world insights into how a major sports organization drives revenue, fosters innovation, and builds a global brand. The program continues to gain momentum, offering students, whether undergrad or graduate, hands-on learning experiences directly connected to the Cowboys organization.
A Non-Traditional Classroom
The degree is split fifty-fifty between core business classes, like accounting, finance, and organizational behavior – elements included in any business degree, coupled with sport concentration courses. From day one, they have committed that each course consists of an industry partner with whom the students collaborate on a semester-long project. Essentially, the partner serves as a ‘client’ for the class.
It's important to note that the program is not focused on educating a coach or trainer-type role, but rather on what is considered the back-of-house area, emphasizing the sports business's operational, managerial, and revenue-generating aspects. It includes crucial courses such as marketing and accounting, and then further curriculum to concentrate on the business side of sports, thereby providing students with both perspectives.
Unlike traditional classroom teaching methods focused on lectures and memorization, the format is an experiential and project-based environment. Students also participate in immersive boot camps three times a year at various locations, where they work on case studies, hear from industry leaders, and present to panels of experts from partnering organizations and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and the Texas Legends, to name just a few, in addition to many more.
“One of our value propositions as a program is that we are almost a lecture-free environment. A non-traditional classroom make-up,” Dr. Walker clarifies. “When we were starting out, Bob and I knew that the traditional survey and lecture courses were not how this generation learns and picks up information.”
The overall vision for the program was to ensure the students engage with the industry at every opportunity and increase their knowledge and experience as they work with real leaders who are experts in their field, to create robust business degrees, enabling them to enter the competitive US sports industry.
Examples of a few projects students have undertaken include: Partnering with the Dallas Cowboys on marketing strategies, creating marketing plans for PGA of America’s coaching clinics, working with the Dallas Wings to find a naming rights sponsor for their new practice facility, collecting and researching data for venue operations at the Dallas Open Tennis Tournament, and even collaborating with a Dutch sports tech company to develop a brand strategy for their entry into the US market.
Beyond the Degree
Post-degree placement is also an essential focus of this program. At the MBA level, 70 percent of students enter the sports industry, while 30 percent choose different sectors. The program’s first graduates were in 2021, and the program has since had graduates who have earned career positions with each of the respective professional sports teams in DFW.
In turn, many of the partners often approach Dr. Heere looking for talent to fit a category or position, both long-term and short-term, within their organization. Students can obtain placement anywhere from general sales positions to upper-level management. One student who started in ticket sales at FC Dallas is now the vice president of corporate partnerships for the organization.
“The program is currently ranked #1 in the world among online graduate sport management programs (according to Sports Business Post Graduate Rankings),” Dr. Heere explains. “A lot of the success has to do with the location and our ability to connect with the right organizations across Frisco and the greater North Texas area. I’m very proud of how we've leveraged these partnerships. We can do things here in Frisco that nobody else could do!”
Sports Powerhouses Turned Industry Partners
Frisco Style got to connect with some of the industry partners to better understand their perspectives on the collaborative efforts between UNT’s Sport Entertainment Management degree program and the premier sports organizations in and around Frisco and DFW.
Twenty years ago, few could have imagined that the Dallas Cowboys would one day call Frisco home, let alone be so immersed within both Frisco ISD and UNT in various ways. Aaron Kastner, Director of Corporate Partnership Marketing for the Dallas Cowboys, shares just how meaningful the partnership between the Cowboys and UNT’s program is.
“It’s a unique partnership that showcases our commitment to innovation and helping develop the next generation of sports business professionals. We take great pride in seeing our graduates not only land full-time roles but also move into leadership positions. It’s inspiring to see the program gain momentum, and it’s something we’re extremely passionate about. At its core, this program allows us to play a small but significant role in shaping future talent, and that’s something we’re very proud of,” Kastner explains.
PGA of America’s Chief People Officer, Sandy Cross, too, is proud of the partnership between PGA of America and UNT’s program. She shares, “We are tremendously proud of and grateful for our partnership with the University of North Texas. It not only aligns with our mission to grow participation in the game of golf, but it also creates valuable opportunities for students to discover the business of golf and the myriads of career opportunities it offers them.” Ms. Cross adds, “Collaborating with UNT allows us to tap into a rich pool of talent and enthusiasm, which helps drive innovation and engagement within our sport. This partnership is truly an honor, as it reinforces our commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders.
Ross Lanford serves as Assistant General Manager of the Frisco RoughRiders and praises the program for providing extraordinary opportunities for its students. “For the past five years, this program has been able to open the door to the sports world and provide students with invaluable first-hand experiences. For some students, the experience doesn’t end with the conclusion of the class, but instead, [they] have earned an opportunity to intern with the team! We are excited to be a part of this program and look forward to our continued partnership with UNT,” Ross shares.
As Vice President of Human Resources for FC Dallas, Eliud Jimenez believes partnering with the UNT Sports Entertainment Management program has been a rewarding experience. “The students come prepared, eager to learn, and bring fresh perspectives to the industry. At FC Dallas, we will continue to recruit Game Day Staff and interns from this program to help them develop and enhance their skills, preparing them for future opportunities across the sports industry,” he shares.
A Student Perspective
Joseph Hiponia is a Junior in the BBA Program. He was working in various jobs after high school and then chose to take some classes at Collin College. Eventually, he felt the pull to obtain a degree and learned about the Sport Entertainment Management program. Specifically, he was looking for a very hands-on style format, not purely lecture after lecture. Additionally, the connections the program has with industry partners were a huge draw for him, most notably FC Dallas, as he is an avid soccer supporter and aspires to work in the soccer realm.
“It's been awesome! I transferred from Collin County, where I took general classes. Once I got accepted to the program, the biggest difference for me was having small class sizes,” explains Joseph. “I wasn't just a number lost among 80-100 people. You really get attention from professors and feel like you get to know them well, build relationships, and truly learn from their experience in the industry.”
Joseph has gained valuable experience by volunteering with Dallas Trinity, a professional women's soccer team. His responsibilities have included marshalling match media operations, ensuring the correct positioning of media personnel on the field, as well as working on fan engagement initiatives at FC Dallas. His ultimate goal and dream career aspiration is to secure a position with an organization involved in event operations at the World Cup 2026.
The Future is Bright
Looking to the future, Dr. Heere and the team are launching the UNT Sports Innovation Space (SIS@UNT) to attract and support companies eager to enter the US market and establish a presence in Frisco. The US sports industry, unlike many international models, is decentralized, with different organizations operating across professional, collegiate, and youth levels. SIS@UNT guides companies through this landscape with expert mentorship and tailored go-to-market strategies, helping companies scale effectively in the US.
The new space will be housed in the Plug and Play Sports Tech Center within the Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research Center at The Star in Frisco. To support this effort, Frisco EDC provided a grant to establish this innovation space.
“Our mission is to help international companies find the right product-market fit in the world’s most complex and competitive sports market,” says Dr. Heere. “Through SIS@UNT, we're creating a launchpad where ideas, innovation, and opportunity intersect.”
Of Plug and Play’s involvement, Director David Steele shares, “Plug and Play is super happy to be involved with the UNT program in a multitude of different ways. I get the opportunity to sit on the advisory board and to see firsthand how the program is growing the future leaders in sports, as well as helping shape the culture of the program.”
“Our team always looks forward to engaging and involving the students in the events that we host to give them a true hands-on experience. We also like to provide some insight into a different opportunity inside the sports industry, outside of just the teams, brands, and leagues, and provide the students with another possible career path in sports. Working with Dr. Heere and the team at UNT is instrumental in this Frisco ecosystem, and Plug and Play is glad to be a part of everything that is being built in the program,” Mr. Steele adds.
Going forward, Dr. Walker also noted plans to expand the Sport Entertainment Management program’s online presence without limitation while maintaining high-quality student intake. They have established a strong value proposition, and the objective is to continue developing and improving over the next five years to demonstrate that participants are part of a theoretical degree combined with real-world, applicable experience.
“The support from our team has been unwavering, and the president has been so helpful with all of our exploits throughout this whole process, you know, just allowing us to work here and then giving us all the resources we needed to make it successful and believing in us, it's been amazing,” Dr. Walker shares.
It’s obvious the Sport Entertainment Management program is pretty special and provides valuable and unique opportunities for students. Its partnerships play a significant role in enriching the educational experience at UNT and not only prepare students for careers in sports management but also contribute to the academic environment and exciting landscape in Frisco – Sports City USA!
Yvonne Brown is a Frisco-based freelance writer who enjoys lattes, authentic Italian food, preferably on a patio, and exploring all aspects of North Texas life with her family and friends.
