Melissa Macdonald, a student, shows her support for the new sports communication studies major.
The University of Rhode Island introduced a sports media and communication major this fall semester.
The major has three tracks which include focuses on sports culture, media and society, sports media production and strategic sports communication and information.
The major’s course curriculum is interdisciplinary according to Adam Roth, director of the Harrington School of Communication and Media Studies.
“I think it’s important for people to know that sports media is not just about the professional side,” said Roth. “There are really serious historical, theoretical, cultural, and intellectual ways of studying the role of sports in society, and we will have courses in those areas too.”
Roth said that faculty interest and student demand drove the department to create the major after the minor in sports media and communication was introduced in 2018.
As of the second week of classes, 17 students have transferred into the major, according to Roth. Thirteen of these students have the major as their primary major and the other four added it as a second major. These students are double majoring with either journalism, public relations or communication studies.
The major was approved in May 2019 after proposals were made to the University by Professor Kevin McClure and other faculty.
Aniekan Okon, a freshman undeclared major, said that he wanted to declare sports media and communication as his major.
Okon said that during a welcome day visit in April 2019, a faculty member informed him of the new major being developed, which helped him decide to attend the University.
As for future opportunities within the major, Okon said that he was excited to work with URI’s men’s basketball team. Although he is a former Providence College fan, Okon expressed that he wanted to follow the journey of the team.
“I’m just looking forward to being apart of that rise,” Okon said.
It is not common for a University to offer a stand alone major and degree program in sports media and communication, according to Roth.
“We believe that us having a stand alone major will give us a strong competitive advantage,” said Roth.
As for the marketing of the major, Dr. Elizabeth Aube-VanPatten, a lecturer in sports media and communication, said that there were ads running on all digital platforms purchased that will be running in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts running throughout September and the beginning of October.
A speaker series of individuals that are presently working on a more national level of sports media and communication is in the works, according to Aube-VanPatten.
One of the individuals is a URI alumni, according to Aube-VanPatten, who is “excited to potentially have the opportunity to come back.”
Aube-VanPatten, hired as one of the two sports media and communication full-time faculty members alongside Matthew Hodler, said that the two were looking forward to creating a major that they felt has been needed at URI for a long time.
“I think it’s been a long time coming,” said Aube-VanPatten.