Faculty from the Management and Marketing Department announced last week that local radio personality Tom Gamble will serve as director of the new Sports Business program.

Gamble, an NKU graduate, serves as one half of the “Two Angry Guys” sports talk show on “Homer” (1360 AM).

Gamble is also the Executive Vice President of Don Schumacher and Associates, a sports marketing company in Cincinnati.

The Sports Business program, which was officially added to the roster of classes this semester, is aimed at preparing students for careers and leadership opportunities in sport business and recreational management.

The program focuses heavily on the business side of sport and is offered through the College of Business.

Gamble said he hopes the program will better prepare students for the world of sport business before they graduated.

“[Don Schumacher and Associates] had utilized interns every semester essentially from schools all across the Midwest and couldn’t help but notice the lack of preparation and really the lack of skills from people who were juniors and seniors,” he said.

Gamble said he thought NKU was a “perfect match for a program that would better prepare students for the world of sport business and actually for leadership roles in sport business.”

The program will expand upon classes already offered at NKU.

“Actually we’ve had Sports Marketing as a class for probably the last six or seven years and that grew into a concentration within the Marketing major,” said Dr. Matthew Shank, Chair of the Management and Marketing Department, who helped develop the program.

An advisory board, composed of individuals in the local sport business community, as well as educators, helped develop the curriculum and ways to market the program. The faculty will continue to consult them, Gamble said.

Shank said twelve people have completed the paperwork with the registrar to declare the major.

“It’s pretty amazing that we’re at that number frankly,” said Gamble. “We’re only three weeks into the current semester and really nobody essentially outside of referrals and word of mouth knows that it exists.”

Gamble said he hoped to form corporate partnerships with local sport organizations, which will, among other things, help place students in internships and jobs.

“We have big, big plans beyond what [students] are learning in the classroom,” said Gamble.

A lecture series focusing on issues in sport business as well as events conceived, promoted and operated by Sport Business undergraduates are among the ideas under consideration.

“[We’ll cover everything] from marketing teams to marketing facilities to promoting to selling,” said Gamble.

The program will focus on different levels of sport business as well.

“People have the misconception that it’s professional level only,” said Shank. “We’re talking about people who work for sporting goods manufacturers or people that would be involved in getting more people to participate in sports.”