Deep dive into the University of Oregon’s MS Sports Product Management programme

The sporting goods market, which includes many different product types, such as athletic footwear, exercise equipment, licensed sports merchandise, and athletic apparel, is a billion-dollar industry. Sporting goods store sales in the United States alone amounted to roughly 64.5 billion U.S. dollars in the year 2021. For these reasons, there’s intense competition for roles in this bullish industry. In the US, there’s one university with a proven track record of creating and nurturing the future business leaders of the sports product industry: the University of Oregon. It’s where Phil Knight, co-founder of sneaker and apparel goliath Nike, went to college and the home of the Lundquist College of Business.  Within the top b-school, you’ll find a unique MS Sports Product Management (SPM) focused on teaching the “Business of Sports and Outdoor Product Creation,” which is based in Portland, Oregon, the Silicon Valley of sports products.

In their final term, students take the Industry Projects course. Brands provide “key business opportunities or challenges that our students solve or address in the form of a business strategy presentation at the end of the 10-week term,” says Panganiban. “The goal is to allow the students to apply all their learnings to real-life business cases.” Securing a future position is another possible outcome.

The Sports Product Management is an 18-month in-person graduate programme – with a 21-month online alternative – that covers the entire product creation lifecycle of the sports and outdoor industry: insights, creation, business, global, and launch.

“The programme is still one of its kind in the US, if not globally,” says Professor Jinky Panganiban. “We combine the ‘art of making’ and the ‘business of making’ such that our students graduate with full comprehension and experience in the business of sports products to get a leg up as they enter the industry. Our curriculum is managed and taught by senior executives from the industry – as opposed to an all-academic faculty – who ensure that we are in lockstep, if not ahead of the curve, in anticipating future needs of the industry.”

“I always tell the students that this is akin to a 10-week interview for a potential position in the industry,” Panganiban says. “Several of our students are hired by brands straight out of final presentations.”

Online students like Miguel Balagot join four on-site learning experiences (residencies) that take place in Portland, Oregon. These include company visits, networking events with the industry, panel discussions, development workshops, and time with professors. Balagot finds the residencies “really helpful” to get hands-on experience in the SPM Innovation Lab. “Another opportunity I’ve enjoyed is the mock interviews we’ve had with actual industry recruiters,” he says. In addition to the four on-site residencies, online students have the unique opportunity to join the Portland students for an international trip to Asia in the fall of their second year. During this immersive experience, they have the chance to visit a real factory and witness the production process first-hand, gaining valuable insights by touching the product as it is being made on the line. Furthermore, the trip includes first-hand experiences with international retail in Tokyo, providing a well-rounded perspective on the global aspects of the industry.

Having spaces such as the university’s SPM Innovation Lab – a product-making space – is a big bonus too. “The Innovation Lab allowed me to immerse myself in various materials to prototype my team’s idea for pickleball shoes," says Taiwanese student Nico Lin. "Because of this, I found it easy to acquire the skills for my internship in global apparel manufacturing.” 

Lin spent the summer interning at leading innovative clothing manufacturer MAS Holdings in Sri Lanka. Here, she got to apply her previous background in data analysis to contribute to the creation of better products for women. “The global internship programme has been an incredible journey, providing me with personal and professional growth,” she says.

Oregon is home to 3,000 companies that provide diverse recreational and sporting opportunities to test and try new products with a passionate consumer base. It’s in the hub of the sports and outdoor industry, with US$29 billion in economic output. And SPM students are in the thick of it all – with more to look forward to next year.

The incoming 2024 cohort will be based at the university’s new northeast Portland campus. According to Eberle, the SPM programme has begun to reach out internationally to increase its  global view in its teaching.

“SPM is constantly striving to gain the brightest instructors who can share the most recent industry knowledge from a global perspective,” he says. “Through these efforts, SPM can introduce students to the best industry connections in the world, big and small.”

Learn more about the University of Oregon, Sports Product Management Master’s Program.