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ENGLEWOOD, Colo.** — The Denver Broncos and Colorado State University on Monday announced the creation of The Denver Broncos Sports Management Institute.
This unique program, partnering the Broncos with one of the nation's top research universities, will debut this spring by offering three courses to select CSU undergraduate students. The classes will count toward a newly developed minor in sports management at Colorado State, pending faculty council approval.
"We are excited and proud to partner with a world-class university like Colorado State to create the Denver Broncos Sports Management Institute," Broncos President and CEO Joe Ellis said. "This program will allow us to expand our involvement with higher education in our home state and help mentor local students interested in pursuing a career in sports."
Students will benefit from a variety of course offerings developed by Colorado State faculty and take part in hands-on experiences and opportunities with the Denver Broncos organization. The program will include internships with the Broncos, guest lectures from management and case studies developed in coordination with the team.
"The Denver Broncos are rightly considered one of the finest-run franchises in all of professional sports, so the opportunity to have our students work closely with such a quality organization as part of their learning experience is an amazing opportunity," CSU President Tony Frank said. "Combining the talents and experiences of our faculty and students with a top-notch organization like the Denver Broncos makes this a unique program, and one we're proud to be part of at Colorado State."
"We're excited about starting this new partnership, and even more excited about what will develop as our faculty and students work closely with the Broncos leadership," Frank said. "This is exactly the kind of private-public partnership that will be transformational for our students, and also in professional sports and higher education."
Beginning in the Spring semester, the first course offerings will be:
- Foundations of Sport Management
- Inclusive Sport Organizations
- Sports Marketing
Foundations of Sports Management and Inclusive Sport Organizations will be taught by Dr. Albert Bimper, senior associate athletic director and assistant professor of Ethnic Studies. Bimper was an all-Mountain West offensive lineman at CSU before playing one season with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was a backup center for Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
The sports marketing class will be taught by Todd Donavan, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business.
The institute builds on an existing relationship between the Broncos and Colorado State that has included work on a variety of topics, including turf management, business, marketing and public relations courses and activities as well as numerous CSU student internships with the Broncos.
The program will initially be housed in the Department of Management within the College of Business, but the academic framework involves four of CSU's eight colleges, including classes from the following schools:
The College of Business
- Marketing and promotions
The College of Liberal Arts
- Video production and public relations
- Sports in social science
The College of Health and Human Sciences
- Hospitality and human resource management
- Event and conference planning
- Facilities construction and management
The College of Agricultural Sciences
- Turf management Current students will be able to apply to the Sports Management minor at http://source.colostate.edu/broncos-institute-application/.
