ADSA 7503 Sports Finance

Sports today is a big business. At all levels, revenues currently exceed $65 billion. Colleges and universities have seen their cost per athlete increase by 52% over the past 5 years. With the vast amountof money involved and the visibility of the athletic programs, sports management has necessarily becomea separate discipline. Sports Management shares many similarities with other businesses, but there are critically important differences. This course focuses on the financial management of sports programs. The course is designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the basic concepts in sportsfinance. It will focus on creating an understanding of basic financial concepts applicable to allorganizations, including financial statement analysis, analyzing risk and return, and the time value of money. It will then apply these concepts to create an understanding of the financial drivers underlying sports management at the collegiate and professional levels. This will be accomplished through readings, videos, online class discussions, group projects, and individual reports.

Course overview

Department
Advancing Studies
School
ADV
Credits
3
Level
Graduate
Offered
Periodically in the Summer

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.00 / 5 · Very Good
183 responses
Instructor rating
4.11 / 5 · Very Good
183 responses
Terms evaluated
13
Most recent: Spring 2026

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2026Christopher Parker3.93.94.44.44.24.24.23.64–6 hrs/week17 of 24
Fall 2025Christopher Parker4.44.34.74.84.64.64.64.24–6 hrs/week22 of 39
Summer 2025David Ayer3.84.04.34.44.54.04.54.24–6 hrs/week10 of 20
Spring 2025Christopher Parker3.94.14.54.44.34.44.53.44–6 hrs/week15 of 23
Fall 2024Christopher Parker4.34.54.84.74.44.54.64.44–6 hrs/week25 of 45
Summer 2024David Ayer3.43.83.94.14.13.94.14.07–9 hrs/week8 of 21
Spring 2024Christopher Parker4.24.54.44.54.54.54.54.34–6 hrs/week11 of 19
Fall 2023Christopher Parker—————————18 of 28
Summer 2023David Ayer—————————11 of 18
Spring 2023Christopher Parker4.24.14.64.54.54.54.54.34–6 hrs/week15 of 20
Fall 2022Christopher Parker4.04.04.54.44.44.34.53.84–6 hrs/week18 of 20
Summer 2022David Ayer4.03.64.24.34.64.03.85.07–9 hrs/week5 of 20
Spring 2022Christopher Parker3.13.53.94.13.53.93.83.01–3 hrs/week8 of 17

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Christopher Parker
    Spring 2026, Fall 2025, Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 · Official rating 4.18/5
  • David Ayer
    Summer 2025, Summer 2024, Summer 2023, Summer 2022 · Official rating 3.79/5