A group of 5XÉçÇø students spent their spring break learning in Italy and Greece and attending the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics as part of the Business of the Olympics, an advanced sports administration course.
Mark Lyberger, Ph.D., professor of sports administration and director of the School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration in the College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS), and Jennifer Ray-Tomasek, Ph.D., assistant professor and professional studies program coordinator in EHHS, designed the advanced sports administration course to explore the complex and dynamic commercial ecosystem surrounding the world’s most prominent sporting event.
The Olympics are a major multinational event that covers many areas, including economics and revenue streams, marketing and sponsorships, and the policies and rules of the Games, Lyberger told Kent State Today. The trip was part of the eight-week, three-credit course that covered those areas as well as the historical evolution of the Games, their governance structure, and strategic operations that drive the modern Olympic movement.
Eleven students made the trip, representing a wide variety of majors, including sports administration, biology, speech pathology and audiology.
The group visited Olympic sites in Milan, attended a hockey game from the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympics, and then traveled to Greece, where they toured the historic Olympic venue, the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, along with other sites.
On the trip, students had the chance to engage with industry practitioners, participate in experiential projects, and analyze real-world case studies related to Olympic planning, marketing, finance, operations, politics, policy, media, and technology.
