Coastal Alabama Community College and the United States Sports Academy signed an agreement on Tuesday, June 25, to renew their longtime partnership and provide interested students, both athletes and non-athletes, better access to degrees in sports management.

Coastal Alabama’s new sports management program is now available for fall semester applicants, aimed to help educate students on subjects such as sports administration, facility management, event marketing, finance, talent management and more. Members of the U.S. Sports Academy leadership group met with Coastal Alabama officials Tuesday, both USSA President Steve Condon and CACC President Aaron Milner in attendance, at the Fairhope campus to  finalize the deal.

“We’re already discussing that some representatives from the Sports Academy will be visiting our different campuses to meet with our student athlete groups and other interested students,” Mary Beth Lancaster, dean of academic instruction, said in the college’s announcement. “What’s really great is that the Sports Academy is our neighbor in Baldwin County, and this partnership provides a pathway for students who enjoy participating in sports and/or want to have a sports-related career.”

The U.S. Sports Academy, founded in 1972 before moving to its current Daphne location in 1983, is the country’s only accredited freestanding sports university. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral courses are provided to more than 1,300 students both on campus and online each year. With this partnership, USSA also offers a new path for CACC students to move on to the academy and pursue a higher degree in either sports business, coaching, exercise science or business administration.

“Often, students know what they want to do, but maybe they haven't gotten a clear direction on their pathway,” Lancaster added. “I think that this partnership will be strengthened because we are able to talk with students more and help them to understand the options they have that may coincide with their interests. If they would like to stay in the area of sports, they have multiple options on the business side of sports that maybe people don't often realize.”