What factors should I use to choose between USC and Ohio State for sports management?

USC is the more natural fit for a student who wants to build a sports-business network in Los Angeles and pair sports interests with a broad business education. Its sports-focused opportunities are closely connected to the Marshall School of Business and USC’s Sports Business Institute, with access to a large pro-sports, media, entertainment, agency, and college-athletics market. Ohio State is especially compelling for a student who wants a more directly sport-industry-centered undergraduate curriculum and a major public university environment anchored by one of the country’s most visible athletic departments.

At USC, look closely at how you would combine a business major or other primary program with sports business coursework, student organizations, case competitions, and Los Angeles internships. The strongest advantage is location: during the academic year, students can pursue experience with teams, venues, media companies, brands, agencies, and sports-adjacent entertainment organizations without leaving the region. USC can be particularly valuable for interests such as sports media, sponsorship, marketing, athlete representation, entertainment partnerships, and professional sports operations.

Ohio State’s sport industry program is designed more explicitly around studying the business, social, and organizational side of sport. Its curriculum and experiential opportunities can provide a structured path into areas such as facility and event management, college athletics, sport marketing, community sport, and administration. Columbus also offers meaningful access to professional teams, minor-league organizations, event venues, and the university’s own enormous athletics operation. A student who wants to learn from the scale and day-to-day workings of a major Big Ten athletic department may find Ohio State unusually practical.

Compare the required courses, not just program titles. Check whether each school lets you take classes in finance, analytics, marketing, communications, law, or data analysis, since those transferable skills matter substantially in sports hiring. Ask each program for examples of recent internship sites, the point at which students can intern, the availability of faculty or alumni mentorship, and whether internships earn credit.

Cost should carry real weight because entry-level sports roles can be competitive and not always highly paid. USC’s Los Angeles network may justify a higher price for a student prepared to use it actively; Ohio State can offer excellent preparation and a powerful athletics brand, particularly if it creates meaningfully less debt.