A new sports studies minor was introduced at Oswego State this fall to give students an opportunity to discover cultural and societal impact of sports.

Plans to create the minor came from the collective minds of Timothy Delaney, the sociology department chair and Christopher Mack, an associate professor of history, who share a love for sports.

The two began to toss around the idea of a sports studies minor when they carpooled together from Auburn to Oswego several years ago, Delaney said.

Later on, after traveling to Ireland for a sportsmanship conference, Delaney and Mack discussed publishing a book of essays from international scholars on the subject and the idea to create the minor came up again.

Mack said during those conversations he realized Oswego State offered many sports-related courses. They then began to work on the minor’s creation.

“Clearly, many students at Oswego are interested in sport[s] and what Dr. Delaney and I wanted to do was take advantage of that interest,” Mack said. “To have a rigorous academic study of sport[s] and the variety of roles that it plays in our life and society and the broader culture, both in the west and globally.”

Mack serves as the program’s primary advisor and program director. Delaney is also an advisor and the co-program director.

Since Delaney is a sociologist and Mack is a historian, the sport studies minor consists of both core and elective courses from both their disciplines.

“The sports studies minor is interdisciplinary, which is something that colleges and universities value,” Delaney said.

Courses offered include sports broadcasting, health psychology, sport psychology and drug use and abuse in society.

“We have found that communications majors, especially those in journalism and broadcasting, are quite interested in this minor as some of these students will find jobs in the sports field,” Delaney said.

Brian Krosky, a junior journalism major, is one of those students. After hearing about the minor and wanting to work in media and public relations for athletic communications, he decided to declare his sports studies minor.

“I’m just excited they added something like this for kids who want a specific concentration,” Krosky said.

A total of 18 hours are required for the minor. SUNY requires nine of those hours to be core courses with a 100- level course. Nine additional elective hours were added by Delaney and Mack.

Through the program, students also have an opportunity to travel abroad to see how sports fit into other cultures and their societies for credit. This spring a trip is planned to go to Ireland to the Waterford Institute of Technology from May 16 through 26.

Part of the trip will look at traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and camogie to see the roles they have played in the country’s history and society.

Students will also have to give a presentation at the annual Sportsmanship Day Symposium held every first Thursday in March. The symposium was created by Delaney.

Twenty students are enrolled in the sports studies minor as of Nov. 1, Delaney said.

“We suspect that as more people become aware of this, that they’ll take advantage of it, and we’re hoping to continue to expand the number of courses that are available,” Mack said. “And also we’re going to be pursuing some other international travel options.”

The next possible trip would travel to Barcelona next spring.