Lynn University

The World Cup Experience, a new experiential learning class to be taught by Lynn University sports management professor Chad Barr this spring, caught ESPN the Magazine’s attention in the September issue.

In his "Page 2" piece (pictured to the right), ESPN reporter Tim Bella listed a number of college courses aimed at the world of sports, including Lynn's upcoming World Cup class. Barr, who has led students on academic tours to ESPN’s winter and summer X-Games, is an advocate for hands-on learning where students work behind the scenes of major sporting events. And with the exposure that program and its students have received backstage at ESPN, the phone call about this inclusion isn't particularly surprising.

“ESPN has been a great partner for us at Lynn University sports management,” said Ted Curtis, assistant professor of sports management who also leads many of the program's experiential learning courses. “It is a huge advantage for our students to be affiliated, in such a meaningful way, with the worldwide leader in sports.”

Lynn’s World Cup Experience, a course taught in South Africa during the lead-up to the 2010 Cup, will give students the opportunity to explore first-hand the politics of sports on an international level, including topics such as the effect of skin color on playing time in certain countries.

Bella aligned Lynn’s course with other experiential learning, sport-centric courses at university’s including Penn State, MIT and Carnegie-Mellon University.