Jacob Bealer is taking his sport education to the next level
By: Anthony Eckert
First Published: July 9, 2024
Topics: Graduate Students, Sport, Sport Management, STHM School, Undergrad Students
Always a sports fan, Jacob Bealer grew up traveling from his family’s home in Telford, PA, to Philadelphia to attend games—everything from the Eagles to the Flyers to the Phillies.
So, when it came time to choose what to study in college, he chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in sports and recreation management from Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM).
And he’s done just that, completing his bachelor’s degree in May 2024— and now, one could say he’s going into extra innings.
Bealer will continue his education at STHM in the fall, pursuing his master’s degree in sports management through the school’s 4+1 program. The decision, he says, is a “no-brainer.”
“I always knew I wanted to go back and get a master’s degree,” he says. “So I figured, stay in a city that I like, stay at Temple, a school that I love, and keep doing the work that I love – not to mention saving $30,000 – it’s a pretty awesome deal.”
He explains that, unlike other college towns, Philadelphia is home to multiple professional sports teams, making it the perfect place to pursue his career path and giving him the opportunity to work with the Temple Owls football team.
In addition to his classes and role with the football team, he served as president of SAGA, Temple’s Sports and Governance Association. The organization runs group trips, hosts guest speakers and holds interactive panels to allow students to learn more about the sport management industry.
His proudest moment with SAGA, though, happened before stepping into his role as president. In 2022, when Bealer was the director of professional outreach, he booked the speakers for the 2022 Temple Sport Business Conference, an annual student-run event featuring professionals from the sport business world.
Bealer is proud of the work he put into organizing this conference, which included panel discussions featuring AJ Vaynerchuk, co-founder of VaynerSports, and Michele Roberts, the former executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.
While an undergraduate student, Bealer also presented research at the College Sport Research Institute Conference in Columbia, South Carolina. Along with STHM’s professor Jonathan Howe, Bealer analyzed how identity affects the career paths of Division I athletic directors, tying in aspects like race and gender to study their impact on job advancement.
At this same conference, Bealer competed on a team in a case study competition along with two other teams from Temple. The competition was related to the Division I Transformation Committee and asked students to identify ways that the committee could re-organize in pursuing a stronger focus on student athletes. Bealer’s team won first place in the competition.
He believes STHM’s sport and recreation management program has set him up for a successful career.
“STHM is fantastic for sport business,” says Bealer, adding that the school has given him incredible opportunities to succeed in the world of sport business.
“They have a formula to create successful sport business people – and it works.”
