The College of Communication Journalism Department is in the early stages of establishing a new major — sports journalism.
Journalism Department Chair Brian McGrory wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press there are no “immediate plans” for a specific sports journalism major despite current efforts to expand sports offerings in the department.
Associate professors Sherrod Blakely and Michael Holley are collaborating with McGrory to broaden the sports journalism program. Blakely said student demand for more sports-specific journalism courses is evident, and plans for a full-fledged major program are being laid out and defined.
“Make no mistake about it, the intention is to have a sports journalism major,” Blakely said. “There’s a lot of energy and excitement around that coming about, hopefully sometime in the near future.”
Although the timetable for when the major will be established is not set, current journalism students are excited about the prospect of a sports-specific program for future students.
“It’s a very good option, and it’s a very good pathway for those students who really love sports, who notice that is what they want to do and have their eye on the prize,” said junior journalism student Camila Montes De Oca.
Another junior journalism student, Tyler Davis, said he hopes the sports journalism major is fully developed because specialized classes will benefit students in their careers.
“I feel like having a separate major for that would stand out more to employers,” Davis said.
Graduate communications student Caleb Tsegaye said he is currently trying to take any courses involving sports, so he would “love” to major in sports journalism if he were an undergraduate.
Tsegaye said his undergraduate university introduced a journalism major during his time there, so he witnessed “the growing pains” of a major program. He said he thinks developing concentrated journalism programs, including sports journalism, will help journalism students hone their niche.
“BU is in a place that’s really rich with a lot of sports, and its history with sports,” Tsegaye said. “It’s great that we [will] have a sports journalism major to really flex on that angle.”
Tsegaye has taken classes with both Holley and Blakely, and said he is excited to see where the program goes.
Graduate student Charlotte Snoonian said she’s “sad” she won’t be able to switch over to a sports journalism major during her studies, but she is “really excited for what this means” for journalism students in COM.
“I hear a lot of people saying journalism is a dying business, so I think the fact that the journalism program is expanding like this is a really good sign,” Snoonian said.
Blakely said COM alums’ success in sports media is an indicator of desire for the major. He noted 2024 graduate Belle Frazier, who is now the beat reporter for the Utah Hockey Club at the Salt Lake Tribune.
“Having those type of success stories and knowing that the genesis of much of that began in the classroom, in sports-centric classes that we have at BU, really does make it clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that a sports journalism major is something that we absolutely have to invest in and make happen sooner rather than later,” Blakely said.
Expanding the sports journalism program at COM is just one step in the department’s ambition to be the leader of the pack, Blakely said.
“The ultimate goal isn’t just to have a program, it’s to be the best program in the country,” Blakely said. “We plan to be number one. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that.”
