Austin Peay State University’s College of Business is growing with the inclusion of a specialized sports management course next spring.

The special topics class will be led by the Nashville Predator Hockey Club’s senior vice president of sales, service and business strategy, Nat Harden. Harden has worked in some full-time capacity with the Predators for 26 years, and this experience will guide a lot of the course.

Developed by Harden and the APSU College of Business’s own Dr. Emily Lean, the class will act as a deep dive into professional sports management in all aspects, including revenue streams, departmental structures of sports organizations, data analysis, operations, business communications, sports marketing and related fields.

In a press release from APSU, Lean said this would be a great opportunity to learn from an experienced strategist in the field of sports management.

“We hope interest in this class is strong as we can continue our initiative to bring students access to the top industries and executives in the region,” Lean said.

The course will be available in a hybrid format for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in sports management. Space for the class will be limited, so students are encouraged to register early. Registration week begins October 23.

This class is one many new inclusions at Austin Peay following the partnership between the Predators and Montgomery County to develop F&M Bank Arena in 2020. Harden was also involved in this partnership, which has paved the way for basketball leaving the Dunn Center this year to be hosted in the new arena.

It is also one of many new courses made available in the College of Business recently, including a concentration in hospitality being announced last Spring as collaboration between APSU and Renaissance Nashville.