This article will address the topic of information technology for sports management and will attempt to provide an overview of how information technology (called IT) is changing the nature of management practices in sport. The discussion of IT applications in the profession can be done in a few broad areas:
1st How the tools of today’s “technological revolution” can be applied to the administration of sport.
2nd How developments such as the Internet and world wide web help in specific management functions such as training and marketing
3rd How e-commerce can make participation in sports more available through lower priced equipment and lastly,
4th The digital divide: and underlying condition that keeps some from participating fully in the benefits in the IT revolution.
The Technological Revolution
We are living in the midst of one of those very unusual occurrences that come along once every few generations: a society wide paradigm shift. The close of the last millennium has seen a fundamental change that is moving society the age of industry to the age of information. The currency in this new society that is being formed is information and the medium of exchange is called IT (and sometimes computer technology – CT). IT is simply the tools and methods used for the identification, organization and manipulation of facts that we call data. IT has become the engine that is driving all sectors of today’s economy be it industry, government, education or indeed, sports.