Falk College Endowed Professor of Sport Management Rick Burton took 14 students to Australia from June 1-18 as part of a three-credit course titled SPM 300 – Australia: Sport, History and Culture. The course was also cross-listed as SOC 300 and much of the focus of this year’s trip was focused on the narrative of race in sports. It was the fourth time the course was offered.
The students stay in each city about five days and along with classroom work, mix in cultural studies with trips to the rainforest and in-depth study of indigenous communities. The group visited Melbourne, Sydney, and Cairns (the Great Barrier Reef), taking in professional football and rugby, as well as snorkeling, scuba diving and “jungle surfing” in the Daintree National Park. The group visited the Queen Victoria Markets, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the famed MCG), Australia’s Sporting Hall of Fame, the Rod Laver Arena (home of Australian Open), Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Cape Tribulation, where British explorer James Cook ran aground in 1770.
Burton, who previously worked in Australia as the commissioner of the Australian National Basketball League, said the purpose of the trip is to expose American students to a different country’s sport, history and culture.
“This trip gives our students a chance to see a different sports culture that is as vibrant as the U.S.,” Burton said. “It’s valuable for them to get embedded in an unfamiliar setting and see the unique variables. It’s great that Syracuse students get this international exposure and we have so many friends for them to visit during our time in Australia.”