DAPHNE, Ala.—The United States Sports Academy concluded an agreement with Manipal University, India’s oldest private university, to provide the country’s first sport management degree program in the second most populous country in the world and take a significant step toward building a sports industry there.

The academy will provide the sports content and other curricular support for the Manipal Bachelor of Sports Administration degree. The agreement brings to reality the Protocol for Cooperation that was signed between the respective institutions in April 2008.

The agreement was signed on July 30 in India by Academy Vice President T.J. Rosandich and the Registrar of Manipal University G.K. Prabhu. Rosandich, who was appointed to the Manipal Board of Studies as the sports-education expert, met with faculty and officials to finalize the Manipal BSA curriculum while visiting the campus.