Sport Management Minor Careers and Graduate Study


Sport Management Minor ~ Careers and Graduate Study

FACTS

  • There are currently more than four million sport-related jobs in the United States and the number is growing.
  • There is a great diversity of career opportunities available in the world of sport and sport-related organizations.
  • There remains fierce competition for sport management positions.

In 1991, a sports executive career recruiter estimated that there existed approximately 4.5 million sport-related jobs at all levels in this country alone.  He broke these employment opportunities into six broad categories:

  • Marketing ~ 1.5 million jobs
  • Entrepreneurship ~ 1.5 million jobs
  • Administration ~ 500,000 jobs
  • Representation ~ 370,000 jobs
  • Media ~ 300,000 jobs
  • Other sports-related areas ~ 720,000 jobs

By the year 2010 the estimated number of total job and career opportunities should be 20 percent to 30 percent greater.

There are many job opportunities in the world of sport.  The following is a partial list of general career opportunities for graduates of sport management programs.

~ Amateur, competitive sports including youth, junior and senior high school, collegiate and university levels

~ Amateur, competitive sports/leagues and conference offices

~ Amateur sport agencies, including the NCAA, NAIA, AAU, etc.

~ Armed services recreation and competitive sports

~ Athletic representation firms

~ City and state sport commissions

~ Corporate and industrial fitness and wellness programs

~ Corporate sport marketing departments (Kodak, Pepsi, Nike, etc.)

~  Entrepreneurship opportunities

~ Facility and stadium management, including recreation, intramural, and sport activities

~ Federal and state recreation and parks, including tourism and travel

~ Fitness, health, and wellness clubs

~ Football bowl organizations, such as the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, etc.

~ International sport management

~ Law, including representation and agency relationships

~ Municipal sports authorities

~ Non-profit youth agencies involving recreation and/or sport such as the YMCAs and YWCAs, Boys Clubs, Girls Clubs, and Catholic Youth Organizations

~ Municipal recreation organizations

~ Professional sports – individual teams and league offices

~ Proprietary recreation businesses, i.e., 'Discovery Zones’

~ Public, private, and specialized sport, racquet, golf, and aquatic clubs

~ Recreation youth camps

~ Resort and hotel recreation and leisure organizations

~ Special event firms

~ Sports announcing and broadcasting, in radio and television

~ Sport governing bodies

~ Sports information and media relations at the college, university, and professional levels

~ Sport manufacturing

~ Sport merchandising, wholesale and retail sales

~ Sport officiating

~ Sports statistics at the collegiate, professional, media levels

~ Sports writing and/or journalism, for newspaper, magazine and book publishers

~ Sport tourism, travel and cruise opportunities

~ Sport marketing agencies

~ Sport promotion, marketing, and event management entities

~ Summer sport camps

~ Etc., etc., etc.!

A multitude of job opportunities exist today for the would-be sport manager and/or coach.  To be competitive in the sport job market it is necessary to possess formal training and education, including meaningful field experiences.  The internship experience is a critical part of the formal education of any future sport manager or coach.  Many of the strategies and tactics that are utilized to secure meaningful internships can also be used in the pursuit of paid positions upon graduation and opportunities for entry into specialized graduate programs.