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Sports Business Degrees & Management Careers
Find the information you need to get a sports management degree and start your sports management career.
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Sports managers get to combine a passion for sports with a keen business sense. In increasing demand over the last decade, sports managers bridge the gap between the business and entertainment sides of athletic organizations. Because this multibillion-dollar industry is competitive by nature, a sports management professional must put in long hours and intense efforts in exchange for an exciting, satisfying career.
Sports management has many different facets. Sports managers can manage the financial aspects of an athletic organization, create marketing strategies for special events, direct athletics in a school setting or help athletes negotiate contracts and endorsement deals.
Other responsibilities may involve public relations, sporting goods sales, facility management, athletic fund raising or sports broadcasting. Regardless of specific responsibilities, sports management professionals often work irregular hours, including nights and weekends, and do a significant amount of traveling.
Sports Management Career Options
Sports management professionals can find job opportunities in a wide array of settings, including academia, sports associations, major or minor league teams, talent agencies and marketing firms. Here are a few sports management career options.
Sports Marketing Specialist
In charge of coordinating activities at sporting events and charity events, sports marketing specialists help an organization increase ticket sales or raise awareness of a cause. They utilize marketing strategies such as group ticket sales or prize give-aways, often working with sponsors to promote their products at sporting events. Much of their time is spent planning these marketing tactics or organizing fundraisers. They tend to have demanding schedules, which often include working nights and weekends at events. Entry-level sports marketers start at $17,000 to $24,000 a year, but those with a bachelor's degree and some experience can earn between $35,000 and $65,000 annually.
Sports Information Director
A sports information director acts as a moderator between athletic teams and the media. By creating press releases and organizing press conferences for the athletes and coaches, information directors handle the duties pertaining to public relations. They are also responsible for managing the information listed on an organization's website or in their publications, working to ensure that the organization is portrayed in a positive light. According to the US Department of Labor, public relations specialists such as sports information directors can earn a salary of approximately $25,000 to $81,000 per year.
Sports Agent
Sports agents represent athletes, with their most valuable skills coming into play when helping their clients establish contracts or negotiate lucrative product endorsement deals. Successful sports agents are assertive, consistently making contacts within the industry to help find work for their clients. To maintain a high level of expertise for their clients, many agents obtain MBA degrees or attend law school. On top of a workweek that may include 14-hour days, they also work on weekends to network with sponsors at sporting events and recruit new clients. Commission-based incomes cause a wide variance in salaries among senior agents—entry-level agents can find initial work assisting senior agents, earning a salary of $23,000 to $28,000 annually, but top agents will easily break six figures.
Necessary Skills for Sports Management
Successful sports managers need critical skills that encompass both sports savvy and business acumen:
- Hands-on experience—This is one of the most important skills for an ambitious sports manager. Being involved in the industry helps prospective sports managers establish a network of contacts in the field. Practical experience in the form of internships also provides a forum for learning from mistakes while sharpening the organizational and communication skills that are essential for any business career.
- Finger on the pulse—Accomplished sports managers keep current on everything that is happening in sports, and they understand how these events specifically affect their organizations. This means more than just reading the sports page—you've got to be in-the-know, as it's happening, to really be part of the action. This is a "who you know" business if there ever was one.
- Computer know-how—Sports management usually involves things like market research and presenting financial strategies, so proficiency in computers is critical for success.
- Business tactics—It is a business, after all, so sports managers must have the ability to successfully apply fundamental business tactics to the world of sports, in order to score where it counts the most: increased profits.
- Education—The critical mix of a college education and relevant work experience gives sports managers the know-how to handle everything that will come their way. This means understanding such diverse elements as risk management, the psychology of sports, ethics and athletic facility design.
Sports Management Degree Options
Bachelor's Degree Options for Sports Management
A bachelor's degree is a crucial first step to prepare for a successful career in sports management. Aspiring sports managers are fortunate to have many different options in developing a sports management degree plan. Choices for a bachelor's degree in this field include these specialties:
Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) Options
An MBA degree with a concentration in finance, marketing or sports management qualifies students for leadership roles in this fiercely competitive industry. Considering the significant amount of money involved in athletes' contract negotiations and product endorsements, an MBA degree is especially crucial for prospective sports agents. Other sports management career paths that benefit from an MBA degree program include sports marketers, athletic directors and sports facility managers.
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