First Step to A Sports Career With a Business Management Degree
The sports industry is booming now more than ever. PricewaterhouseCoopers projects healthy sports industry growth – from $53.6 billion in 2012, to $67.7 billion by 2017.
Giants like the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), along with college athletic departments and organizations like the NCAA, as well as other industries, offer attractive job opportunities for students pursuing business or sports-related degrees.
A business management degree combined with a passion for sports, which may set you on a path towards a Sports Management career.
You’ll need to develop the following skills and qualities for a career in Sports Management:
- Pursue a degree that prepares for Sports Management, such as a business management degree, which lets you understand the team/organization as a brand, and helps improve your public speaking and number-crunching abilities.
- Get job internships or work experience while studying, or volunteer with local sports teams or get temporary work such as ticket sales. Having some experience selling tickets tells employers that you know how to provide sales support to a sports team.
- Talk to experienced alumni and sports management professionals to find out how they rose in the field, and what specialty options you might consider.
- Network by meeting and staying in touch with a variety of people in the sports industry. These contacts may prove to be useful in the future.
- Specialize: Consider finding other areas to specialize in to narrow in to your passion. For example, William Woods University offers multiple programs in Sports Studies, which provides potential areas of specialization. Another way is to find programs that combine different fields like the M.Ed. in Athletics and Activities Administration.
- Seek Opportunities: Sports Management is a highly competitive field. To stay ahead of the competition, keep a lookout for new jobs and trends that will help find a better job.
Sports teams, major and minor leagues, sports media such as ESPN, and technologies and sporting apparel leaders — such as Nike and Adidas — are some starting points where you can begin your search for your dream job in sports management.