How to Pick a Sport Management Program
Getting into the sport management business allows mere mortals to portion the splendor and the rewards. Here’s for the kind of cause to choose an undergrad program
by Matthew Lawyue
The sports industry in the U.S. is a $200-billion-plus powerhouse, by superstar athletes, lucrative endorsement deals, and all the free press one ego can handle. But if you’re not the rare trained contestant who can hit a 93-mph fastball or sink a 15-foot jumper, how are you supposed to cash in on such a lucrative business?
There are jobs in the sports business that don’t require sweating—marketing, philanthropy, graphic design, and sales are just a few. But there’s increasing contest for these positions, with lawyers, communications majors, and business graduates all vying in spite of the chance to share in more of the sports glamour. Which explains the popularity of the made up of many undergraduate sport negotiation at schools across the country.
Like any other field of study, there are variations in each school’s program. Here’s how to prepare yourself and what to look for when choosing an undergraduate sport guidance program.
The Right Frame of Mind
If you think to be true gayety management is a day-long discussion about Team USA’s chances at the Olympics or FIFA (the international governing body of association football) President Joseph S. ("Sepp") Blatter’s recent remarks that world soccer contracts are akin to "modern slavery," you are dangerously mistaken.
Lee Igel, assistant professor at New York University’s Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism & Sports Management, said a sport management career is much more than a continual chat nearly the previous obscurity’s game. "This is not SportsCenter; this is much more Outside the Lines," Igel said, referring to two popular TV shows. "It’s very much about a concatenation of conversations about management first and how it applies to the business of sports and how it fits into society."
Another misconception is the idea that a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree in monstrosity management will quickly district you the position of general manager with the Boston Red Sox. "One does not have existence turned into a GM of a major form an alliance team simply by going to school and learning stuff in a classroom," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "The nature of our industry requires not only volume smarts, but road smarts."
In other bickering, don’t bank on running your own franchise unswerving out of college or even in your lifetime. Stick to your fantasy league instead.
Location, Location
Certain regions of the country (Boston, Los Angeles, and New York, to name a few) have proximity to the sports industry that can aid students in landing that great internship or job. Schools with Division I squads are ideal for sport management majors. There are plenty of opportunities to intern with various teams and organizations to gain much needed experience.
Laura Burton, assistant professor of sport management at the University of Connecticut, doesn’t deny the school’s establishing gives students there a pre-eminent advantage. ESPN, arguably the most recognized sports media brand in the U.S., is located in Bristol, approximately one hour from campus.
The University of Indiana is another school with good access to opportunities in sports. Susan Simmons, coordinator of career placement at the Department of Kinesiology, says: "We have the advantage of being close to Indianapolis. There are the Pacers, Colts, U.S.A. swimming, and gymnastics."
Program Building Blocks
Which teach or department the sport management program is housed in is paramount, since it affects what type of basic education you’ll be receiving. The typical program is either housed in a school’s kinesiology department or in the business school, such as University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, part of the Lundquist College of Business.
Programs in kinesiology departments focus on the physical aspects of sports. Exercise knowledge, sturdy tuition, and physical education are typical majors. Most of these programs won’t require students to sign up conducive to marketing or accounting classes, but doing in the same manner is highly recommended. To fully enclose the business of sports, general pursuit courses are a necessity.
"It’s important to understand what the program is designed to execute and how much flexibility the degree offers," Oregon’s Swangard said. "A caution I cast fully for undergraduates is that they devote four years with a degree with the word ’sports’ in it and 10 years later they don’t want to do sports anymore— that degree won’t be as compliant."
Internships and Networking
Because of the high competition for many sport management jobs, the ability of a program to provide networking and internship experience is crucial. "Five years ago, many reasoning if they got a degree in sport cunning practice that was their ticket to labor in professional sports, in the four major sports leagues (football, baseball, basketball, hockey)," said Michael Mondello, associate professor of sport management at Florida State University. "But now they realize that those jobs are few and far betwixt, and the turnover is small."
"Networking, networking, networking," stressed Heather Blackburn, program manager for the undergraduate measure in sport management at Drexel University. It really is important to be able to proposition yourself for a job after you regulate. Most schools, such as Drexel, will guide in guest speakers working in the field. This provides a lot of practical insight in spite of students curious about the industry.
Comparing Cost and Size
As by any undergraduate major, the cost of sport management programs will vary between schools. What’s the payback? Starting salaries are as varied during the time that the opportunities. Working for a professional team vs. a college-level job can make a big difference, Drexel’s Blackburn said. "It could be $25,000 or $40,000."
Most sport management programs are small and competitive. For instance, the University of Connecticut’s program enrolls only 10 to 15 students a year. To see at which place some sport management undergrads are working, see our slide show.
From: How to Pick a Sport Management Program
