daman11

isnt average salary pretty low for sport management grads though?

marny1

daman- my d is a Sport Management major at SUNY Cortland - one of the schools on A2Wolves list. And thanks again A2, (as all us long time posters know, he is probably the most knowledgeable poster in the SM field.)
One of the first things she learned is that though Sport Management sounds like an exciting field to go into, the salary tends to be low.
So in her program, there is also a pretty big emphasis in taking general business courses in addition to the Sport Management curriculum. This way Cortland graduates have the benefit of a Sport Management background as well as a business background.

I always liked the NASSM website to use as a reference tool when checking out programs. It seems alot of schools have a different emphasis on Sport Management majors- some schools link SM majors with their Kinesiology Department- others with Health or physical Ed and some with Parks and Recreation. Because Sport Management in linked up with other Departments, it is sometimes hard to find info about them when checking out colleges- The NASSM website will link you directly to the Sport Management curriculum at the individual schools listed on the website- so I am not advocating the "importance" of the NASSM rating, but the ease in which the site will link you directly to the Sport management program at the individual college. As an example, I believe Temple has a SM major through their school of Hospitality and Tourism and U Mich has it in their Kinesiology Dept.

My d is spending her summer as an Intern with a ML Lacrosse team. (No salary but she is getting college credit)
As she is still not 100% sure if she wants to stay in the SM field, she figured this experience will help her decide.

Also A2- the numbers on your list may coincide to the # of UG's in the program- not the # of graduating seniors. At Cortland, there are probably 80 freshman admitted into the program- so my "guess" is that the 265 # that you show is for All Sport Management Undergrads.
At d's orientation, they said around 700 kids applied as SM majors and only about 80 were selected. So at some schools, it can be a very selective major.

daman11

thanks for all the help...

A2Wolves6

I think that may be true, the numbers may be for the people in the program, rather than the graduating seniors.

tranandy

I was a sports management major at Michigan. Graduated with high distinction in '99.

Here's my perspective on sports management:

I loved majoring in sports management. I loved my classes, I loved my professors and I love everything sports related being a sports nut. Going to great school with great football and sitting next to the Heisman trophy winner in class helped as well.

The biggest drawback to the SM major is the Risk/Reward factor. Everybody loves sports so everybody dreams about a sports job -- even non-sports management majors. These people all generally compete for the same entry level (and very low paying) sports jobs after they graduate. In that sense, sports management is like majoring in art history or philosophy, it might be the thing that interests you most, but there might not be a lot of jobs that will pay the rent after you graduate.

I know of 4 other people at Michigan in my class who were sports management majors.
One is Charles Woodson who plays in the NFL.
Another is a friend who worked for the NFL for a while in a low level job, but now works for the Tribeca film festival
Another is an investment banker.
I went to law school and work for a large law firm and my friend did as well.

So in sum, all of us are damn glad that we went to Michigan and weren't foreclosed from much higher paying jobs in other fields. I'm sure there are plenty of successful SM grads out there, all I'm saying is don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure you take a broad course range outside of sports. Treat it as basically a english or poli sci major.

Bottom line, if you are interested in sports management, i wouldn't just decide based on the "best" SM program, I would also consider the "prestige" of the overall university so that you don't hurt your second career possibilities down the line if your favorite team doesn't come knocking after you graduate.

marny1

tranandy- thank you so much for your insight. I think what you are saying is very true. Even the SM Department at Cortland was trying to give the kids a realistic take on the profession and they do point out that entry level salaries are low. If it is your love or passion- you should go for it- But d's advisor was also encouraging the kids to get a pretty broad based educational experience and to take a bunch of business courses- which may help "pay the rent".

Daman- getting back to your original question- Rice also has a Sport Management Program. In my "humble" opinion, I might view U Mich and Rice as the 2 schools with the most "prestige".

If you are a "high acheving" student, you might want to consider the programs at those 2 schools

Cards4Life

tranandy--nice input, very well stated. Like I said, I wanted to transfer to a SM program but there are none in-state for me (except a small private, would've been same cost as OOS), so I'm at my state public in regular Marketing. I fully intend on working in sports...some way, shape, or form. But if it doesn't work, I can go into Marketing for any organization, not just athletics.

klf1120

I know that my school has a pretty competitive SM program. University of Tennessee!

A2Wolves6

Agreed with the poster. Entry level salaries are 18-25K. They usually have you working ticket sales. You then have to work your way up, and teams promote solely on statistics. If you are the top seller, you're making more money. It's very hard to get a job where you're not selling with a sports team - that's the way to get into the door. Once you are in, you could potentially get your MBA/MSA, work your way up, and get a position you desire with the team.

My SM instructor said that if he could do it all over again, he would work in college athletics. Pay is better in entry level positions, the jobs are less geared towards sales, and there is less job competition. He also loved being in a campus atmosphere. There are literally hundreds of college programs out there as well, meaning lots of opportunities to intern, and you can easily obtain an internship with your own athletic department.

admisscouns

UMass Amherst is the second oldest SM program in the country and widely regarded as the best. Check with folks in the field and they will confirm this from a professional stnadpoint. UMass Amherst also has a strong business program, which is ranked in Business Week's top in the the northeast list. This last year, based on a student survey, Princeton Review rated their business school #1 public in the country for student satisfaction.

A2Wolves6

And there's the UMass spam.

loslobos71

How is that spam A2? UMass has a top SM program...

A2Wolves6

That's true, and it's already been mentioned in this thread. The post was written like one a website that advertises it's program would do so. Who else would speak about Princeton Review's Student satisfaction ratings in talking about a business school and it's quality?

The post only informs us about UMass from a poster who only speaks about UMass, and shows no information or facts about why UMass is good in the program, and brings forward no points that haven't already been stated. It's just worthless spam.

admisscouns

A2--
That is one of the departments with which I work, so am very familiar with it. It is HIGHLY competitive. We will only enroll approx 80 students this fall and they are all outstanding. I know because I have seen their application files. I also field questions from prospective students, and we draw from an international base ... many are referred to us from professionals in the field. This is not spam ... just talk with folks who work in the field and my opinion will be verified (in fact, it has already been verified by other posters). If you look at my postings, you will know I am here on my own time and do not uniformly promote UMass. However, this is a top notch program and it deserves a good word from someone familiar with the program. Should I not share what I know simply because I work at a given institution?

As for jobs after graduation, the best students sometimes have difficulty transitioning from the top of the academic "heap" to entry-level positions. However, the reality is that, for some professions in particular, starting salary is not the best part of the job ... but doing what you love offsets that financial factor ... until you can work your way up in the profession.

loslobos71

So were you the one who rejected me? Gee, thanks!