Sports Management. HELP!

A2Wolves6
Tue, 06 May 2008 23:09:47 +0000

maxk88, Sports Management majors essentially take the same courses as business majors. You can work in business with a Sports Management degree, if the curriculum at the university teaches you those skills. Some programs do this, being very business oriented. The program I am in is the exact same curriculum as the business degree from Freshman to Junior year, except senior year you concentrate in Sports Management, while others concentrate in Business Management. In fact, many SM programs have dual degree programs, many programs have business minors. Michigan has a dual degree program with the Ross School of Business with their program if you are interested in getting a BBA in addition to a BS.

It is the Business students who will find difficulty working in sports with a Business degree because business schools do not have the networking in athletics that a sports program has. You get a job in sports because of who you know, not because of what school you graduated from. It’s amazing as I read on this forum how many people believe that graduating from XXX school will enable them to get into the job they want. It’s not at all about the school, rather it’s about the individual and their pursuit. You only limit yourself in employment if you choose to do so. If you are a SM student and only look at sports teams, then you’ll end up with a sports team. If you look at businesses in addition to sports teams, you will have larger job offers. It is not the degree, it is what you do with it. Only on College Confidential will people believe that a degree is a joke because of one word. Employers I have talked to in addition to recent graduates of the program I have in have found no difficulty finding employment after graduation.

As for careers, about 90% of them are doing the same function that business majors do - sales. Sports teams (they are businesses too) care about the bottom line, and need people who will help achieve revenue for them. The only way I have heard of people getting jobs in the major leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) is if you agree to do ticket sales. If you can sell, you can move your way up to other positions within the organization. The other 10% are in the other departments and are the much more desirable positions. This includes team operations, community relations, marketing, development, promotions, sponsorship, media relations, and facilities. These jobs you need experience for that comes from volunteering with your athletic department and finding opportunities that way.