Are you looking to go from being a cheering fan in the stands to building a career within the game?
You can turn your passion for your favorite pastime into a career with a Sports Management Master’s in Business Management.
Whether working directly on the field, representing some of the biggest athletes, or even facilitating event coordination for popular sporting events, a career in sports management can be and exciting and rewarding career. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the sports and entertainment industry is projected to grow steadily in the next decade, making it a better decision than ever to turn your love of sports into your career.
Ready to get your head in the game? Check out these career options in the vast world of sports management.
Sports Agent
Sports agents represent professional athletes through examining contracts, negotiating sponsorship or brand opportunities, managing career opportunities, managing financial handling, and offering personal support. Agents can be far more than just a manager in a professional athlete’s life, but can also serve as a mentor and friend, always supporting their client’s best interests. Sports agents encompass strong negotiation, networking, and communication abilities to ensure their clients are in the best hands, achieving their fullest potential.
Sports Marketing Specialist
In the traditional world of marketing, sports marketing stands out as a unique career opportunity that works as the promotional mastermind that works to help fill stands with roaring fans, keeps fans in style with team merchandise, and even manages promotional endorsements with athletes. Sports Marketing specialists commonly work with firms or in direct partnership with sports organizations, helping to cultivate marketing efforts to reach target audiences while promoting sports events, teams, products, memorabilia, and stadium food and beverage.
Athletic Director
Athletic directors work to oversee the athletic programs in K-12 schools, colleges or universities, or in a variety of club organizations. Athletic directors use strong communication, organizational, and leadership qualities to ensure safety and smooth functional operations of a variety of sports offered. Athletic directors are additionally responsible for leading budgeting efforts within their programs, scheduling games and practices, supplying equipment and uniforms, and organizing travel.
Sports Event Coordinator
Sport event coordinators use strong organizational skills and attention to detail to cultivate unforgettable moments for both fans and players by facilitating the behind-the-scenes workings of events like scheduling, finding venues, arranging security, planning set up and clean up, and overseeing staff. A career in sports event management can be wildly exciting and rewarding, working as the mastermind behind game day. Ensuring smooth sailing so players can focus on their performance and fans can enjoy cheering for their favorite teams.
Contract Analyst
Sports contract analysts work in the best interest of athletes, teams, organizations or leagues to ensure their clients are receiving the best possible outcome for their services. With large capital contracts with athletes, vendors, and merchandisers, contract analysts work to closely examine contracts to search for potential liabilities, minimize costs, and fight for the best benefits and price to maintain profits.
Corporate Partnerships Manager
A career as a sports corporate partnerships manager involves facilitating lasting relationships between corporations and sports organizations or team representatives to create endorsement campaigns, sponsorships, and promote products. Through maintaining relationships, professionals work to enhance brand awareness, drive engagement, and increase profits for mutually beneficial deals.
Why SDSU Global Campus?
SDSU’s Sports Management MBA offers hands-on experience in an accelerated 18-month degree program led by expert professors in the field.
With 12 months of curriculum, courses take on an interdisciplinary approach through immersing students in a tailored curriculum that focuses on the dynamic business of international sports, sports marketing, management, finance, and analytics, preparing highly motivated students to apply their passion in a broad field of career opportunities.
The remaining 4 months of SDSU’s Sports Management MBA allow students to gain hands-on industry experience with “experiential learning” through consulting projects, opportunities to participate in an international case study trip to the Dominican Republic, and immerse themselves in real-world applications of a 4-month internship at a sports organization in their final semester.
With SDSU’s prime location in the sports-rich Southern California region and connections with leading industry sport organizations, SDSU’s Sports Management MBA allows students to take their passion for sports to the next level with opportunities to build valuable, long-lasting relationships, internships, and careers in a highly evolving, rewarding, and lucrative industry.
“Through my enrollment in the Sports MBA program, I have gained hands-on experience in the sports industry by volunteering at major events such as Super Girl Surf Pro and the Farmers Insurance Open. I have also secured part-time experience with organizations like WISE San Diego and USA Water Polo, contributing to event operations and planning,” said Macey Kadifa, a recent graduate of SDSU’s Sports Management MBA program.
“Additionally, our class had the opportunity to collaborate on special marketing projects with Snapdragon Stadium and Oakley, developing activation strategies and engaging in brand marketing. These experiences are equipping me with the skills and industry insight needed for a successful career in sports post-graduation,” Kadifa said.
Getting a Sports Management MBA can turn your passion into purpose. Get ready to enter game-changing roles that can reimagine your future and your favorite industry.
