<p>Having read so many posts by students searching for sports management programs, I thought it would be helpful to gather opinions on whether such programs are actually a path to a job, or just efforts to attract kids:</p>
<p>Do they offer anything beyond a normal business program with strong marketing and finance components?</p>
<p>Do sports teams actually hire such graduates, or, because they are flooded with resumes, do they stick with applicants with connections to the team and/or very prestigious non-sports management degrees or experience (Wharton; top accounting or consulting firms, etc)?</p>
<p>With so few good sports team jobs available, and so few leaving those jobs to create vacancies, is this a wise career path?</p>
<p>I think gathering varying thoughts in one place will help a lot of parents and kids down the road. Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>I think that a major so narrow is newer a wise choice for college. It seems like it will close more doors than it opens. (Just my opinion, of course…)</p>
<p>Sports is big business, and sports management graduates look for jobs in settings beyond the management of professional athletics teams. Think health clubs, YMCAs, retail sports stores, minor league sports, youth athletics . . . </p>
<p>The major has enough business in it to make a student employable in a number of fields, so if a kid really dreams of a career related to ahtletics in some way, why not?</p>
<p>D1 graduated from a small private school in May '10. She has a business degree with concentration in Marketing and also Sports Management. She had two summer internships with a local baseball organization (after freshman and sophomore year), an internship with a “junior” league hockey organization during her junior and senior year and a summer internship before her senior year with an NHL team. She had several job offers upon graduation. She took one of the hockey offers and absolutely loves what she is doing.</p>
<p>I agree that it is a good field for students interested in this area. But, like programs in healthcare administration, I don’t think an undergraduate degree that focuses on business is enough and certainly not enough to make a student stand out. Administrative internships are critical, and I would also recommend a graduate degree.</p>
<p>The Univ of Southern Mississippi offers a graduate degree with an emphasis in Sport Event Security Management. It’s sad, but I think this is a critical component of sports management today.
[The</a> National Center for Spectator Sports Security - Masters Program](<a href=“http://www.sporteventsecurity.com/masters.php]The”>http://www.sporteventsecurity.com/masters.php)</p>
<p>A friend’s son is interested in this field. He applied and was accepted (rare as a freshman) for an internship with the minor league baseball team in his college town. It was a great experience, and this summer he has another internship with additional responsibilities.</p>
<p>My son got a job right of high school as a “personal trainer” at a gym in a hotel. He had no experience in this field, but had taken a couple of classes online related to this field. He began attending a community college while employed at this job and is going to graduate next year from a 4 year school with a degree in nutrition. As far as I know, he paid for most of his own college education. I really admire him.</p>
<p>Not the route that most of us on CC envision, but that sounds really impressive! That kind of drive and initiative is going to make him a success in life.</p>
<p>My first job out of college was in sports PR. I studied communications and got this job through a connection. The company was flooded with unsolicited resumes and, when there was an opening, the pay was low (like mine) because of all the people who wanted the job. I specifically remember my boss calling one guy in… only because he was a former player with the NY Knicks and he wanted to meet him!</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2011 - the daughter of a close friend is looking for a job in sports and has had some very high profile, amazing internships (including at the Beijing olympics for a network). She has offers – for more non-paying internships.</p>
<p>If either of my kids expressed this interest, I would encourage them to broaden their experience and their studies. Sports can always be a part of your life, one way or another. It’s less fun when it’s part of your work (gets old fast); that was completely my experience. It’s a good conversation piece and the photos are impressive to some people (I met some famous people, FWIW). Now, I’m in healthcare PR and am way more impressed with the scientists I’ve met than the sports hall of famers.</p>
<p>However, if the USTA had an opening, I might just have to take it :)</p>
<p>Regarding the OP’s question, I would say it’s usually more “hype.” Thrilled for NorthMinnesota’s D that it’s working out for her, but this might be the exception rather than the rule.</p>
<p>d is a 2010 grad who majored in sport management at SUNY Cortland. She is employed as a corporate sales/ event Rep. with a minor league team on the east coast. For my kid, being a SM major was definitely a good choice.</p>
<p>My kid was an average + student but was extremely conscientious. She had no great academic leanings but knew she was going to college and wanted to make the experience work for her.
The curriculum at Cortland (and alot of other SM programs) consisted of classes in SM, business (accounting, finance, marketing, etc.etc) internships, as well as regular classes to obtain your BA/BS degree. I think the emphasis in business was a real boost to her and I am confident she would not have taken as many business courses if she went the liberal arts route (majoring in sociology-history etc). And I am certain she would not have been a business major. So for my HS jock, being a SM major was the perfect way to spend her college years.</p>
<p>As mentioned, the best way to break into the sport business is to have a solid background and contacts. So internship opportunities become extremely important. Cortland was generous in giving academic credit for internships- so she had 2 summer internships for credit as well as a semester internship with a AAA baseball team. And as the NY Jets use SUNY Cortland as their summer training camp, there are alot of internship opportunities at the school as well as the surrounding areas of Syracuse, Binghamton and Ithaca. Luckily her experience paid off. </p>
<p>Bad news is that most entry level SM jobs are in ticket sales, (yup- make 70-100 calls/day to sell tickets). As that didn’t appeal to my kid, she decided to get out of the NYC area and take a job in a small mid-atlantic market. But the experience she is getting from her first job is absolutely wonderful. </p>
<p>Being a SM major may not be for everyone- but if you don’t see your kid majoring in business (1 accounting and finance course was enough for her), I think the SM major with a bunch of business courses and internships is a good route to go.</p>
<p>gadad, I am so glad that you commented. I was typing while doing other things and now I cannot correct it. It was NOT, NOT, NOT my son that I was talking about. It was my son’s good friend from hs who achieved what I wrote. I still do admire my son’s friend. He really achieved a lot and mostly did it all on his own.</p>
<p>My boys are both sports fanatics - so sports mgmt majors have been under consideration for both. S1 was accepted at Michigan - which we believed had a great sports mgmt program and with their huge alumni base - many contacts for internships and jobs. But - it did not work out for other reasons and he is majoring in finance elsewhere. Still planning on a sport/business career, however, and has a sports-related part-time job.</p>
<p>S2 is considering Elon - and they have a newly renamed “Sports and Event Management” major and minor. We will be visiting again in April and looking to learn more about this program. I like that fact that they have broadened it beyond just sports mgmt.</p>
<p>One of the interesting things I have discovered in my years of looking for sports mgmt programs is that they can be located in various departments from one school to the next. IMO - should be in the business dept - since it involves basic business skills, marketing, etc. Have yet to find it there. Elon just moved it from School of Education to School of Communication. At Michigan and many other places it is in the School of Kinesiology. James Madison had it in the Kinesiology Dept - but just created a new School of Tourism and Sports Mgmt. Confused yet? I am.</p>
<p>I like the idea of majoring in sports mgmt and adding a business minor - trying to give what might be perceived as a “fluffier” major some additional gravitas. And, as other have noted, internships are key.</p>
<p>RVM, Lol, no it would not make sense if I were speaking about my son! As I read my original post this afternoon I was thinking that anyone reading it and following my other posts over the years would definitely wonder what they must have missed in my little family story lines. Well, it was not my kid folks, just a silly typo!</p>
<p>^^I knew there was an error there but couldn’t figure out which words were missing from the original post…haha</p>
<p>I, too, am really curious to see how the SEM major at Elon’s School of Comm is structured…</p>
<p>btw, RVM not sure if you noticed but there is a push in the School of Comm there to institute a mandatory minor/second major…which I think is required in most accredited schools…</p>
<p>As a sample, these are the required courses for the Sports and Event Mgmt Major at Elon:</p>
<p>SEM 212 Introduction to SEM
SEM 226 Facility Planning and Maintenance Management
SEM 227 Programming and Event Management
SEM 305 Legal Aspects of SEM
SEM 332 Research Methods in SEM
SEM 351 Leisure and Sport Marketing
SEM 412 Financial Operations of Sport and Event Management
SEM 426 Governance and Policy Development
SEM 461 Senior Seminar
SEM 481 Internship in SEM (6 sh)
ACC 201 Principles of Financial Accounting
BUS 202 Business Communications
BUS 323 Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior</p>
<p>This is pretty typical of what I have seen in this major. Still think it would be good to add a business minor.</p>
<p>At the LAC that D1 attended the program is in the Business Dept. You get a Business Administration degree with concentration/s in " Sports Mgmt/Marketing/Finance/Int’l Business/Management. Acct or Econ are also in the Business Dept</p>
<p>RVM- I strongly encouraged d to take a minor too. She minored in communication studies as many of the media and advertising courses were in the communication studies dept. She also developed a very nice resume in which she was able to highlight “Relevant Coursework” and show she took classes in Accounting, Marketing, Human Resource Management as well as Sport Media Management, etc.etc.
I think with thoughtful editing and strong internships, you can make a sport management major be quite marketable.<br>
I think the key is internships and experience. And as most summer internships do not pay salary, they require that academic credit be given for the work. And the college has to verify that academic credit will be given. So when checking out SM programs, find out if the schools give academic credit for summer internships. It is important.</p>
<p>also- to give you guys a heads up to the future- a very good website Re. jobs in sports is [Sports</a> and Live Event Jobs - TeamWork Online LLC - Portal to sports jobs, employment, careers and internships, and online recruiting software for the sports and live event industry](<a href=“http://www.teamworkonline.com%5DSports”>http://www.teamworkonline.com) That seems to be one of the go to sites for internships and other jobs in sports. </p>
<p>Hi NEMom-
you confused me too. But lately it doesn’t take much to do that.</p>
<p>I have a friend whose D majored in sports management at a directional state U, and she is now working in management (marketing mainly, I think) for a minor league baseball team.</p>
<p>I do not know if she minored in anything. I am pretty sure she networked aggressively and she was very flexible about geography. I dont know exactly how long it took to land that job.</p>