Different people have different philosophies on what the best strategy is and what the best way to build a team through the draft actually is.

In this blog I will go through the different strategies are and how they can help or hurt the team(s) using them.

DRAFT STRATEGIES

There is only so much that a team can do on draft day in how they draft including:

• Drafting For Need
• Drafting Best Player Available
• Drafting For Depth
• Trading To Move Up
• Trading Down For More Draft Picks

Draft position can and usually does affect a teams strategy as teams with high draft picks are there because they do not have a very good team and probably have a lot of needs while the teams with the lower draft picks made the playoffs and probably only need to tweak their team a little bit and are looking to add depth.

Every team knows what they want to do on draft day and have a draft board with the top players they are interested in by round.

DRAFTING FOR NEED

While the teams with the biggest needs are usually the teams picking at the top of the draft, free agency can affect the best teams as well. Star players on good teams switch teams every year in order to get a big pay day leaving a void even in a good team’s lineup.

A team’s General Manager has to determine if a player slightly less-valued at their pick is the smart decision because of greater team need at the position over a higher rated player at a position that is not an immediate team need.

Most teams try to avoid drafting for need but some teams just cannot help themselves. The biggest problem with drafting for need is that they usually end up reaching and drafting a player too high just because they fit a position of need.

While this may seem as the most logical draft strategy, this usually ends up biting them in the butt later on.

DRAFTING BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE

Drafting the best player available is the most popular draft strategy with most draft experts and general managers but it can also be the most frustrating. For example, a team has a Pro-Bowl running back along with a very good backup and the best player available when they are on the clock is a running back.

That is when strategies change at the last minute and teams sometimes make rash decisions which they end up regretting later on when the player doesn’t work out while the running back they passed on turns into a Hall of Fame player.

While some teams have the luxury of drafting the best player available, losing teams do not always have this option because they have so many other needs.

DRAFTING FOR DEPTH

This option is very much related to drafting the best player available as losing teams with so many needs in their starting lineup they do not have the luxury to draft for depth as the good teams do.

Of course the teams with the most picks, such as the San Francisco 49ers with 13 picks, have the luxury of drafting for depth. Their starting lineup is pretty much set and they have the luxury of drafting to improve the teams depth in case of injuries to any of their starters.

They do not need immediate impact players and are looking to build the rosters foundation.

TRADING TO MOVE UP

If a team has their eye on a particular player and is prepared to do whatever it takes to get him, they can trade up to get their man.

Doing this usually involves trading the pick in question plus lower picks or future draft picks to the team whose pick they want.

TRADING DOWN FOR MORE DRAFT PICKS

Of course, if a team wants to trade up they are going to need a team that is looking to trade down.

Teams that are looking to trade down are willing to do so for numerous reasons including:

• Coveted Players Are No Longer Available
• Pick Up Additional Draft Picks
• Believe Coveted Player(s) Will Still Be Available At Lower Pick

For example, the Chicago Bears have the 20th pick and only five total picks in this year’s draft. They have a top five list of players that they are interested in but if none of them are still available when the 20th pick comes around, they will be looking to trade down and get more draft picks.

Regardless of what a teams strategy is going into the draft, things can change in a hurry once the clock is ticking and every year there are always surprises. This year will be no different.

While some people understand all the intricacies of how the draft works, most fans only know that each team will pick a player when their turn comes up and they hope that their favorite NFL team picks their favorite college players.

Therefore, with this week’s blog I am going to explain how the NFL Draft works and what the rules are.

BASIC DRAFT RULES

There are seven total rounds with the first round on Thursday, rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, and concluding with rounds 3-7 on Saturday.

During the first round the team on the clock gets 10 minutes to submit a player’s name to be drafted. If time expires before the team submits their pick, the next team on the clock can submit their pick, but the team whose time expired can then submit their pick at any time.

In round two time drops to seven minutes per pick and then down to five minutes per pick for rounds 3-7.

Besides compensatory selections, any team’s draft picks can be traded at any time.

DRAFT ORDER

While most NFL fans know that the draft order is based on the previous season won-loss records, there are a few other details that you should be aware of.

For teams that did not make the playoffs, draft order is determined by regular season records with the worst team picking first.

Draft order for teams that have the same regular season record are decided in order by:

• Strength Of Schedule
• Record Against Conference Opponents
• Record Against Divisional Opponents
• Coin Flip If Tie Still Exists

For teams that made the playoffs, draft order is determined by playoff record, with teams that lose picking higher based on which round of the playoffs they lost with the Super Bowl winner getting the last pick.

For playoff teams that lost in the same round, their order is determined by their regular season record.

Once the first round is completed, teams with the same record flip flop their draft order every round.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

Not just any player can declare himself eligible for an NFL Draft, there are rules and restrictions concerning which players are eligible for drafting.

For instance, in order to be draft eligible a player must be out of high school for a minimum of three years. The majority of the time this means that a player must complete three years of playing college football, although there have been some players that have played pro football without playing college football including:

• Antonio Gates- Played College basketball but not football. Was not drafted, signed as a free agent.
• Eric Swann- Grades prevented him from going to college but was drafted in the first round after playing semi-pro football.

In addition, if a player is drafted but does not sign a contract with the team that drafted him that year he can be drafted again the following year by any team.

DRAFT PICKS

There are a total of 256 draft slots through seven rounds in every draft as long as a team has not had any picks taken away by the NFL for disciplinary reasons such as the New Orleans Saints did last year for the bounty scandal.

Each team is assigned one draft pick per each of the 7 rounds. This always changes from year to year due to trades. Some teams will have less than seven picks and some will have more.

32 additional picks are given out as compensatory selections to teams that in the previous year’s free agency period lost more or better free agent players than they signed in that same period.

The formula for which teams receive compensatory picks is based on:

• Players’ Salaries
• Playing Time
• Post-Season Awards
• Net Amount of Free Agents Lost Compared to Free Agents Signed

The maximum amount of picks any team can be awarded is four and those picks cannot be used in a trade.

But don’t for a second believe that the only time an agent is traveling the countryside scouting and soliciting college players only happens in April.

Agents scout college players all season long and put together a list of players they would be interesting in signing and once the college bowl games are over every year, then the agent can begin to solicit their services to the players. NCAA rules prohibit agents from soliciting players until their college careers are officially over due to graduation, eligibility or declare as a junior that they will enter the NFL draft.

CONVINCING A PLAYER

While some superstar agents such as Drew Rosenhaus, Ben Dogra, Tom Condon or Eugene Parker has college players calling them for their services due to reputation, most agents do not have this luxury.

The majority of NFL agents have to convince college players they are the best choice. In addition, they have to not only convince the player but also his:

• Family
• Friends
• Teammates
• College Coaches

You have to remember that college players are still young and vulnerable and for this reason they usually want to hear the opinions of their family, friends, teammates and college coaches in order to make the right decision when selecting an agent.

An agent has to convince client candidates that he will not only negotiate the best contract for the player but also additional services such as:

• Managing Investments
• Endorsements
• Photo Ads
• Radio Appearances
• Autograph Signings
• Filing The Athlete’s Taxes Every Year
• Public Appearances

The biggest and most important thing an agent has to do when soliciting a possible client coming out of college is that he is trustworthy and honest. This is most important to a player’s family, most notably his parents.

AGENT DESIRE

Naturally, every agent’s desire is to sign and represent college stars that will be drafted in the first or second round of the draft because that is where the big bucks are, for both the player and the agent.

This does not mean that the agent will pass up a chance to represent players that are not drafted in the first or second round; those players are just the most desired.

In addition, once the draft is over, there is hundreds and hundreds of college players that were not drafted by an NFL team who want the chance to prove themselves and have a shot at the NFL who will also need an agent to talk to teams and get them into a teams training camp.

While it may be a long shot, there have been a lot of very successful undrafted players who got their shot and had very successful NFL careers including:

• QB Kurt Warner
• TE Antonio Gates
• RB Arian Foster
• DT John Randle
• K Adam Vinatieri
• C Jeff Saturday

However, as with the teams, drafted, regardless of what round, or undrafted, it is all a crap shoot as there have been many college superstars that were busts in the NFL but either way, the agent will still get his commission.

AGENT COMPETITIVENESS

Being an NFL sports agent is highly competitive, and there are no promises that you will succeed.

Even though the glitz and glamour of being personally involved with professional football players sounds like it would be an exciting career, sports agents work long hours, have to be available 24 hours a day, and travel away from their families a majority of the time.

Less than 5% of sports agents earn over $100,000 a year. In addition, it usually takes several years as an agent to build up the clientele and reputation to earn enough money to live on and half of all NFL certified sports agents do not have even a single client.

With that said, it is already April and the sports world is abuzz in preparation of the 2013 NFL Draft which will be held later this month from the 25^th through the 27^th in New York.

No matter what position you currently hold in Sports Management or have the aspirations of doing, if it involves the NFL, this is one of the busiest months of the year for you.

Everyone from owners, general managers, coaches, scouts, to the front office staffs are doing their due diligence to prepare for the NFL Draft.

OWNERS

Every NFL owner is different and takes on different responsibilities when it comes to the NFL Draft.

Some owners, such as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones want full control of everything the team does. Jones is also the team President and GM so he makes all of the decisions of who the team will draft or sign.

Other owners however trust the team to the people they hired such as the president and general manager to make draft day decisions and to run the day to day operations of the team. These are the owners that you rarely hear about because they are not in the limelight on a daily basis.

GENERAL MANAGERS

Most of the time, a general manager (GM) is responsible for the total team operation and is ultimately responsible for building and maintaining a winning football program which he/she does through trades, free agency and the NFL Draft.

The General Manager has ultimate authority over the players, coaches, scouts, trainers, and anyone else who has an impact on the product the team puts on the field. While he is considered to be the head coaches boss and has the power to hire and fire him, most GMs are expected to treat the coach as a near equal and work together to build a winning program.

When selecting players, the GM consults closely with the Head Coach in order to learn about:

• Current Roster
• Position Needs
• Thoughts on College Players
• Thoughts on Free Agents

While the GM and the head coach work tirelessly together, the ultimate and final decision comes down to what the GM thinks.

HEAD COACH

Once all of the offseason acquisitions, trades and the NFL Draft is over, the head coach has total control over his staff and the players along with the final say on who plays and who doesn’t.

In preparations for the draft a head coach will spend a lot of time in the film room reviewing hundreds of college players in order to find a good fit for the team.

Besides watching film, the head coach will also:

• Attend The Combine In Indianapolis
• Attend Individual Pro-Days Of Interested College Athletes
• Interview College Athletes
• Work Closely With GM

Ultimately, once the final product has been assembled, how well the team does falls onto the head coach as well as his demise if the team does poorly. That is why the coach does everything he can to help the GM bring the best players that he can to the team.

SCOUTS

Scouts are extremely important to the whole NFL Draft process. General Managers and head coaches do not have the time to watch film of every single college player so they rely heavily on their scouts.

Scouts look at college players coming into the draft and evaluate what their strengths and weaknesses are and if they would be able to help the team.

The basic duties of an NFL Scout are to:

• Identifying and Assessing Talent
• Work Closely With Coaching and Management
• Gauging Opponents During The Season

NFL scouts get paid to watch games and while it may sound like a dream job, the hours are long, the pay is nothing to brag about and it requires traveling three weeks a month during the season.

Davis graduated from high school in January 1947 and immediately enrolled at Wittenberg College in rural Ohio. In mid-1947, he transferred to Syracuse University.

Although Davis repeatedly tried out for the various varsity teams, the height of his athletic career at Syracuse was riding the pine for the junior varsity baseball team.

In 1948, Davis briefly transferred to Hartwick College in New York State but soon returned to Syracuse.

Despite Davis’ lack of athletic success, he became interested in football strategy attending the football team’s practices until the head coach asked him to leave, because Davis was taking notes.

Davis also took the academic courses in football strategy which were usually only attended by players.

EARLY COACHING CAREER

After graduating in May 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Davis looked for a position on a college football coaching staff.

After numerous rejections, Davis was hired as the freshman football coach at Adelphi University on Long Island.

In 1952 Davis was inducted into the Army and started to coach one of the bases football squads.

After leaving the Army Davis worked as a free lance scout for the Baltimore Colts of the NFL for a year. After advising the Colts on which Army players to offer contracts to or draft as they returned to civilian life.

In January 1955 Davis was hired by The Citadel as an assistant to newly-hired head coach John Sauer. During games, Davis called plays from the press box and began the season by winning five of their first six games.

Davis’ next job was as an assistant coach at the University of Southern California (USC).

Head Coach Don Clark relied heavily on Davis and they won the Pacific Coast Conference championship.

Davis was then hired as backfield coach by the Los Angeles Chargers of the startup American Football League. One player that Davis recommended to the Chargers was wide receiver Lance Alworth, who was also drafted by the NFL San Francisco 49ers.

In order to secure Alworth, Davis signed him under the goalposts after his final college game while 49ers head coach Red Hickey watched helplessly from the stands.

OAKLAND RAIDERS

After the 1962 season, Raiders general partner F. Wayne Valley hired Davis as head coach and general manager. At 33, Davis became the youngest person in professional football history to be head coach and general manager.

Right from the start Davis began to implement what he called the “vertical game,” an aggressive offensive strategy based on the West Coast offense developed by Chargers head coach Sid Gillman.

With Davis at the helm, the Raiders recorded their first winning season in franchise history with a record of 10–4, one more win than they had in their first three seasons combined.

In 1963 Davis was named the AFL’s Coach of the Year.

“Just win, baby” became his and the Raiders motto.

AFL COMMISSIONER

In April 1966 he was named the American Football League Commissioner.

Once again Davis went to work and commenced an aggressive campaign against the NFL by signing several of the NFL’s top players to AFL contracts.

Davis believed that the AFL would eventually be the superior league if allowed to remain separate but other AFL owners held secret meetings with the NFL without Davis, and in July the AFL and NFL announced that they were merging.

Davis was against the merger and he resigned as AFL commissioner.

RETURN TO THE RAIDERS

After resigning as AFL commissioner, Davis formed a holding company, A.D. Football, Inc. and returned to the Raiders as one of three general partners.

He owned a 10% stake in the team and was named head of football operations.

The team Davis had put together and coached steadily improved and won the 1967 AFL Championship. The following two seasons, the Raiders again won Western Division titles, only to lose the AFL Championship.

In 1969, Davis hired John Madden as the team’s sixth head coach, and under him, the Raiders became one of the most successful franchises in the NFL, winning six division titles during the 1970s.

In 1972, Davis drafted a revised partnership agreement that made him the new managing general partner, with near-absolute control over team operations and from that point on none of the other partners had any role in the team’s operations. This was besides the fact that he did not acquire a majority interest in the team until 2005. At his death Davis owned approximately 67 percent of the Raiders.

OWNER-GENERAL MANAGER

In addition to serving as owner, Davis served as his own general manager until his death. He was one of three NFL owners who had the title or powers of general manager, the others being the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Mike Brown.

Davis was considered one of the most hands-on owners in professional sports, and had more authority over day-to-day operations than any other owner in the NFL.

With Davis in control, the Raiders became one of the most successful teams in all of professional sports. From 1967 to 1985 the team won:

• 13 Division Championships
• One AFL Championship
• Three Super Bowls
• 15 Playoff Appearances.

The Raiders are one of only four teams to play in the Super Bowl in four different decades.

HALL OF FAME

Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Team and League Administrator in 1992, and was presented by John Madden.

Davis has been chosen by a record nine Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees to present them at the Canton, Ohio ceremony:

• Lance Alworth
• Jim Otto
• George Blanda
• Willie Brown
• Gene Upshaw
• Fred Biletnikoff
• Art Shell
• Ted Hendricks
• John Madden

Davis sold a minority stake in the Raiders for $150 million in 2007 and said that he would not retire until he wins two more Super Bowls or died.

Davis’ philosophy: Once a Raider, always a Raider.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY

During his career with the Raiders Davis breached several civil rights and diversity barriers.

In 1963, the Raiders were scheduled to play a preseason game in Mobile, Alabama but in protest over Alabama’s segregation laws, Davis refused to allow the game to be played there and demanded the game be moved to Oakland.

In addition, he also refused to allow the players to travel to other cities to play games where the black and white players would have to stay in separate hotels.

Davis was the first NFL owner to hire an African American head coach in Art Shell and a female chief executive in Amy Trask as well as Tom Flores, the second Latino head coach in the league.

DEATH

Davis died at age 82 on October 8, 2011 from “an abnormal heart rhythm, congestive heart failure and a heart muscle disease.

There was an overwhelming outpouring of support and grief in the wake of Davis’ death. The Sunday following his death, the Oakland Raiders adorned their helmets with a sticker which read “Al” in Davis’ memory.

A league-wide moment of silence was also observed.

Davis’ position as a controversial figure and his arrogant, brash personality lives on as part of his legacy as an innovative owner.

Carlisle is a leader in the representation of action sports and Olympic athletes and has been at the forefront of this booming action sports industry for more than a decade.

He is the head of Olympics and Action Sports at Octagon, the largest sports and entertainment marketing firm in the world.

One of only two sports agents to be inducted into Sports Business Journal’s “Forty-Under-Forty” Hall of Fame, Carlisle oversees a global business that provides career management for Octagon’s Olympics & Action Sports clients

If you are an Olympic or X-Games athlete hoping to make a name for yourself, you know his name.

BACKGROUND

Carlisle earned his J.D. from the University of Maine and B.A. from Bates College and is a member of the Maine and New Hampshire State Bar Associations. In addition, he has served as an Adjunct Professor of Sports Law at the University of New Hampshire and Maine School of Law.

Being a former practicing lawyer, Carlisle is an experienced negotiator who resides in Portland Maine. Carlisle saw the challenges athletes face in the corporate structure.

Carlisle began working with alpine and cross country skiers to assist them with their marketing. He then represented snowboarders, which eventually became his main focus and signed several young athletes, including one of the young prodigy’s in the sport, Ross Powers.

He started his own agency, Carlisle Sports Management and in the late 90s major agencies began to recruit him and his company.

OCTAGON

Octagon, which is based in Washington D.C., was one of those companies and after serious talks reached an impasse because he wanted to stay in Portland and not move to D.C., something that really surprised Octagon because they assumed that he would jump at the chance to join them in Washington.

Talks were suspended for nine months until Octagon realized that it did not matter where Carlisle was based just that they wanted him on their team and a deal was done.

To them the advantage was Carlisle himself and not where he was located as he had carved a niche in extreme sports.

Carlisle’s division has become so well-known in the Olympic and action sports community that athletes sometimes assume Portland is home to Octagon’s headquarters.

PHILOSOPHY

Carlisle believes that athlete marketing is a business-to-business transaction that companies use for their unique content and with the right campaign; athletes can create a third dimension of corporate communications.

In order for an athlete to be marketable, three things are needed:

• Recognizability
• Relevance
• Reach

He believes that an athlete needs to win a gold medal in the Olympics to have any chance at all of reaching all three, but the minute the Olympic games are over they run the risk of losing their distribution platform, which Carlisle believes is the biggest problem for Olympic athletes.

If an athlete wins any medal at all, the relevance has been reached and if they can somehow maintain a platform outside the Olympic Games, recognizability is possible and together they can possibly get reach.

He says that there was no good road map for much of what he does and that preparation is important and goals are key but things never work out exactly the way they are planned.

Carlisle says, “I represent other people; they need to trust me, but the sports agent has not always had the greatest perception in the industry.”

ENDORSEMENT DEALS

Carlisle has successfully created national partnerships between his clients and corporations including:

• The largest ever multi-year athlete Olympic endorsement deal
• The world’s largest swimming endorsement deal
• The only post-Olympic national TV ad campaign
• Disney’s Swim with the Stars following the 2004 Athens Olympics
• The first-ever post-Olympic swimming tour
• Served as Executive Producer of “Unfiltered”, a groundbreaking documentary film that explores the lives and rivalry of Olympic gold medal swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Crocker

CLIENTS

Carlisle represented four snowboarders who won medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics:

• Kelly Clark
• Ross Powers
• Danny Kass
• Chris Klug

Other major clients Carlisle represents has some very famous names including:

• Michael Phelps
• Aly Raisman
• Natalie Coughlin
• Hannah Teter
• Apolo Anton Ohno
• Katie Hoff
• Seth Wescott

Carlisle first pitched a young teenage Michael Phelps at a law firm. Phelps said he wanted to change the sport of swimming and wanted to see swimming on ESPN’s SportsCenter. With Carlisle representing him, Phelps has accomplished a lot more than that during his career.

Sports Management professionals have been on the rise and sports has always been a rewarding industry.

Jobs that have been on the rise in Sports Management include:

• Equipment Managers
• Food Service Managers
• Public Relations Coordinator
• Winter Sports Managers

EQUIPMENT MANAGERS

Equipment managers are a very popular job in Sports Management.  As an equipment manager your responsibilities include keeping track of everything that has to do with sports equipment.

In addition, Equipment Managers do business with:

• Athletic Vendors
• Maintaining Equipment Budgets
• Tracking Sports Equipment

The basic requirement to be an Equipment Manager is a Bachelor’s degree in business administration or Sports Management.

There are various different businesses that use Equipment Managers including:

• Academic Institutions (High Schools and Colleges)
• Health Resorts
• Hotels
• Professional Sports Teams (including minor leagues)

The average annual starting salary of an Equipment Manager is between $50,000 and $60,000.

FOOD SERVICE MANAGERS

Whether it is a collegiate or professional team, either one has a sports stadium or field that they play their home games in and with every stadium, there are concessions, because one thing that sports fans love to do when they attend games is to eat and drink.   

The Food Service Manager’s job is to supervise all food activities of the stadium including:

• Establish all Food Policies
• Supervise all Facility Employees
• Supervise all Food Concession Workers

A Food Service Manager requires at least a Bachelor’s degree in food management, Sports Management or business administration.

The average annual starting salary of a Food Service Manager is between $65,000 and $70,000.

PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR

One of the most challenging jobs in sports management is the Public Relations Coordinator.

This position requires long and irregular hours including holidays and weekends.

Regardless of the long hours, the rewards from promoting the team’s image and increasing your network with all of the important people you meet are enormous.

It will increase your network and give you the connections you need to further your Sports Management career down the road.

Some of the job responsibilities of a Public Relations Coordinator include:

• Assist with Media Relations
• Organizing Public Appearances
• Track Media Coverage
• Work Closely with Ticket Department
• Writing Press Releases

A Public Relations Coordinator requires a Bachelor’s degree in marketing, public relations or Sports Management.

The average annual starting salary of a Public Relations Coordinator is between $55,000 and $65,000. There are also excellent perks including:

• Free Tickets
• Profit Sharing
• Stock or Stock Options

WINTER SPORTS MANAGERS

One of the coolest jobs, literally, in Sports Management is a Winter Sports Manager.

Winter Sports Managers work at a winter hotel or ski resort, sometimes they even work for more then one resort at some of the most popular winter tourist destinations in the country.

Some of the job responsibilities of a Winter Sports Manager include:

• Advises Management of Dates for Opening and Closing
• Coordinates Activities of Resort Employees
• Coordinates Activities of Staff
• Directs sports program
• Ensures that Skating Rink, Ski Slopes and Snowmobile Trails are suitable for use
• Inventory all Supplies
• Give Winter Sports Instruction to Guests
• Keep Records of Current Weather Conditions
• Orders Supplies, such as Skiing, Skating and Snowmobile Rental Gear
• Schedules Snow Removal from Roads by Public Authorities

A Winter Sports Manager requires a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business or Sports Management.

The average annual starting salary of a Winter Sports Manager is between $65,000 and $75,000.

It is very important to seek educational institutions which will provide them with the training and support that they will need to succeed in the business of sports.

Most Universities, both online and commuting, offer both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Sports Management. The most important part of choosing the best Sports Management degree program is to be sure that the schools as well as their programs are highly accredited.

SCHOOL LOCATION

Picking a school in a major sports region of the country such as Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and New York, to name a few, have the proximity that can help students land a great internship while still in school and landing that dream job after graduation.

If you intend to major in Sports Management, choosing a school with a large sports program is a must.

Division I schools are perfect for Sports Management majors because there are numerous opportunities to intern with the schools numerous different sports teams and sports organizations which can give you the much needed experience to give you an edge.

INTERNSHIPS POSSIBILITIES

Because of the extreme competition for Sports Management jobs, a degree program that is able to provide networking and internship experience is crucial.

Most Sports Management degree programs require candidates to serve an internship which can not only give you much needed experience; it can open up job opportunities with that company once you graduate.

If you show your stuff and make a great impression during an internship it is not uncommon to be offered a position while you are still studying and have a job waiting for you after you graduate.

One good place to look for an internship opportunity would be at your schools team offices or athletic departments.

MEET AND GREET NETWORKING

Sports Management Conferences are not only a great networking opportunity but they give the chance to “meet and greet” with people working in the highest levels of professional sports.

Conferences give you a chance to learn about multiple careers in sports and mingle with sports professionals from all over the sporting world.

Sports Management Conferences allow you to network face to face with:

• Directors Of Player Personnel
• Executive Scouts
• Former Professional Athletes
• General Managers
• Head Coaches
• Sports Agents
• Sports Writers

Programs will vary in cost and the amount of financial support the institution can offer students, so you should examine this investment in terms of your budget, the amount of time you think you will spend on the degree, and how your eventual school of choice can help you financially.

JOB VARIETY

There is more to sports than just the gifted athletes who play the game. There are a lot more jobs in the sports industry then just superstar athletes, so if you are not one of the rare people gifted enough to hit monstrous home runs or throw a ball 90mph, there are more jobs in the sports industry then there are actual athletes.

There are various different job opportunities for Sports Management professionals including:

• · Athletic Academic Advisers
• · Agent Advisors
• · Recruiters
• · Scouts
• · Sales Professionals
• · Event Coordinators
• · Sports Journalists
• · Coaching
• · Public Relations Managers
• · Fund-Raising Coordinators
• · Compliance Directors.

However, just as with the athletes, there is constant competition for these positions with lawyers, communications majors, and business manager graduates all looking for a shot to work in the growing sports business.

SCHOOL VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS

There are many schools that have special programs that send the best and brightest students to the games city, this year in New Orleans, where they volunteer to work at various different Super Bowl Venues and events.

For students with their eyes on the prize, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The amount of experience along with the great connections and people you will meet for your network at an event of this magnitude is priceless. There are some really big companies there which will allow students to get their names out there.

These programs give students the opportunity to take part in the overall experience and it looks good on a resume when it says you were part of the biggest stage in sports.

EVENTS

While every schools program probably differs, volunteers due a wide variety of duties including “The NFL Experience” helping fans with interactive stations including:

• Autograph Stage
• Pass/Punt/Kick Events
• Youth Clinics And Events
• NFL Memorabilia Displays
• Super Bowl Trophy Exhibit

Other volunteers will welcome tourists to the city and provide:

• Game Information
• Event Information
• Transportation Information
• Hospitality Information

Because of due diligence, one programs volunteers this year will spend one day working the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl, and on Super Bowl Sunday they will be working with VIP hospitality from inside the Superdome.

Some programs even arrange a day to meet with a professional staff of a minor league team and tour the stadium.

GETTING TO GO

First of all, you need to check with the Sports Management department at your school and check to see if they have a program. If they do not, you have a year to get one going. That would also be a nice little tidbit on your resume.

Schools vary in how they choose which students get to go and it is usually limited to between 10 and 15 students.

Some schools require as little as an application in order to be considered while others put students through a rigorous selection process that includes writing essays about their five- and 10-year career goals and how being chosen will help achieve them.

Along with the essays, submitting a resume and a professional portfolio with business cards is also required by some schools.

Then of course some schools will also put students through interview process before making their final decisions.

Regardless of the process your school requires, being chosen to go will give students a real-world learning experience as they prepare for their careers in the Sports Management industry.

A mentor can teach you the ropes, gain your confidence, support your career and help you along the way.

As with any business these days, who you know seems to take precedence over what you know, so it is very important to find a good mentor, someone that his been in this business for years who knows people and can be a name dropping reference to put in a good word for you down the line.

So now the question you may be asking yourself is how do I find a good mentor?

There are numerous avenues you can take in finding a good mentor and you can build up your network in the process.

INTERNSHIPS

Finding an internship is not only a good way to find out what area of Sports Management you might like to pursue, it is also a possible avenue to finding a mentor.

With an internship you can further develop your professional skills under the direction of someone highly experienced who could qualify as a mentor.

All internships are different however, so some of them may or may not offer you the type of experience you need or have someone that could or is even willing to mentor you, but it is a great place to start and the experience alone is very valuable.

EQUIPMENT MANAGERS

Even if that is not the area of Sports Management you want to go into, getting to know your schools Equipment Managers is also a good place to start.

Equipment managers deal with just about all aspects of a team including:

• Coaches
• Players
• Executives
• Sportswear companies

Even doing volunteer work for your schools equipment manager once or more per week could open up some doors for you to find someone that could be a good mentor for you and take you under their wing.

CONFERENCES

Sports Management Conferences are not only a great networking opportunity but they give the chance to “meet and greet” with people working in the highest levels of professional sports.

Conferences give you a chance to learn about numerous different careers in sports and also give you the chance to mingle with sports professionals from all over the sporting world.

Sports Management Conferences allow you to network face to face with:

• Directors of Player Personnel
• Executive Scouts
• Former professional athletes
• General Managers
• Head coaches
• Sports agents
• Sports writers

Conferences give you the opportunity to meet many people from many different avenues of Sports Management and there are possible mentors everywhere.

In addition, numerous Sports Management Conferences take place during a major sporting event which not only will increase your chance to meet possible mentors and network but gives you a chance to see the event as well.

The top three Sports Management conferences are:

• SINC
• SMWW
• NASSM

You can find out more information about these conferences here.

The fact of the matter is that you just never know where you might find a good mentor and in some instances, after proving yourself with an internship or volunteer work, a good mentor may find you and offer their services.