Not every sports lover has the skill or luck on the field or court. While you may not be able to play sports professionally as your job, you don’t have to stray from the sports industry altogether. There are a number of career paths you can explore in the sports management industry, and with some, you affect the outcome of games just as much as the players.

Coaches

Coaching is a way to be close to a game without actually playing in it. It might be hard to get a head coaching position for a major sports team, but everyone has to start somewhere. You can coach at the high school level, for a small college, or as an assistant while you build up your resume.

Athletic Directors

If you love all sports, being an athletic director might be the perfect job for you. In this position, you’ll coordinate all of the sports at a college. Many high schools also have athletic directors. In both cases, you’ll manage coaches, marketers, and others working for the team.

Trainers

Coaching staff works with players on strategy, plays, and skills. However, trainers help keep the team physically fit. Training staff works with players on conditioning, weight training, and health in general. Most teams have multiple trainers.

Event Managers

Most facilities and teams have event management staff. You can work selling tickets, coordinating schedules, prepping event staff, advertising, and more. If you don’t have people at the games, your team can’t be successful, and if your event is uncomfortable for fans in any way, they won’t come back.

Recruiters and Scouts

College and professional teams have special employees who work finding new players for the team. Although the head coaches do some of the footwork, recruiters and scouts are in charge of finding new talent, contacting possible recruits, building relationships, and continuously evaluating skills.

Marketing Staff

The world of sports is entertaining, but it is also still an industry focused on making money above all else. Marketers work with teams of writers, designers, advertisers, manufacturers, and more to create a marketing plan for a sports team. Some of your tasks could include creating and maintaining a team website, designing a logo, contracting companies to make clothing and other team gear, and working with advertisers who want to promote their products during the game.

Public Relation Officers

Depending on the size of the team, the public relations staff may be part of the marketing team. This person or team of people is in charge of connecting the media with players. They also work with the event management staff to plan special days for the team or to have special events during games (such as fans contests, giveaways, and musical half-time shows).

Contract Specialists

Not every team has contract specialists, but many major professional teams choose to employ them. Contract specialists work with players or their agents to create a contract that works for everyone. Most sports teams have lawyers that work with contract specialists as well to ensure that they’re creating a legally binding document.

Agents

Players work with agents when they go from college (or high school) to the professional sports world. As an agent, you’ll represent your players, negotiating contracts, securing advertising deals, planning appearances, and more to make them as popular as possible.

You can read more about sports-related careers here.

For those looking to begin or advance a career in sports management, there are several accredited online colleges that offer degrees in the subject. For beginners, associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees are available. For graduate students wishing for more in-depth study, master's degrees and MBAs in sports management are also available.

	University of Phoenix — The University of Phoenix offers an associate's degree in sports management. This degree program lays the foundation for further study in recreation management and sport. Students will learn about management, ethics, leadership, finance, marketing, and more.
	Ashford University — The bachelor's degree in sports management from Ashford University will prepare its students for managerial positions in the sport and recreation industry, including gymnasium management, athletics equipment merchandising, and professional sports management.
	Southern New Hampshire University — Southern New Hampshire University's MBA in sport management program teaches its students to become adept in the business and marketing side of the sport industry. For this particular program, no GMAT or GRE is required, but applicants must have a bachelor's degree.
	California University of Pennsylvania — The BS in sports management from California University of Pennsylvania features a concentration in fitness and wellness, allowing graduates of this program to find careers working in fitness clubs, gyms, strength coaching, and more. This is a full four-year program that is available 100% online.
	St. Leo University — The MBA degree in sports business from St. Leo University will give its students a thorough understanding of teamwork, ethics, communication, and management within a sport and recreation environment.
	Drexel University — The Master of Science degree in sports management from Drexel University is designed to help sports managers and administrators receive a full understanding of the links between management skills, nutrition, psychology, and sport.
	Tiffin University — TIffin University's MBA program in sports management prepares its students for management positions in recreational, collegiate, and professional sports. The main focus of the program is on developing skills in communication, leadership, IT, and problem solving.
	Columbia Southern University — The MBA in sport management program from Columbia Southern University is designed to produce leaders within the sports industry. Areas of study include HR management, marketing, MIS, ethics, business policy, sport law and risk management, sport fund raising, and sport administration & finance.
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