Sports Management

About the Major

Sports management promotes, encourages, and supports athletic participation for recreational, educational, and professional sports organizations, as well as individual and team athletic events and competitions that draw spectators. You will learn the art of promoting, selling, and facility and event management. You will earn a general business minor or certificate in this degree program. Internship opportunities are available both locally and regionally.

Skills and abilities this major develops include: communication, marketing, sales, promotions, and team building.

Complementing Interests

EEnterprising

SSocial

RRealistic

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Opportunities After Graduation

Information on the sports industry as a whole is difficult to gather. One area of possibility, sports analyst, requires an additional year of school beyond the bachelor’s degree. The projected growth is about 27% from 2012 to 2022 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). In other areas, such as sports marketing or sports agent fields, the competition is much keener. To become a sports agent, a law degree is highly recommended.

IUPUI spring 2016 graduates from the School of Health and Human Sciences had an average starting salary of $31,881. According to indeed.com, the average salary for jobs in sports management ranges from $32,000 per year for an operations intern to $92,000 per year for a marketing director.

(This section is intended for informational purposes, not prediction of actual salary.)

Sports management majors often pursue advanced degrees in the following areas: business administration (MBA), law, human resource management, and higher education/student affairs.

Quick Facts

Sample Coursework

Sports in American society
Management of sports events
Sports marketing
Legal aspects of sports and risk
Sports public relations and promotion
Sports sales

Possible Careers

Marketing and promotions
Human resources
Ticket and sales operations
Facility management
Sports agent
Event manager
Sports analyst*

*This career requires further education/training.

Where could I work?

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful
August Mack
Keter Environmental
Government agencies
Profit and nonprofit businesses

Where to Get More Information

School of Health and Human Sciences

901 W. Michigan Street

North American Society for Sport Management

Teamwork Online

Enterprise, Policy, and Planning Cluster

This major is part of the Enterprise, Policy, and Planning (EPP) cluster. The EPP cluster is the academic home of University College students pursuing or interested in business, economics, labor studies, organizational leadership, public and environmental affairs, sport management, and tourism conventions, and event management.

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