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.

Engaged Learning Experiences

Regardless of your major or future career, engaged learning is vital to your present and future. It makes you more marketable for jobs and professional schools upon graduation, it enables you to build deeper connections with faculty and staff in your field of study, and it makes your learning personal by connecting your interests and values with the curriculum from your classes. Check out the three ideas below for places to get started, or learn more at IUPUI’s Institute for Engaged Learning website.

Community Engagement

The School of Health and Human Sciences hosts a number of initiatives for students to get involved, add to their resume, and give back to the community

Professional Work Experience

Working on-campus for offices such as Campus Recreation or the Office of Health and Wellness can provide great preparation for a variety of health-related careers.

Life-Health Sciences Internship Program

LHSI is a paid internship program that places second and third-year IUPUI students in a variety of health and science workplaces to gain practical experience and skills

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 May 2019 graduates from the School of Health and Human Sciences had an average starting salary of $33,472, and the median salary was $33,000. According to indeed.com, the average salary for jobs in sports management ranges from $30,000 per year for a ticket sales representative to $100,608 per year for a 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

Complementing Interests

EEnterprising

SSocial

RRealistic

Get your interest code

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.

Learn about the EPP cluster

Learn about other clusters

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