Once you know your "product," you can begin to research sport career opportunities and then focus on the one that most closely matches your abilities and preferences. To conduct research, read sport- related books and periodicals and arrange informational interviews with individuals in the industry.
After you have narrowed your focus, the next step is to map out a plan of action for attaining your dream career. In the next section several career destinations will be highlighted with some suggested directions to each.
Not-for-profit Charitable Organizations
The not-for-profit area is one of the easiest fields to enter and one of the best training grounds for future positions in sport event management and marketing. Most not-for-profit organizations organize various sport events, everything from bike-a-thons to mini-grand prixs as fund raisers and solicit corporate sponsors and celebrity athletes to participate. The experience and contacts gained by working for organizations such as Special Olympics and others is invaluable. The contacts you make through the board members alone make volunteering well worth your investment of time and energy.
Sport Commissions
There are currently over 80 city or regional sport commissions in the United States with a mission to attract and host sport events. Often associated with the local convention and visitors bureau, these commissions recruit volunteers and hire staff to design bid presentations, write sponsorship proposals, market and produce the events. Sport commissions work in collaboration with local university athletic departments, professional sport teams, resident celebrity athletes and corporate sponsors. Similar to not-for-profit organizations, sport commissions offer many opportunities to become involved and gain experience that will lead to your ultimate career destination.
Sport Marketing and Management Agency
Bringing a client to a sport marketing firm is one of the fastest ways to gain employment in the business. A client includes a marketable athlete (usually an Olympic or professional athlete), a sport media celebrity, a corporate sponsor, or a sport event or product to which the agency would have rights. How, you might ask, do I find clients? Make a list of all your friends, family members, acquaintances, former employers, business and university contacts. Identify, through casual conversation, any connections and leads these individuals may have in the world of sport. You may find out that a distant relative is an up-and-coming collegiate basketball player or that an old college roommate started a successful business and wants to market through sport. Interning with a sport marketing agency also works, but often takes approximately one year of free labor before a paid position is offered.
Athlete Representative (Agent)
Knowing an athlete and registering as a representative with the appropriate league and state licensing board (if applicable) is all that is initially required to be an athlete representative. To be a successful representative, however, requires good negotiating and schmoozing skills, the patience to babysit and hand hold, and, now more than ever, the ability to market the athlete. Marketing an athlete demands a strong understanding of corporate America and their marketing strategies, as well as the creativity to develop a unique overall image and marketing position for the athlete. Currently most representatives are attorneys who are skilled at negotiating the player's team contract, but have limited marketing skills. If you are not so fortunate as to have a successful athlete as a roommate, friend, or relative, try interning or working in sport media or a university athletic program where you will have the opportunity to meet budding superstars. Or you can apprentice with an established athlete representative who will serve as a mentor.
Corporate Sport Event and Marketing
To work for a corporation in their sport event/marketing department, begin by either working for that company in another division or working for the company's advertising agency. If employed by the company, demonstrate your enthusiasm and knowledge in the sport event/marketing area by volunteering and offering ideas. If they do not already have an employee designated to develop sport marketing opportunities, you may become so valuable to the company that they create a new position. If a position or department is already established, your assistance will be noticed and name suggested when an opening becomes available.
By working for the company's advertising agency you have the opportunity to demonstrate your creative and organizational abilities through account projects. As the projects become more successful and larger in scope, the company may elect to bring you in-house.
Sport Organizations
For every sport that you can imagine there exists at least one sanctioning body or association. For sports with competition at different levels (e.g. amateur, collegiate, professional) several organizations are established. Consider the United States Olympic Committee and its 40 National Sport Governing Body members, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its 100 plus conferences and trade associations, Major League Baseball with its various major and minor league teams and leagues, disabled and youth sport organizations.
Position responsibilities include fund raising, membership services, event and meeting planning, and training development programming. The following illustrates the average sport organization career path: internship, work for a minor league or low profile sport organization, advance to a professional team or league.
Professional Sport Teams
Typically sport teams are organizationally divided between business and sport. Positions on the business side include marketing, public relations, sales, accounting and merchandising. The sport division houses the general manager, coaches, scouts, equipment manager, trainer(s).
For the business division, specific skills and experience through education and internships are usual employment pre-requisites. You need to demonstrate that you can sell tickets, retain sponsors, increase the number of column inches or television coverage devoted to the team. Similar to all employment opportunities, being in the right place at the right time is also a crucial factor. This is why continual networking and keeping your name and face in front of decision makers is extremely important.
Collegiate Athletic Director
Work experience within a university athletic department as well a coaching background are two important criteria considered by athletic director search committees. Most coaches prefer a leader who has walked in their shoes and has worked as a coach. Considering the numerous NCAA policies and potential for violation, university administrators seek individuals with an understanding and knowledge of the NCAA rules and regulations and familiarity with university politics. They also favor candidates with marketing and development skills. Faculty consider the candidate's concern for the student-athlete and his or her overall philosophy of intercollegiate athletics on the university campus. In conclusion, if you want to be an athletic director at a Division I or II university, focus your efforts on working in a similar environment.
Sport Manufacturing
This segment of the industry, which includes apparel, footwear, and equipment manufacturers and retailers, provides the greatest employment opportunity especially for those wishing to change careers and transfer skills. Accountants, sales representatives, attorneys, engineers, graphic artists, human resource managers, and marketers are all employed in the industry. For positions more directly related to product and sales, experience working in retail, particularly sport retail, is preferred. An athletic background and knowledge of product is also considered.
Sport Media The best way to enter this field is to intern or write freelance articles. Most sport journalist begin by covering high school sports and work their way up to professional sports. Writing freelance articles and submitting them to publications around the world is an alternative path. The more the public recognizes your name, the more valuable you will be to the sport media industry. The majority of television and radio sport reporters start as interns with small local stations or are well recognized athletes. To be a television sport producer, the key is to gain experience and work your way up the ladder through internships. If you are in a large city and you have lots of experience but no luck at the job market, take your skills to a smaller town. Stay determined, if there is a will there is a way!
Sport Information Director
The most immediate path to becoming a SID is to work as an intern or as an assistant to a SID. If you cannot offer full-time help, volunteer on game days and for other special events. If your goal is to work for a Division I institution, consider starting at a lower division. This provides an opportunity for you to build a reputation and network with other colleges and universities.
International and Hallmark Sport Events
High profile, multi-sport or venue events such as the Olympic Games, World Cup Soccer and Goodwill Games rely on experienced event management personnel to design and organize the competitions and numerous volunteers to assist with the implementation. Often referred to as "event nomads", when one event is completed these "mega sport event specialists" frequently move to wherever the next big event is scheduled. To enter this field, gain experience by volunteering and working at various sport events, from your local country-club tennis tournament to the Olympic Sport Festival or State Games.
Regardless of the type of career in sport you pursue, there are basically four key ingredients to landing any career in sport - 1) education 2) experience 3) contacts and 4) determination. Each industry segment requires a different approach but if you possess these four critical elements you are sure to succeed.
With so many diverse sport career opportunities and such a competitive job market it is not enough to simply intern, you must position yourself and gain experience directly related to your ultimate dream job. To begin there are four key ingredients to landing a career in sports - 1) education 2) experience 3) contacts and 4) determination. Education, preferably in the sport management, communications, business, or legal field, provides an employer a basis upon which to train and rely on an employee. Experience, as either an intern or in a related field, indicates to an employer that you have a foundation and background to accomplish the job.