Sports Management – How to Start a Blissful Career in 2021?

A career in Sports Management is a valuable and reasonable job option for anyone who is an avid sports fan or a sports player to fulfill his passion. The onset of sports leagues and sports tournaments has lead to the rise in demand for persons interested in sports careers or who want to learn about sports management. This has provided all the sports aspirants of today an opportunity to realize their dream jobs like a career in sports management.

As the rise in popularity in sports all over the world has been rewarded with billions of dollars in investment annually, a career in sports management has become more lucrative and rewarding for those with a sports management degree.

What Is Sports Management

Sports management like any management consists of a combination of tasks that involves planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, and evaluating in an organization or department related to sports.

Sports Management focuses on the business and administration of sports. You will find people who run the show behind the scenes- from organizing matches, monitoring team finances, negotiating contracts of sportsmen, and managing key aspects related to the business and governance of sports at all levels.

Thus there are many roles you can fulfill in sports after you start your career in the sports industry.

Why do we need a career in Sports Management?

 

 

 

A career in sports management offers you plenty of excitement and high-paying salaries. Also a high-growth career path. Here are a good few reasons why you should consider pursuing a career in sports management after the 12th.

• Greater Career options

Sports management as its definition suggests is much broader and vast than the role of a Sports agent. Graduates of sports management programs enjoy vast amounts of career opportunities at professional sports organizations, private companies, and non-profit organizations. Their roles are as diverse as handling marketing for their organizations to advising athletes on social media to event management for sports organizations. You have a lot of opportunities to try a variety of roles before you commit to a career path.

• Help sportsmen to make an impact in a community

Sports managers help many professional sportsmen to identify service opportunities in their community and coordinate community appearances. Some sports management professionals also work as consultants to these sportsmen who want to make a difference.

• Turn your Passion for Sports into a career

If you are passionate about sports, you can take part in behind-the-scenes activities. You will find that working in sports management offers many challenges than playing as a sportsman. You will also enjoy working in one of the most vibrant and fun-filled industries in the world. After all, sports is not just entertainment it is your passion.

• Offers you to work with High-Profile clients

You have an opportunity to work with the greatest stars in sports. Those stars who you only dreamt of taking an autograph. Now you can organize charity events with these celebrity sports stars whose names can draw attention to important causes. You will always find yourself surrounded by these high-profile clients who are at the top of the game.

• Gain vast experience in the Business world

A career in sports management will help you gain vast experience in the professional world. You will gain skills that will help you in making your career in other industries also in case you want to shift. In sports management, you have an opportunity to refine your communication skills, finance, and people skills. You can build a portfolio of your achievements that will demonstrate your ability to get results. Being a highly competitive field, sports management can help you gain experience in working in industries under high pressure.

 Job Profiles in Sports Management 

A career in sports management can help you bridge the gap between your talent and passion to help you grow in your career. Since sports management focuses on the business and administration side of sports, your job profiles and job responsibilities are related to these areas.

Here is a closer look at some of the Jobs in sports management along with the Job responsibilities and Expected salary they can get in these profiles.

• Sports Agent

From legal to PR to financial representatives, they represent sports figures and procure sources of employment and endorsements for them.

• The expected Salary Range for sports agents would be between INR Rs 25,000-70,000 per month.

• Sports Information Director

The role of the Sports Information Director is similar to that of a PR representative. They provide statistics, team, and player notes, and other information for colleges or university sports teams.

• Expected salary package for an experienced professional ranges between INR 40,000 -70,000 per month.

• Sports Marketing Managers

They promote sporting events, teams and players, market services and products endorsed by sportsmen through campaigns.

• The expected salary package falls between INR 50,000 to 80,000 per month.

• Sports Lecturers

Their job responsibilities range from teaching sports to conducting education tests, sports lectureship involving teaching within and outside the classroom settings, donning the role of coach, and supervising after-school sports activities.

• The expected salary package ranges between INR 15,000 – 39,000.

• Sports Event Managers

Their Job responsibilities include organizing a sports team’s social gathering to an international sports event.

• The expected salary package is around INR 36,000 per month and increases with experience.       

• Sports Statisticians

The primary duty of sports statisticians is to analyze data related to sports outcomes, keep track of the latest trends in the industry, and record statistics as they occur, prepare final statistics for a financial report and enter computer data.

• The expected salary is around INR 40,000 for this role.
  

• Sports Psychologists

They play an extremely important role in the sports industry by acting as a counselor to the sportsmen. They build confidence among the players after a poor performance or an injury in the field.

• The expected starting salary is around INR 15,000 per month and increases with experience.

• Sports Physiotherapists

They offer advice to sportsmen on how to avoid injuries in the field, treat injuries, and help players to recover fast.

• The expected starting salary for this role is around INR 15,000.

How to Start a Career in Sports Management

You must always opt for a bachelor’s degree in sports management irrespective of your educational background in high school. You must have an aptitude for sports management. Indeed a commerce background has its advantages as it equips you with a certain understanding of business, accounts, and finance-related aspects of sports management.

Having a master’s degree in sports management is even better. Alternatively, an MBA in sports management is another tremendous boost for aspirants seeking a career in sports management.

How to choose a right Sports management college

It is essential for you to find out which college or institute is right for you. You can do this by visiting the college alumni or through student reviews. You must do this inquiry based on the course you apply for. Once you find the college the right college, you can start applying.

World’s Top 5 Sports Management Colleges 2020

• Rice University

Set up in the heart of Houston, Texas, Rice University has famous alumni consisting of sports industry workers from various sports organizations. The student-led Rice sports business society helps students learn about sports management and connects them with jobs in the sports industry. The entire society is dedicated to helping students to learn about sports management and securing its students with jobs in the sports industry,

• Syracuse University

           Syracuse University is a private university located in Syracuse, New York. You will explore a variety of cool curriculums at Syracuse. Classes include The super Bowl, Sports Culture and Entertainments, Olympic Odyssey, Psycho-Social issues in sport, and Los Angeles immersion. Students at Syracuse work with the latest technology, including live game-day production in the Milton Conrad Technology Lab. Part of the degree requires you to work for at least 540 hours at a sports company. Sports management majors also get a chance to take trips abroad to places like Florence, London, and Madrid to tour stadiums. work with teams and experience sports on a global playing field.

• The University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA)

         UCLA is just a few steps away from some of the most iconic sports teams to ever exist like the Clippers, Lakers, Rams, Chargers, Dodgers, and so on.UCLA is every sports lover’s heaven. The Anderson School for media entertainment and sports gives students the chance to engage in real-world scenarios.UCLA partners with the international soccer team, Real Madrid to provide a sports experience like no other. Entertainment and sports conferences, sports business career night, Los Angeles and New york treks, alumni mentoring programs, and student organizations such as Anderson Media thrive at UCLA. Students can even hear overviews of the real business environment from sports industry workers during on-campus workshops.

• Wichita University

       Wichita State University has been accredited by the commission of sports management accreditation(COSMA). It is one of the 54 universities in the world to receive this accreditation. The school offers an undergraduate and graduate program to pursue the sports management dream. The students land jobs with the Dallas Stars Hockey Club, Denver Nuggets, NCAA, Kansas City Chiefs, and more.

• University of Michigan

At the University of Michigan(UM), students prepare for the wide world of sports through a unique sports curriculum. UM’s curriculum explores business and ethical impacts in the sports industry with hands-on projects and case studies. There are five reasons why you should join the sports program of UM– networking, internships, faculty,student-run sports organizations, and graduation job success. Students get an opportunity to involve themselves in student-run organizations like Michigan Sports Analytics Society, The Michigan Sports Business Conference and Michigan Women empowerment in sport and entertainment organization. It is no surprise that the students get placement in NHL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Nike.

Sports Industry in India

In India, a third-world nation, sports as a career option is regarded as a glimmer of hope for those who want to turn this passion of sports into a career. Globally, sports is one of the largest industries in terms of employment and revenue generation. The Indian sports industry which currently contributes 0.01-0.05% of its GDP is not far behind the European sports market in terms of investments and money flow. The Indian Sports industry is growing at a rapid pace and has earned US$1 Billion BY 2017.

This upsurge in Investments and foreign interests have made a career in sports one of the most promising careers in India. The Indian Premier League currently generates employment for about 15,000 people. The sports goods market reached Rs 30,400 crores by the end of 2018. The Indian Sports Industry is expected to reach $10 Billion within the next 5-7 years.

Some of the career options in Sports management include Sports Marketing which rose by 14% in 2018, Sports Events, Sports Journalism, Sports Sponsorship, Sports Technology, Sports merchandising, and Sports Entrepreneurship to name a few.

In Football, Indian participation and viewership grew by a whopping 64% since India hosted the U17 World cup. India currently hosts 15 domestic leagues like Pro Badminton League, Ultimate Table Tennis, and recently the Pro Volleyball League.

Some other interesting insights from the sports industry reveal that in 2016 the viewership of IPL rose to 110 million from 40 million in 2017 as Star bought the digital rights of IPL. Cricbuzz, an online platform owned by The Times Group recorded a 40% jump in viewership where the website had 30 Billion page views and 24 Billion minutes spent by the readers.

Top Sports Management Colleges in India

 

Like every Industry, Sports need a management team to operate. The market is evolving in sports and there are lots of opportunities for those who seek a career in sports in India. Here are a few of the top institutes in India which provide a degree in sports management to assist you in starting your career in the Sports Industry.

      1) International Institute of Sports Management, Mumbai

The International Institute of Sports Management was started by Mr. Nilesh Kulkarni, former Indian Cricketer in 2010 to create sports management professionals in the Indian sports Industry. The college is associated with Mumbai University and offers three unique courses in Bachelor in Sports Management (3 years). Masters of Sports Management (2 years)  and Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Management (1 year).

Students completing their sports management course from IISM are placed for internships and jobs in companies like BCCI, MCA, IMG Reliance, Star Sports, IPL, Aditya Birla Sports, Tata Trusts, Edu Sports, Tamil Thalaivaa, Sportz Interactive SportzConsult, and many more.

Website Link: IISM

 

      2) MBA ESG, Bengaluru

  BA ESG is known to be one of the premier institutes in Europe which has opened its branch in Bengaluru, India. The students travel to Paris, France after the 2-year course completion for an exposure trip where they have the opportunity to get placed. Some of the corporate assignments undertaken by the students of this institute after completing their program are in companies like Eurosport, Evian Resort, Havas Media France, Ligue Nationale de Basketball, Nike UK, Loge, PSG Merchandising, and many more.

Website Link: MBA ESG 

      3) Global Institute of Sports Business, Mumbai

    The Global Institute of Sports Business was set up by an industry stalwart, Gaurav Modwel, CEO of Pune City, which focuses on the business of sport. Starting from this year, GISB received a good response from all over the country as they have commendable connections with the biggest names of the industry. The course spans for a year in which the students get an opportunity to visit England on an exposure trip. GISB guarantees 3 months internships for all students and has established platforms and programs to facilitate and support job placement.

Website Link: GISB India

      4)  Symbiosis School of Sports Science, Pune

     The Symbiosis School of Sports Science offers an MBA in Sports Management spanning for 2 years. Being a reputed institute in India, the degree is well valued and the course offers various interesting opportunities to the young aspirants. The college falls under Symbiosis University and has a unique course structure designed for sports enthusiasts. Students In symbiosis university are trained to master skills in sports management courses like  Strategic Sports, Event Management, Sports Analytics, Sports Marketing, Sports Governance, Sports Science, Legal aspects of sports, media management, project management, Human resource management, managing sports facility, sports economics and many more. Also, students are exposed to wider options in different sectors of this dynamic industry with the help of projects & summer internships.

Website Link:  Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences

      5) National Sports University, Manipur

       The year 2018 marked a huge step taken by the government in the field of Sports. Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the National Sports University which is the first University in India completely dedicated to sports. Its eligibility criteria are heavily dependent on individual sports achievements and they have unique courses related to sports science, sports management, and coaching. The campus covers a huge area of 168 acres and has the best facilities for its students.NSU has an established placement cell that functions as a link between various Industries, sports organizations, sports clubs, sports leagues, government, and non-government organizations, to create opportunities for internships and placements of the students.

Website Link: National Sports University

As per the reports before the pandemic, It is expected that the sports industry will grow at a rate of 35-40% in the coming years, so, when proper management meets sports and passion meets perseverance, it is well comprehended that the future is bright for Indians in Sports.

The Future of Sports Management in India

With cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Noida, offering world-class sports facilities, the sports management companies are making a beeline to India to offer their services. This has raised the demand for well-trained professionals.

With 52 official National sports federations and the governing bodies looking for sports management professionals, a career in Sports management is taking a great leap forward. More sports management companies like Puma, Adidas, Nike, and Reebok are entering the Indian marketing and recruiting sports profession.

If you are a die-hard sports fan and if you think you have that extra thing in you then go ahead and join the Sports Industry which still is in its infant stage but growing rapidly.