[sporter]

Have a son entering Liberty in the Fall and currently undecided about his major. With many sports minded alumni on this site, I would love to get any thoughts about career potential with the sport management major. While understanding the job market in general is not great, I have to admit that I am somewhat more negative regarding potential in this area but clearly my opinion is an uneducated one. Would love to hear of any examples of graduates in this area and how they used their degree so that I could share it with him. Thanks!

[lynchburgwildcats]

Well what is your son interested in doing in the sport industry? There are a ton of different types of jobs available in the sport industry. I would recommend looking at teamworkonline.com to get a feel for what you can get in the professional sport realm. Can also go take a look at the NCAA jobs website to see what is on there.

I currently work in sports PR and marketing with a sport management degree, just didn't get it from LU.

[vicfirth1989]

I am no expert, nor do I know any alumni that are in the field but... I think that he should declare as a business major. If he wants to manage in a front office he can or if he wants to become a coach get a masters degree (for college sports). just my 2 cents. They arn't much but wanted to post something to get some communication going.

[Sly Fox]

We have a slew of Sport Management alumni on this board and hopefully some of them will have an informed opinion.

[SuperJon]

I think, of the people I graduated with, less than five are working in the field of Sport Management right now.

And that was only in 2008.

[SuperJon]

Let me clarify this:

Most of the people I graduated with are not working in Sport Management, but many of them have jobs that they love that are good jobs.

The harsh truth is that there are only so many Sport Management jobs out there, and many of them don't pay well. You can get lucky and get into a field rather quickly and move up quickly and really love what you do (it helps being very good at what you do as well). This generally happens when you get a great Graduate Assistant position, and, when you are finished with that, the person you're working under moves into another position leaving you as the best person to fill their vacated position. This has even happened inside our Athletic Department. I had the option to stay another year at my Graduate Assistant position and it's now been turned into a full-time position so the same thing almost/could have happened with me.

Many people with Sport Management degrees graduate, go on to work as a Graduate Assistant somewhere, get a job in Minor League Baseball or an entry level position in one of the big leagues. Some of them wait out the low pay and long hours (80+ a week in many cases) and eventually start to move up. Others, and this was the majority with my class, take the skills they acquired in the program and through their Graduate Assistant/entry level work and jump into the business world where there are more opportunities, better paying jobs, and a better chance to move up. I know one guy I graduated with left his Graduate Assistant position and is now managing a chain of grocery stores making good money and loving his job. Another took a job as the marketing director of a food services company.

At the end of the day, the work experience and skills are going to be much, much more important than what field the degree is in. If he loves sports, and is willing to work his butt off, let him become a Sport Management major but make him commit to doing above just the classwork. It's relatively easy for a smart kid to just pass by in that program without getting much out of it. If you're willing to put the extra effort into it, you can really learn a lot that will translate into a lot of fields.

[flamesfilmguy]

To piggy back on what Jon said:
I graduated a year after SJ from the Sport Management department with a minor in coaching, LOVED every minute i was in the major (except for a certain Sport Marketing prof who shall remain nameless but I managed to survive her class) I currently work as a graduate assistant at Georgia state university for the football program. Like SJ said its a lot of work. The reason I am where I am today is because I started out with a great practicum which led to a great internship which led to me having the resume to get a graduate position. I've been blessed to not only have my school paid for but also get a decent stipend to live on at my time here at GSU. Networking while you are young(in undergrad and grad school) will definitely help your son find a job when school is all said and done. I've been offered two jobs when I'm done with school. one in the coaching field and another in the Equipment management field. with our major its all about who you know and how hard you work. I have friends working in all aspects of collegiate athletics and even some professional. But like SJ said you don't have to have a sport management degree to get into it. If you want to know more just ask. I love what I do and even though i won't be making a ton of money I'll enjoy going to work and I think thats one of the most important things.

[sporter]

Thanks to all for the responses - this has been very helpful.

[Schfourteenteen]

If your boy wants to work in the sports industry, he's better off majoring in business and getting experience with Liberty Athletics or the Hillcats. Having a Business degree will leave him better prepared for work in the sport industry with an easier transition out if he decides it's not right for him.

The 80+ hours a week is no joke. As an intern I once put in 265 hours over a 2 week period, including 91 hours in 4 days. All of that got me a salary offer of 28K in which I'm expected to work 70 hours a week. There's a major mental battle knowing you can do less stressful work for less hours and make more money.

[lynchburgwildcats]

If your boy wants to work in the sports industry, he's better off majoring in business and getting experience with Liberty Athletics or the Hillcats. Having a Business degree will leave him better prepared for work in the sport industry with an easier transition out if he decides it's not right for him.

The 80+ hours a week is no joke. As an intern I once put in 265 hours over a 2 week period, including 91 hours in 4 days. All of that got me a salary offer of 28K in which I'm expected to work 70 hours a week. There's a major mental battle knowing you can do less stressful work for less hours and make more money.

Just don't intern with the Hillcats. When I was at Lynchburg College, they stopped recommending students to intern with the Hillcats. I heard horror stories from people who interned with them.

[jack_sparrow81]

Pretty much everything John said summed up what Sport Management is all about. I graduated in 2004 with a degree in Sport Management and a minor in business (which was highly recommended and I recommend as well). I was working for a transportation company part time during the holidays/breaks and a couple of weeks after graduating, I was offered a full-time manager position, because I was willing to move anywhere at first (ended up in the backwoods of Texas lol j/k Sly, I miss it). The whole point of saying this, unless your going into a medical/law/etc. job, all you really need is a degree whether it's in Forestry or law. I would definitely call the head of the department at LU and speak to them about it, which sold my parents and I because I didn't know much about the position at them time, and thought it was somewhere to hide the athletes lol, which wasn't the case at all. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, is resort management still being taught with the major? There is also a former LU sport management professor on the board, that could probably add more insight. If you have more questions, I'll be more than happy to help

[Purple Haize]

Hmmm, now THIS sounds like a topic I MIGHT know a little something about! However, due to non disclosure agreements, I can only take questions off the air!
While I can not speak to the current state of the program, I can say it USED to be an awesome major. Heck, who wouldn't want to go to Vegas for a week and meet a VP of NASCAR, Director of a AAA minor league franchise, Pres. of Las Vega Sports and catch a Tom Jones concert? And don't get me started on how AWESOME Sport History class used to be. All anyone can talk about is the Olypmic Project......

[FigurinItOut]

The below news release is exciting for LU's Sport Management department. Also, LU now offers a Master of Science in Sport Mgmt (for more info see http://www.liberty.edu/academics/educat ... ?PID=21952).

Department of Sport Management receives COSMA accreditation
June 17, 2011 : Liberty University News Service

Liberty University’s Bachelor of Science in Sport Management recently received accreditation from the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA), the new national governing body for sport management.

Liberty is one of five institutions to receive COSMA accreditation. Liberty’s Master of Science in Sport Management, which launched in Spring 2010, is in the initial stages of the COSMA accreditation process.

“I am extremely proud and excited about receiving full accreditation for the Department of Sport Management,” said department chair Vicky Martin. “The site reviewers gave the program a great review and thanked us for a wonderful visit. We are one of the first institutions to receive COSMA accreditation, which will only strengthen and grow the program for future and current sport management students.”

Now in its third decade of preparing students for careers in the sport industry, Liberty’s Department of Sport Management, a division of the School of Education, has more than 300 undergraduate students and about 360 graduate students. The undergraduate program is residential, and in addition to the bachelor’s degree, students can earn minors in Sport Management and Coaching. The graduate degree is a blended (residential and online) program with thesis or non-thesis options and specializations in Sport Administration or Outdoor Recreation Management.

The Sport Management program exposes students to a Christian worldview pertaining to the concepts and principles of sport management, while preparing them to organize, administer, and facilitate sport programs at the corporate, agency, professional, and amateur levels. Career opportunities range from collegiate athletic administration to advertising, marketing, resort management, facility management, and other positions in the sport industry.

Retrieved from http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=31142

[Purple Haize]

Actually the Sport Management program has been certified for nearly 20 years. They were one of the first 4 programs with such a distinction. The suprise would be if we DIDN'T get recertified, especially sense you basically resubmit the same information everytime you are up for recertification process.

[FigurinItOut]

Actually the Sport Management program has been certified for nearly 20 years. They were one of the first 4 programs with such a distinction. The suprise would be if we DIDN'T get recertified, especially sense you basically resubmit the same information everytime you are up for recertification process.

Hmmm. Not exactly sure what you mean by "certified," Purple, but it's not the same as accreditation. Our recent accreditation with COSMA is an initial accreditation, not renewal. This was a lot of work of the faculty and dept chair of Sports Mgmt. We're proud of this distinction. Way to go Dr. Vicky Martin and her team!

Here's a news release from COSMA entitled "COSMA Accredits Three New Sports Management Programs": http://cosmaweb.org/sites/default/files ... ccreds.pdf.

Also, the COSMA website presently lists LU as one of three "New Accredited Institutions": http://www.cosmaweb.org/.

[ATrain]

Dr. Martin is awesome.

[Purple Haize]

Not down playing the accredidation (or however you spell it) at all. I was interchanging the words "certified" and "accredited". Back in the day, there were SMGT programs popping up everywhere and the quality was getting lost in the quality. Since I am going on vacation in about 30 mins here is my readers digest recall.
We had NASM cert. NASM is now COSMAWEB (which on a side note sounds like a Beautician Degree LOL) Along with Ohio University we were one of the 'pioneers' in the field and recognized as such by our academic peers. Heck, a little birdy told me that the faculty used to be 'paid consultants' for other Universities that wanted the same certification. The bulk of the material used for this accred. was essential what was used 'back in the day'. Unfortunately, this type of accredidation/cert. is losing its luster. Not saying that is isn't a big deal, just not as prestigous as it used to be. Like a Union Card, it is something you HAVE to have!!
The question ANY student has to ask is "What do I have when I am done"?

[ALUmnus]

And that's actually the reason I went to LU in the first place. I wanted to major in Sports Management, and there were very few accredited programs in the country at the time (mid-90's). The two I looked at were South Carolina and LU. I chose LU, and then chose not to major in Sports Management. Go figure.

[FigurinItOut]

Thanks for the info, Purple. I'm fairly new and am still learning the history. Folks like you have helped me out a lot to understand where LU's been.

[flamesfilmguy]

Dr. Martin is awesome.

you obviously got on her good side in marketing class. I however did not. lol

[JK37]

Sporter, I can only speak to my own experience. I was a part of the SMGT program 2003-07, combining the degree with minors in Coaching and Psychology. I also went on to earn an MBA with a specialization in Leadership through LU Online. I utilized my degree along with my experience to obtain an NCAA D-I assistant coaching position, beginning in July after graduating in May of '07. I have since been promoted, but have remained in this field.

Thankfully, it was during my time that the program, under the direction of Dr. Martin, emphasized field experience as much as classroom experience. Prior to that shift, only the practicum and internship were used. The semesterly requirement of field hours is a step in the right direction, but it must be a greater amount of time than it is now. As SJ and others have said, experience is so much more valuable than the degree itself. The degree is simply a prerequisite.

With that in mind, I believe I was able to make the rare job move that I did directly out of college because of the experience I gained while still an undergrad. I worked in the Liberty Athletics Communications Office for four years, traveling with the women's soccer and softball teams, and working with football, men's & women's basketball, baseball, and FSN (formerly FTN). I coached in my sport as a varsity head coach at a local high school for two years, while still a full-time student. Also, I used to summers to my benefit, coaching a travel team one summer, working at college camps two summers, and working as a YMCA sport director for another summer.

Yes, I chose to forgo some of the traditional/typical college experiences (Work + school left little playtime.), but it was absolutely the correct move. All of this to say, I believe the SMGT program is a good one, but no student should enroll in it expecting it to be the be-all-end-all of professional preparation.

[TDDance234]

My minor was in coaching. The sport management classes weren't extremely difficult but the kinesiology classes were ridiculously tough.

[ATrain]

Dr. Martin is awesome.

you obviously got on her good side in marketing class. I however did not. lol

Actually I never took any of her classes

[LUnpretty11]

I haven't taken the time to read through all of this, so this is all my bias.

I played 23 seasons of sports before my freshman year at Liberty (so from the time I was 3-18). So I love sports. Specifically baseball and football. I am going into my senior year as a SMGT major, and I love it. I have acquired a TON of experience, which has led to 2 internship opportunities. Most of the classes are not going to be the most difficult classes the University offers, but I do believe that many of them are very practical and will adequately prepare someone for post college life. I'm pretty excited to see what the Lord does in my life with my last year here, and what kind of opportunities arise after May. All the best!

[sporter]

Thanks again to all who have taken the time to share their insight - this has been very informative.