Most people think of coaches and athletic directors when they consider a career in college athletics. But with more than $1 billion in revenue in 2017, college athletics is a quickly expanding industry (ESPN).
The NCAA consists of more than 1,117 member institutions, with many different career opportunities beyond coaching or administration. “Now on college campuses, it's not uncommon to have 200 staff positions and they've gotten very creative with respect to what those titles are,” said co-founder of the Alliance of Women Coaches (WeCOACH) and Title IX consultant Judith Sweet at the 2019 WISE/R Symposium. “Whether it's in marketing, finance, television, compliance, there are so many opportunities.”
Why College Athletics?
Sweet is a trailblazer for women in college athletics, becoming the first female president of the NCAA in 1991. She originally wanted to be a math teacher but then a blind date suggested she become a physical education teacher and as she described, “Sometimes people see things in us that we don't see and they say ‘have you ever thought about …’ and that changed my entire career path.” She started at UC San Diego in 1973 and in three years was promoted to director of athletics.
For University of Virginia athletic director Carla Williams, it was her love of sports and her student-athlete experience. “In college, I saw all of these people in these jobs that I had no idea existed,” said Williams. “I didn't know that there was such a thing as an athletic administrator until I got to the University of Georgia and I just fell in love with it.”
But not every successful athletic administrator or staffer started their career on campus. China Jude, senior associate athletic director for administration/senior woman administrator (SWA) at the University of Wyoming, began her professional career in radio and television and then community relations/politics before discovering her love for college athletics. “My career in sports started at 33 and I’d had careers beforehand so I was a late bloomer.”
An Abundance of Opportunity
One of the key takeaways from the discussion was the volume of diverse job opportunities available in college athletics. Williams emphasized the importance of marketing and communications, “With the ACC Network for us starting in August, marketing, promotion, sponsorship, sales and social media are all a huge part of what we're doing right now. Also, sports psychology and sport performance are huge fields in our area and they’re growing.”
Career and leadership development are other areas that athletic departments are looking to expand. “There is a huge focus on student experience and student development so there are opportunities when you think about leadership development, career development, community engagement, personal development and financial literacy,” said Williams. “There are so many opportunities in college athletics and it just keeps growing.”
“Just last week, I pulled up a listing of jobs that are now open,” added Sweet. “And there were over 100 positions that were listed in college athletics that ranged from everything that you can imagine. Here are just a few of them: associate athletic director for marketing and fan engagement; assistant athletic director, branding and digital strategy; coordinator for creative services and it goes on and on and on.”
To learn more about job opportunities in college athletics, visit the NCAA Market, the D1 Ticker, Inside Higher Ed and TeamWork Online.