INSIGHT

As sports remain profitable sport management provides opportunities

By Ann Mayo

Organizers of the 2014 Super Bowl expect it to generate approximately $550 million for the local economy. The selection of the Meadowlands as the site was probably  beneficial in helping to sell the naming rights for the $1.6 billion football stadium to  MetLife, Inc., which bought in for nearly $20 million per year through at least 2014.

While most of the U.S. economy suffered through a recession, the New Jersey sports world had a banner year in 2011. The Red Bull Arena and the new Met Life Stadium were among six entrants for “2011 Sports Facility of the Year” while the Jets were chosen as  one of five finalists for “Professional Sports Team of the Year” by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal.

Forbes named the Jets the 10th most valuable franchise in the world with a value of $1.14 billion. The Prudential Center ranked third in the Continental U.S. and eighth in  the world in earnings for concerts and family shows for the most recent six months,  behind only Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

While the sports business is not recession-proof, it is perhaps more recession-resistant than some other industries. If we can’t afford those expensive tickets, we can still follow our favorite team on our favorite screen. Estimates of the economic value of the sport industry have ranged from $250 to $350 billion per year, larger than the automotive  and motion picture industries.

Thus, even during a recession the very competitive sports business remains very attractive to students, career-changers and entrepreneurs. 

Sport management education has grown enormously in the wake of the sport industry. Sport management programs are now found at more than 300 colleges and universities   at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral level. Programs are offered at a growing number  of community colleges and some high schools that offer sport marketing courses.

Career opportunities in the sport industry range far beyond those which immediately come to mind: professional sports; sport facilities; sport marketing; intercollegiate athletics; and sport broadcasting and journalism. The industry as a whole is much  broader and offers many more opportunities.

Areas expected to see growth include: sporting goods and athletic apparel; the health club, spa, resort industry; sports travel and tourism; athletic training; and licensing and merchandising, among others. Opportunities in the global markets are opening up on all fronts and entrepreneurs might want to pay close attention.

There also has been demonstrated growth within sport organizations in the last several decades. For instance, the Dallas Cowboys employed 79 employees in 1989 and a total  of 216 in 2009, with increases in front office, ticket office, accounting/finance and  marketing jobs, the latter increasing from zero in 1989 to 17 in 2009.

However, even with a great education competition for jobs in the sport industry is high. Networking and experience are critical. Traditionally, experience in the sport industry is built through internships which can only be gained while one is enrolled in an academic program. Many sport internships are unpaid or come with just a small stipend.

The internship tests ones commitment to the work and gives one perspective on what working in the industry is about. Most interns in the sports world work many more hours than are minimally required, learning that those who are employed in sports work for the love of sport.

Entry-level salaries can be low, as well, ranging in the low $20,000s through the mid- $30,000s, depending on the position. There are many opportunities to move up and move quickly, once you get your foot in the door. However, turnover also can be slow.

A minimum of a four-year degree is a necessity to work in the sport industry. Yet perhaps the best advice is to leave oneself as flexible as possible. Build a curriculum that allows coursework in sports and the flexibility to add another major or minor – marketability for now and a possible transition later in one’s career.

Ann Mayo is director of the Center for Sport Management at the Stillman School of  Business, Seton Hall University. She can be reached at 973.761.9707 or  Ann.Mayo@shu.edu.