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Sports Management

Types of Degrees Sports Management Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Sports Management have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	53
Associate’s Degree	422
Bachelor’s Degree	11,853
Master’s Degree	5,000
Doctor’s Degree	65

What Sports Management Majors Need to Know

Programs in Sports Management emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Sports Management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Sports Management emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Sports Management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Instructing — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Sports Management careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Sports Management graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Sports Management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Sports Management graduates include:

• Athletic Instructor
• Gymnasium Teacher
• Physical Fitness Teacher
• Fitness Instructor
• Exercise Teacher
• College Professor
• Wellness and Activities Instructor
• Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Professor (HPER Professor)
• Teacher
• Associate Professor
• Kinesiology Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Health and Human Performance Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Health Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Sports Management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	38.7%
Bachelor’s degree	25.4%
Master’s degree	18.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.3%
Some college courses	3.0%
Less than a high school diploma	1.7%
Postsecondary certificate	1.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.7%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Sports Management?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 72.4% of Sports Management degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	4,831	27.6%
Men	12,641	72.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Sports Management graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	10,356	59.3%
Asian	248	1.4%
Hispanic or Latino	1,816	10.4%
Black or African American	2,857	16.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	63	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	27	0.2%
Two or More Races	673	3.9%
Race Unknown	517	3.0%
International Students	915	5.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Sports Management Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Sports Management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,425
4 years	$47,075
5 years	$55,516

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $55,516 — roughly 61% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Sports Management Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Sports Management. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	12	6
Bachelor’s	45	41
Master’s	91	36
Doctoral (Research)	3	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Sports Management Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Sports Management graduates earn a median of $47,075 four years after completion — roughly 24% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	31.05
Exercise Science and Kinesiology	31.0505
Physical Fitness Technician	31.0507
Sports Studies	31.0508
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General	31.0501
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Other	31.0599
Golf Course Operation and Grounds Management	31.0302
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, General	31.0301
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, Other	31.0399
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies	31.0101

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.