A little over 20 years ago, I completed my Master’s degree in Sports Management at the University of San Francisco. At the time, USF was ranked near the top of the food chain in Master’s degrees in Sports Management. At the time, Sports Management was a relatively new academic pursuit. In my early 20s, it seemed like a good investment. More schools were adding the program seemingly every day.
So, I decided to pursue a degree. I figured as the industry developed, it would be much like the academic arms race of the previous decades – it would eventually go from a nice thing to have to a job requirement. To my way of thinking, I wanted to get the degree out of the way rather than perhaps being forced to go back some years later.
However, things didn’t really develop as I expected. True, Sports Management programs continue to pop up at just about every major university around the country. But I seldom – if ever – worked in an organization that truly cared whether I had a Sports Management degree or not.
Somewhat predictably, experience matters much more than academic pursuits in the industry. The crazy thing is, that’s true in sports, even for entry-level jobs that you might pursue just out of college. This is because of college itself: The vast majority of colleges and universities out there have a variety of sports and athletic options available. Being educational institutions, they’re always looking for freebies. In this case, those freebies come in the form of a built-in stable of potential interns in virtually every field – public relations, sales, operations, and more.
The best candidates I ever had working with me in my two decades of sports experience wisely took advantage of these opportunities. They were able to get real-world sports experience without leaving campus and were often able to finagle themselves class credit for an internship at the same time. The most driven students often had multiple internships in different departments, managing to get an idea of who they wanted to be in the industry beyond just saying, “I like sports” in a job interview.
This isn’t to say that I’m recommending against pursuing Sports Management as a degree, graduate or otherwise. There were a number of things I learned in my time at USF that were not only applicable to my sports career but I still use in my second chapter as a filmmaker. The best academic institutions not only teach you skills but also strong critical thinking skills. For those determined to seek a Master’s, I couldn’t recommend my time at USF higher.
However, as the cost of academic pursuits spirals higher and higher with each passing year, and our focus on short-term ROI surpasses the long view, those looking for a sports career would do best to focus on acquiring as much experience as possible as quickly as possible over a graduate degree right now.
