The Ultimate Guide to a Career in Sports Management
What is Sports Management?
People often mistake Sports Management with playing the sport. Many students wonder whether they would be taught Football, Cricket or Hockey. Rather, Sports Management is about being able to manage sports and conduct sports events. It is the management of business, marketing, finance and law related to sports.
Sports Management Career
With growing consciousness about health and fitness, sports and Sports Management is growing rapidly. There have been constant new additions to the list of national and international Sports Events being held in India. Some events in 2019 such as IPL, ISL, Hockey India League, Pro Kabaddi, Women’s Kabaddi Challenge, Premier Badminton League, International Cricket, and so on have promised handful of learning and growth opportunities to professionals.
An area of Event Management, this assures the brightest of career opportunities. Read what follows to know what is Sports Management. The below discussion could help you understand the must possess traits in order to excel as an Sports Manager.
The article will also give you an insight into the best Sports Management Institute and Programs in the country, training, internship and placement opportunities. You would also get a feel of the job roles and responsibilities available to you after completing certification from a reputed institution.
Eligibility for Sports Management
There is no real eligibility criteria for getting into Sports Management. You could be from any stream, Science, Commerce or Humanities. If PR and Networking are your strength, if sports is your passion, then you could start as early as after 12th Grade with 45% marks, [only few institutes have the marks criteria]. After your certification which gives you an insight into the field and practical exposure to the industry, all the rest will follow with dedication, curiosity, exploration, experiment and of course experience.
Skills Required For Sports Management Job
Before looking at any field as a career option, it is often useful to evaluate your skill set and personality type. The kind of skills required for managing Sports Finance are obviously different from those required to handle Sports Operations. But we could certainly enlist some skills essential for Sports Management in general.
- Flexibility and multi-tasking: You will be a jack of all trades often stretching far beyond your job description
- Discipline and time management: This is your only rescue in being able to successfully handle and complete the multitude of activities that happen during a single day in the industry.
- Organizer: If you are great with systems and love to bring about order then this is the career for you.
- Communication: Effective and constant communication is your tool to keep the various stake holders on the same page. In this field there is need for extensive written communication in the form of Memos, Reports, notifications, circulars and so on. If you have a flair for writing, you will find your journey smooth and enjoyable.
- Analytical ability: For Sports Management Companies, the main consideration is competitive advantage. You will climb the ladder easily if you are a person who finds it easy to see patterns through figures.
- Creativity: This is the backbone of the entire Event Management Industry and thus obviously Sports Management. The ability to repack existing stuff and come up with out of the box ideas will do wonders to your career
Best Sports Management Programs
Team.i-The Entertainment and Media Institute, located in Bangalore, is a premier institute in event management. Through its robust network of industry partners and extensive experience of 15 years, sports management is now an area of specialization that it offers.
The courses available at team.i are
Certificate Program in Event Management and Activation, CPEMA: This is a 10 month long job oriented program. Module 7 in the course takes the students through the nuances of Sports Management and Sports Marketing.
Online Program in Event Management, OPEM: This 6-month long program in event management is specially designed keeping in mind constrains of distance and time. This supplies students with thee nuances of sports management along with other areas of event management in a short span of 6 months. There is flexibility of studying anytime and anywhere. This caters to students look out for industry contacts, volunteering and placement opportunities.
MBA in Event Management: This is a two year program in academic collaboration with KAZIRANGA university Assam and DNA Entertainment Ltd, the manager of IPL opening your opportunities to robust training in Sports Management , Sports Networking providing ample scope for the best placements in the industry.
Sports Management Curriculum
The syllabus is custom-designed and structured in consultation with industry stalwarts and Subject Matter Experts and in accordance with the latest and best industry trends and practices. The course content draws on global experience fused with local sensibilities to help students gain a broad and balanced perspective in a rapidly growing global environment.
It is a practical training that deals more with the true dynamics in the sports management arena, beginning from the conceptualization, planning, organizing until finally managing sports events.
Other than the regular classroom lecturing and personal mentoring in small groups, seminars, workshops, conferences, weekend special sessions and boot camps are integral components of wholistic training.
At team.i , a special effort is made towards faculty and Guest Speakers from professional Sports Management Organizations coupled with industry contacts and experiential learning and study tours to Sports Events. National and international case studies help students to develop extensive skills in research and analysis in sports.
Research being an area with huge future academic and employment potential is something that team.i proudly nurtures.
Skill Training: Networking, PR, negotiation skills, communication and presentation skills and marketing are the backbone of the industry. The efforts of the institute in building these towards employability and career enhancement of students is unparalleled.
Sports Management Internships and Placements
Networking and collaboration, instrumental to Sports Management are the strengths of team.i – The Entertainment and Media Institute. Internships and industry projects are available with reputed companies such as :
DNA Entertainment Network Pvt Ltd: team.i has developed a unique and strategic collaboration with DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt Ltd, one of the world’s best and largest sports management agency, a proud partner with Indian Super League, Indian Premier League, Indian Badminton League, Pro Kabaddi and Hockey India League.
The need for Sports Management in the year 2021
While some may question the practicality of pursuing an education in sports management in the year 2021 given the current global situation, there are others still who find the timing to be just the perfect opportunity to work on building their skill set and conceptual understanding of various sports management related aspects. It is the later group of passionate and aspiring sports management professionals who represent the true spirit of the event management community as a whole. As we continue to make use of virtual platforms and means of communication, the idea of online education, event management and ultimately sports management becomes topics of increased interest.
A common saying, ‘there is no expiration date to learning’ is one that is most apt to put into today’s context. As we learn to adapt and grow with the changing times so has the need and importance of sports management. Having to reinvent, restructure and relearn in order to make it most suitable to the changing times, sports management in the year 2021 is where we will be exploring these areas in greater detail. From the benefits of online learning to the application of new tools and techniques, the curriculum and overall objectives of studying sports management will have taken a paradigm shift.
If you’re up for the challenge, this is it. What better way to learn than by diving in head first into what will be a revolutionary turning point in the field of sports management.
Is a degree in Sports Management worth it?
This is entirely up to you. Depending on what your career aspirations are, you will need to secure an education in line with the outcome you wish to receive. Having a bike and knowing how to use it are two very different things and it is the same ideology when it comes to sports management. Securing a degree is just the first step but what to make of it is up to each individual. There are various opportunities that will present themselves to a graduate in sports management, some including, working with top sport management companies, freelancing and exploring exciting new projects, and working in collaboration with other sports management professionals are just a few of the ways in which you can take your learning and put it into practice leading to your success in the field going forward.
team.i Student’s Success Story –
This student pursued engineering only because his parents wished for him to get a degree. He was always passionate about doing events since school.
As soon as he graduated he pursued his interests into event management. He wished he would have known about the course earlier.
Today he’s got the opportunity to attend and work in one of the top event management company- DNA Entertainment and Networks, where he gets to organize events like Indian Premier League, Indian Super League, KBD juniors, corporate events and many more different kinds of events.
He has also freelanced as a manager at few of the popular events in Bangalore like the Lalbagh flower show and also Aero India 2019.
Classroom training is all great and necessary, but what’s the point if you have a PHD on how ride a bicycle but can’t really ride one.
Every single day our students are crushing it going out in the real world and gaining experience in event management.
Sports Village. Saumil Majmudar, the CEO Sports Village, receiver of the CII Emerging entrepreneur Award has been recognized among the top 50 leaders influencing education by Education World. A Badminton and Football player in his student days, Saumil now encourages and promotes young talent towards Sports Management.
SPT [ The Sports Promotion Team] India the pioneer of Integrated Sports Management in India also supports team.i’s mission of wholistic Sports Management Education. Amit K Saran, the promoter and CEO, was Allahabad District Athletics Champion in 1971 -72 and represented Allahabad University in tennis. A sports person and fitness enthusiast himself, Amit and his team is ensuring that young talent and fresh ideas flow constantly into the Sports Management industry.
Sports Management Jobs
After completing a degree from a well-known institution, many opportunities knock your door. Some of the roles that you could fit into after your proud association with team.i are
- Sports Manager
- Athletics Director
- Sports Recruiters and Agents
- Team Manager
- PR and Marketing Professional
Sports Management Salary
A genuine question that one has while choosing a career is on remuneration after completing a course. Though Sports Management is an upcoming field in India, 10 to 12 lakh per annum is an achievable target. Students from team. i have been placed with reputed agencies in India. Many others have started their own initiatives.
Reading the above, if you feel you fit well in the frame, then it is time for you to take a plunge and experiment. That one idea could change your life.
For more information please have a look at the website www.teami.org or contact the counselor at +91 9901998899