UCSD Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards
What advice would you have for young people who are interested in a
career in intercollegiate athletic administration?
As a profession, the field of sport management/administration
has truly exploded over the last decade. For anyone planning to enter this
field, the first thing I would suggest is to seriously consider pursuing a
graduate degree in that discipline. There are a large number of universities
with those types of programs and a handful that offer MBAs in sport management.
Admission into many of the best programs is very competitive
and anyone with that intent would be wise to gain experience by volunteering or
getting an internship with their school's athletic department as an
undergraduate. That will offer not only a good feel for the day-to-day
realities of the profession but be beneficial when it comes time for graduate
school applications.
A graduate school experience will open up doors at not only
the collegiate but professional and corporate levels as well as opportunities in
areas such as parks and recreation. Most graduate schools provide exposure to
the entire spectrum of areas within an athletic program including marketing,
development, business, compliance, public relations, licensing, athletic
training and facility & game management.
The skill set that you need to be developing
would include strong interpersonal proficiency, a great work ethic, the ability
to function well in a team environment and flexibility since ours is a field
that is constantly changing.
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